Mixed appetite for UKCS farm-outs
Deltic reports progress but will also relinquish two licences after failed processes
AIM-listed E&P firm Deltic Energy is moving forward with the UK continental shelf (UKCS) gas prospects it has successfully farmed out to Shell and peer Capricorn Energy, as well as getting ready to launch a partner search for its Syros oil prospect. But the firm will also hand back two licences, one operated and one non-operated, after failing to agree terms for them to be drilled. Spudding of the firm’s Southern North Sea (SNS) Pensacola prospect in licence P2252, in which Shell took a 70pc stake in February 2019, has slipped slightly from September to October. But the firm remains upbeat. It will be using the Maersk Resilient jack-up rig, which is currently drilling a production well f
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy






