Origin of the name 'Serica'

The word Serica is derived from “sericum”, the Latin name for silk.  The term Serica is still used in the silk trade today.

Built in 1863 by Robert Steele and Co of Greenock, Scotland, the Serica was a Tea Clipper, a sleek, fast and efficient vessel used in the tea trade between Asia and Europe. In 1866 it sailed from Foochow, China to London in only 99 days in the Great Tea Race, a distance of 16,000 miles. In the painting above, the Serica is the Clipper on the right, just arriving in Foochow harbour before the race.

With its connections to Asia and Europe, the name Serica is appropriate for a company developing its business in these two focus areas.

 

History

The origins of Serica go back to the year 2000, when a private exploration company known as Petroleum Development Associates ("PDA") was founded by a management team with extensive expertise in the upstream oil and gas business. The primary strategy was to invest in focused, low risk exploration in regions with proven petroleum systems well known to the founders.

PDA opened its United Kingdom office in December 2001 following the completion of its first venture, the acquisition of two offshore UK North Sea exploration Licences from BP Amoco-ARCO. 

In August 2001, PDA established a representative office in Singapore to expand its business presence in Southeast Asia and, in 2002, the company acquired its first Indonesian asset, a working interest in the Lematang PSC, onshore South Sumatra (sold in 2006).

In 2003 the group was awarded exploration permits onshore Northern Spain and acquired working interests in the Glagah-Kambuna TAC and Asahan PSC offshore North Sumatra and the Biliton PSC offshore Java. In order to fund the work obligations of these new licences, the PDA group of companies made an Initial Public Offering and became listed on the TSX Ventures Exchange in Canada, through a merger with Kyrgoil Holding Corporation, a listed shell company, which then changed its name to Serica Energy Corporation, registered in the British Virgin Islands.

In 2004 Serica carried out seismic surveys in Indonesia and prepared for a drilling campaign. The company drilled two wells as operator in 2005: Togar #1 in the Asahan PSC and Kambuna #2 in the Glagah-Kambuna TAC. Both wells found gas and the Kambuna #2 well successfully appraised the 1972 Kambuna #1 discovery well and set in motion the development of the Kambuna Field.

In 2005 Serica migrated its business into a new UK registered holding company, Serica Energy plc. At the end of the year Serica raised over US$100 million by way of an Admission to the London AIM market and is now listed both in Canada and in London.

Serica announced the acquisition of two North Sea blocks in September 2005; one of these blocks was 23/16f, in which Serica drilled the Columbus discovery well in 2006, followed by the drilling of two appraisal wells, 23/16f-12 & 23/16f-12z, which confirmed the commercial viability of the Columbus field.

In 2007 the Company entered into a US$100 million senior secured debt facility, principally to finance the development of the Kambuna field.  Gas sales contracts were agreed and the drilling phase of development was completed in early 2008.

Since that time Serica has expanded its operations significantly, being awarded further exploration acreage in Western Europe, Northwest Africa and Southeast Asia.  In 2008, the Company was awarded three new UK licences and the East Seruway PSC offshore north Sumatra.  The Company’s acreage position was further expanded in 2009 with the award of two offshore exploration permits in Morocco (Foum Draa and Sidi Moussa), a new North Sea licence west of Columbus (22/19c) and six blocks (collectively Licence FEL 1/09) in the north-eastern part of the Rockall Basin offshore Ireland.

In August 2009, Serica made the transition to an Exploration and Production Company, with gas sales commencing from the Kambuna field and giving the Company its first significant production revenue.

 

 

 

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