Prax Exploration & Production PLC (12157790): administration
- Status
- In administration
- Administration began
- 2025-09-29
- Administrators
- Daniel James Mark Smith, Matthew Mawhinney
- Administrators' firm
- Teneo
- Formerly
- Prax Global Finance I PLC; Prax Global Finance I Limited; Prax Financial Services Limited; Prax Global Financial Services Limited
- Incorporated
- 2019-08-15
- Location
- Birmingham
- Industry
- 09100 Support activities for petroleum and natural gas mining
Why it went into administration
- Cash flow / liquidity pressure
- Sustained trading losses
- Parent or group failure
From the administrators' statement
Prax E&P is the holding company for a number of other companies engaged in the upstream oil business (together with its subsidiaries “Prax Upstream”). The Prax Upstream companies are subsidiaries within the group of companies owned by State Oil Limited — in Administration (“SOL”) (together the “Prax Group”). The Prax Group is an energy conglomerate that included the Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery (the “Refinery” or “PLOR”), and wholesale and retail operations across the UK and Europe. Its products service the aviation, marine, retail, industrial and commercial sectors.
Prax E&P acquired a 100% shareholding in PUL, (formerly known as Hurricane Energy PLC) in 2023. PUL is the operating entity of the Prax Upstream business and, through its subsidiaries, owns a 100% interest in the Lancaster oil field, in the West of Shetland area of the North Sea.
The Lancaster field is in the final stages of its production lifecycle (with an estimate of c.12-18 months of operation remaining), and its future decommissioning costs are likely to exceed the remaining production profits. The Lancaster field is operated by PUL through the charter of a floating production storage and offloading (“FPSO”) vessel from Bluewater Lancaster Production (UK) Limited (“Bluewater”), and oil is sold to BP Oil International Limited (“BP”). A decommissioning security guarantee for the sum of £33.7m was provided by Endurance Worldwide Insurance Limited (“EWIL”) for the period to 31 December 2025, with EWIL’s potential exposure indemnified by all Prax Upstream companies.
Administrators' statement of proposals (2025-10-09) · Companies House register