Executives at Capricorn Energy (LON: CNE) will tell a shareholder AGM today that it “continue(s) to pursue the potential sale” of its North Sea business.
It comes after Capricorn – formerly Cairn Energy – announced in March it would make 120 UK employees redundant as it focuses attentions on Africa.
New CEO Randy Neely and non-exec chair Craig van der Laan will deliver statements on the company strategy.
In a preview of their statements, the executives said it will continue to seek the “potential sale” of its UK business, but provided no further update.
All assets outside of its key focus of Egypt are “in the process of either being divested or relinquished in as timely a manner as possible,” and the firm has already exited Mauritania.
Capricorn said in March it expects to have a “substantially reduced” headcount in the UK, resulting in an organisation of less than 40 people – a 75% cull.
The London-listed firm had 238 employees globally in March. The following month it confirmed that its new global headcount would be around 70 people.
It also said it is seeking new, smaller offices in Edinburgh.
Capricorn’s North Sea portfolio, which used to hold stakes in production assets like EnQuest’s Kraken, now exists as a set of high-impact exploration licences with partner Deltic Energy.
The firm said “large-scale, high-risk exploration in a market that is transitioning is not a model the new Board believes a business of Capricorn’s size should pursue”.
Capricorn booked costs of $42.8m over two failed North Sea exploration targets – Diadem and Jaws – in 2022.