WTI (Sep) $78.18 +89c, Brent (Oct) $83.55 +$5.37, Diff -$5.37 +17c.
USNG (Sep) $2.66 -1c, UKNG (Sep) 141.41p +2.52p, TTF (Sep) €57.70 +€1.1.
Oil price
Oil has rallied by around $2.50 today after a weekend of failed diplomacy and random attacks designed to rile the POTUS. So, Iran has said that a deal is close with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz but given that their Foreign Minister has said that there can be no restart of talks until the blockade stays in place that looks unlikely.
Other demands from Iran on the great Satan include compensation for war costs, a release from sanctions and an unfreezing of bonds by the US Treasury. As they say, Bob Hope and no hope and no hope just left town.
To add insult to injury Iran have attacked a UAE ship at the weekend and their proxy the Houthis attacked a Saudi oil refinery overnight. With Israel rejecting his Gaza peace deal until Hamas surrender all their arms, whether small or large prospects for peace in the region are slim.
Finally, the Baker Hughes rig count on Friday showed no change in the overall number of rigs at 588 but oil units rose by 3 to 454 on the week whilst year on year they were up by 49 and 43 respectively. And domestically today US natural gas is on the move upwards as the heatwave in the USA has triggered short covering in what can be a very volatile market.
Serica Energy
Statement Regarding Final* Offer for Pharos Energy
Further to the announcement made by Serica Energy plc and Pharos on 26 July 2026 setting out the terms of a recommended cash offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Pharos, Serica today provides an update on the terms of the Serica Offer.
The board of directors of Serica notes the increased offer announced by Ratio Petroleum Energy LP on 7 August 2026, including the statement that Ratio has received irrevocable undertakings in respect of Pharos Shares representing approximately 41.76 per cent. of Pharos’ issued share capital.
Serica retains a highly disciplined approach to M&A and accordingly confirms that the financial terms of the Serica Offer as set out in the Serica 2.7 Announcement, being a total value offered of 32.6683 pence per Pharos Share comprised of 28.6683 pence in cash and 4.0 pence in cash by way of a special dividend are final* and will not be increased.
Serica continues to rigorously evaluate a pipeline of opportunities, both in the UK North Sea and other areas in which the Company can successfully deliver its strategy.
* The financial terms of the Serica Offer are final and will not be increased or improved except that Serica reserves the right to increase the value of the Serica Offer if (a) there is an announcement on or after the date of this Announcement of an offer or possible offer for Pharos, including a partial offer, or a firm intention to make an offer, by any third party offeror or potential offeror other than Ratio; or (b) the Takeover Panel provides its consent, which will only be given in wholly exceptional circumstances.
Serica has made it clear in this announcement that its bid is final and won’t be raised. Under the Takeover Code this means that it is formal and is therefore a statement of intent from the company.
Serica has noted that it may increase its offer if the takeover panel agreed, but this is just a standard carve-out and would only be permitted in very exceptional circumstances. What is clear is that Serica were not prepared to increase by the 15% that would have been required to free up the 21% of Pharos held by Brad Radoff. As such it is clear that Serica has remained totally disciplined in its approach to M&A.
Angus Energy
Angus has announced an Accelerated Debt Reduction
· Initial cash sweep completed following the successful financial restructuring
· ORRI Cash Amount of £1.95 million repaid in full
· Additional £1.996 million prepayment made to the Trafigura facility
· Total debt repayments of £5.241 million since 24 June 2026, demonstrating the Company’s accelerating deleveraging strategy
· Future cash sweeps will now be applied entirely towards accelerating repayment of the Trafigura facility
· Demonstrates the cash-generative strength of the business and validates the recently completed restructuring
· Further strengthens the balance sheet while supporting continued investment in growth alongside accelerated deleveraging
The Company is pleased to announce that, following completion of its recently announced financial restructuring, it has completed the first cash sweep under the amended financing arrangements.
Completion of the first cash sweep has enabled the Company to repay the £1.95 million ORRI Cash Amount in full, eliminating this liability entirely, while also making a £1.996 million prepayment against the Trafigura senior debt facility. As a result, the outstanding Trafigura facility has reduced to approximately £22.7 million.
Since announcing the restructuring on 26 June 2026, the Company has repaid a total of £5.241 million of debt principal, materially strengthening the Group’s balance sheet. This rapid reduction in indebtedness demonstrates the Company’s ability to generate cash while executing its strategy of accelerating deleveraging and continuing to invest in future growth.
The repayment of the ORRI Cash Amount represents an important milestone. Under the amended financing arrangements, all future cash sweep proceeds will now be directed exclusively towards reducing the outstanding Trafigura facility, accelerating the Company’s deleveraging profile.
Carlos Fernandes, Finance Director, commented:
“The completion of our first cash sweep demonstrates that our restructuring strategy is already delivering tangible results. We have significantly strengthened the balance sheet, eliminated the ORRI liability and reduced the Trafigura facility, while continuing to invest in the business.
Every pound of debt we repay reduces future financing obligations and increases the value attributable to shareholders. With future cash sweeps now directed entirely towards the Trafigura facility, we are well positioned to continue accelerating deleveraging while executing our operational growth strategy.”
Following the recent refinancing the new cash sweep mechanism has started to come into play with the ORRI liability ‘eliminated’ and £5.2m of debt repaid having reduced the Trafigura facility as well. The remaining cash sweeps will go exclusively to reducing the Trafigura facility and as the Finance Director says will be ‘well positioned to continue accelerating deleveraging while executing our operational growth strategy’.
The strength of the local gas prices in Europe has meant that Angus is significantly better placed on the revenue and cash flow front and the outlook is promising. With a much stronger balance sheet and signs of debt repayment in place Angus looks in a good position to move ahead from here.
Sintana Energy
Sintana has announced that at its Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders held on 6 August 2026 at 17 State Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY, USA, all resolutions put to shareholders were duly passed.
Following the meeting, Robert Bose, Chief Executive Officer, and Eytan Uliel, President, provided a Management Update presentation which is available at www.sintanaenergy.com and also via the Investor Meet Company platform (www.investormeetcompany.com/meetings/post-agm-presentation-8).
Robert Bose, CEO of Sintana, said:
“We are grateful for the ongoing support of our shareholders, as we look forward to the next 12 months, where multiple high-impact catalysts are upcoming across our portfolio. We anticipate the next period will be an exciting and extremely busy one for our company”.
I covered this story on Friday, was a bit ahead of the game…my sentiments remain unchanged, the shares, given the plethora of exciting news to come across the portfolio offer significant upside and my target price of 75p is not at all challenging.
Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest
The information, investment views and recommendations in this article are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the writer but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. The writer may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.
