Orcadian Energy PLC
05 October 2026
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS DEEMED BY THE COMPANY TO CONSTITUTE INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW PURSUANT TO THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
5 October 2026
Orcadian Energy plc
(“Orcadian” or the “Company”)
Termination of joint development agreement
Orcadian continues to engage with potential partners on Earlham and Orwell developments
On 2 September Orcadian (AIM:ORCA) announced that it had entered into a non-exclusive, joint development agreement with an American developer of offshore data centre infrastructure. Over the last month Orcadian has learned a lot from its engagement with the potential partner and others. Both companies have now agreed to terminate the agreement, as the development scope and timeline for Earlham did not align with the potential partner’s near-term deployment priorities. The exclusivity option described in the Company’s announcement of 2 September 2026 was never exercised, no exclusivity fee was agreed or paid, and no amounts are payable by either party as a result of the termination. The Company retains all of its rights in licence P2680, which remains 100 per cent. Orcadian.
The work undertaken during the period has advanced the Company’s understanding of the Earlham Gigagrid concept, and Orcadian continues to engage with a number of other potential partners on the project.
The Earlham Gigagrid concept is intended to provide power and infrastructure to support the deployment of offshore compute, disconnected from the UK grid, and is designed to minimise Scope 3 emissions. The concept remains at an early stage and is subject to the concept select and validation work still to be undertaken.
The Company will provide further updates in due course.
Steve Brown, Orcadian CEO, said:
“This particular agreement has not progressed, but the work we did together has materially advanced our understanding of what an offshore compute development at Earlham would require.
“Our view of the opportunity is undiminished, and we continue to engage with a number of other potential partners.”
The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Stephen A. Brown, Chief Executive Officer.
For further information on the Company please visit the Company’s website: https://orcadian.energy
Contact:
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Orcadian Energy plc |
+ 44 20 7920 3150 |
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Steve Brown, CEO Alan Hume, CFO |
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Zeus (Nomad and Joint Broker) |
+44 20 3829 5000 |
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Darshan Patel / Alex Slater (Investment Banking) Simon Johnson (Corporate Broking) |
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Albr (Joint Broker) |
+44 207 399 9425 |
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Colin Rowbury / Jon Belliss |
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Qualified Person's Statement
Pursuant to the requirements of the AIM Rules and in particular, the AIM Note for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies, Maurice Bamford has reviewed and approved the technical information and resource reporting contained in this announcement.
Maurice has more than 36 years' experience in the oil & gas industry and 3 years in academia. He holds a BSc in Geology from Queens University Belfast and a PhD in Geology from the National University of Ireland. Maurice is a Fellow of the Geological Society, London, and a member of the Geoscience Energy Society of Great Britain. He is Exploration and Geoscience Manager at Orcadian Energy.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes”, “intends”, “may”, “will”, “plans”, “expects” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts and reflect the Directors’ current view with respect to future events. They are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including in relation to regulatory and governmental approvals, the outcome of the concept select process, the identification of suitable counterparties, and prevailing economic and market conditions, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. No statement in this announcement is intended to be, or should be construed as, a profit forecast or estimate, or a valuation of the Company or any of its assets. The forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement and, save as required by the AIM Rules for Companies, the Market Abuse Regulation or other applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise them.
About Orcadian Energy
Orcadian is a North Sea focused, low-emissions, oil and gas exploration and development company. Orcadian may be a small operator, but it is also nimble, and the Directors believe it has grasped opportunities that have eluded some of the much bigger companies. As we strike a balance between Net Zero and a sustainable energy supply, Orcadian intends to play its part to minimise the cost of Net Zero and to deliver reliable energy to the UK.
Viscous oil
As part of its viscous oil strategy Orcadian has an 18.75% carried interest in the Pilot development project, Pilot was discovered by PetroFina in 1989 and has been well appraised. The field has excellent quality reservoir and has contingent resources of 79 MMbbl of a viscous oil ranging in gravity from 17º API in the South of the reservoir to 12º API in the North. In planning the Pilot development, Orcadian has selected polymer flooding and wind power to transform the production of viscous oil into a cleaner and greener process. Polymer significantly reduces fluid handling requirements and hence energy consumption as well as boosting recovery. Ithaca Energy, operator of the Captain field in the Inner Moray Firth, has enjoyed consistent success in applying polymer flood to the highly analogous Captain field. Following the recent farm-down of Pilot, the project is now under the stewardship of Ping Petroleum UK PLC (“Ping”) and is intended to be amongst the lowest carbon emitting oil production facilities in the world.
Ping is progressing a low-emissions, phased, field development plan for Pilot based upon a polymer flood of the reservoir, a Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO) and provision of power from a floating wind turbine or a local wind farm.
Orcadian has an 18.75% fully carried interest in licence P2244 (block 21/27a) and a 100% interest in licence P2482 (blocks 28/2a and 28/3a). Ping is operator of P2244 and the Pilot development project. P2482 covers the Elke and Narwhal discoveries which contain 54 MMbbl of contingent resources.
The Fynn licence was awarded in the 33rd round, P2634, contains a very substantial heavy oil discovery. About 88% of the resource on a best technical case is estimated to lie within the area of the P2634 licence. Orcadian has a 50% working interest in the Fynn licence which is operated by Serica. The Fynn licence covers blocks 14/15a, 14/20d and 15/11a.
Gas
Orcadian was awarded two gas licences in the 33rd Round. The Mid-North Sea High licence, P2650, contains shallow gas leads. Orcadian applied in partnership with Triangle Energy, an Australian listed energy company. Orcadian is licence administrator and holds 50% of the offered licence. The Mid-North Sea High licence covers blocks 29/16, 29/17, 29/18, 29/19, 29/21, 29/22, 29/23, 29/27 and 29/28.
The SNS licence, P2680 100% Orcadian, contains the Earlham discovery, a low-calorie gas discovery with 114 bcf of methane resources on a P50 basis, the Clover prospect which has P50 prospective resources of 153 bcf, and the decommissioned Orwell field which has redevelopment potential with 31 bcf resources on a P50 basis, alongside a number of smaller prospects. Orcadian has established Earlham Gigagrid to provide a vehicle for investment in the Earlham development, power station and datacentre potential, without diluting Orcadian’s shareholders’ interests in its viscous oil and Central North Sea projects.
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