Wireline Issue 45 - Summer 2019

looking for an exit in a six- to seven-year timeframe,” explains Martin. Kerogen’s investment in 2015 points to an exit point around 2021/22 – most likely via a trade sale, owing to Zennor’s smaller size – and so, he says, “Everything we’ve done has been towards creating the right kind of vehicle at that exit point.” In the meantime, he believes that private ownership allows the company space to focus on growing the business, rather than on public filings and managing shareholders. Neptune’s team benefits from similar freedom, and Regan-Mears talks of the ability to concentrate on long-term planning, and not on production tomorrow but on “reserves two, three, five years down the line.” Dialogue and support from its PE shareholders allow it to focus on “building a business that is going to last, rather than one where we’re looking to the next quarter all the time,” he says. In contrast with the smaller players, while the prospect of an exit informs Neptune’s strategy in terms of its reputation for growing reserves and delivering profitable projects, it does not guide decision making in quite the same way. “I think that in some point in our future we will see an IPO, but we’re not going to do anything against the clock. We’ve only been in business a year, we had a solid year both operationally and financially, but we have a lot more to do.” Ultimately, all three companies are bullish on the positive impact that PE has had on the UKCS, particularly as the industry emerges from a low-price cycle. “I think private equity went into a place that not many other businesses would have gone into,” says Julian.

“There is going to be a lot more local investment. The money might be coming from overseas but it’s local players who are at the heart of the investment.”

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