Lansdowne Celtic Sea Limited (“Lansdowne, LCSL, or the Company”), was founded as an upstream oil and gas entity, focused on exploration and appraisal opportunities offshore Ireland. Lansdowne targeted shallow water (less than 100 metres) areas of the Irish shelf as these provided lower cost drilling opportunities, which combined with the favourable fiscal terms, had the potential to deliver high value oil and gas reserves.
The EL provides sufficient funds, on a non-recourse basis, to cover legal fees and costs associated with pursuing the claim through to resolution. Diamond McCarthy is a U.S. law firm with decades of experience in cross-border litigation and international arbitration. To date, Lansdowne has been advised on its claim by Mantle Law, a London and United Arab Emirates based international arbitration law firm with a focus on energy, construction, and infrastructure disputes. Mantle Law and Diamond McCarthy will co-counsel to progress the claim to conclusion.
The gross compensation claim is expected to be in excess of $100 million plus accrued interest and any related penalties. In the event of a successful award in an amount of approximately $100 million, Lansdowne’s share of the proceeds, based on the funding agreements with Diamond McCarthy and Mantle Law, is expected to be between 60% and 70%.
Following the achievement of third-party litigation funding the next steps of the arbitration process have commenced with the filing of the Request For Arbitration (“RFA”) at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) in Washington DC and confirmation of the entry of this onto the register in early May 2026.
The next step in the process is the appointment of a tribunal and the Company’s lawyers have commenced discussion with Ireland to achieve this.
During the year the company decided to write down the value of the intangible asset due to the uncertain nature of the underlying circumstances.
The principal risk facing the Group is the potential failure to secure compensation through legal proceedings for its investment in the Barryroe oil and gas project.
The value of compensation being sought is linked to the pricing of both oil and gas.
The Brent Oil Price averaged around c.$70/bbl in 2025, but following the outbreak of hostilities in early 2026, the price has risen to more than $100/bbl, where it lies today and future contracts remain above $80/bbl through to early 2027.
The Irish gas price is linked to the UK gas price as the majority of Ireland’s gas supply flows through the interconnector from the UK. UK prices rose rapidly as a result of the war in Ukraine and in 2024 averaged above 100p/therm. Prices have risen sharply since hostilities began in the Middle East with supply of LNG from Qatar greatly reduced. The UK NBP price is currently above 120p/therm and forward prices remain above 100p/therm for the rest of 2026.
Previous Independent Competent Persons Reports have demonstrated that the Barryroe project delivers robust returns at an oil price of c.$70/bbl and a gas price of p/therm. The current much higher product prices, fully support Lansdowne’s claim for compensation.
As a participant in the upstream oil & gas industry, the Group is exposed to a wide range of risks in the conduct of its operations.
Following the loss of the Barryroe Asset, the Group work has concentrated on seeking compensation through the Energy Charter Treaty.
The Company is exposed to a wide range of risks in the conduct of its operations. The Directors are responsible for the effectiveness of the Company’s risk management activities and internal control purposes. These risk include:
Financial risks:
• Ability to raise finance to pursue litigation
• Cost inflation
• Oil and gas price movements
• Adverse taxation legislative changes
• Third party counterparty credit risk
• Adverse foreign exchange movements
• Changes in government policy
Operational risks:
• Loss of key employees
• Delay and cost overrun on projects, including weather related delay
• HSE incidents
• Poor reservoir performance
• Exploration and appraisal well failures
Strategic and external risks:
• Failure of third-party services
• Deterioration of capital markets, inhibiting efficient equity and/or debt raising for developments
• Commercial misalignment with co-venturers
• Material fall in oil or gas prices
Market Risks:
The key risk facing the Company is failure to be granted compensation for the loss of the Barryroe asset, which is being pursued under the Energy Charter Treaty.
On behalf of the board
Lansdowne Celtic Sea Limited is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is C/O Pinsent Masons LLP, 30 Crown Place, London, EC2A 4ES. The company's principal activities and nature of its operations are disclosed in the directors' report.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £'000.
As permitted by FRS 101, the company has taken advantage of the following disclosure exemptions from the requirements of IFRS:
inclusion of an explicit and unreserved statement of compliance with IFRS;
presentation of a statement of cash flows and related notes;
disclosure of the objectives, policies and processes for managing capital;
disclosure of key management personnel compensation;
disclosure of the categories of financial instrument and the nature and extent of risks arising on these financial instruments;
the effect of financial instruments on the statement of comprehensive income;
comparative period reconciliations for the number of shares outstanding and the carrying amounts of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets, investment property and biological assets;
disclosure of the future impact of new International Financial Reporting Standards in issue but not yet effective at the reporting date;
a reconciliation of the number and weighted average exercise prices of share options, how the fair value of share-based payments was determined and their effect on profit or loss and the financial position;
comparative narrative information;
related party disclosures for transactions with the parent or wholly owned members of the group.
Where required, equivalent disclosures are given in the group accounts of Lansdowne Oil & Gas plc. The group accounts of Lansdowne Oil & Gas Pls are available to the public and can be obtained as set out in note 7.
The Directors have prepared the financial statements on the going concern basis which assumes that the Company will continue in operational existence for at least 12 months from the date of the approval of these financial statements. The Company shows net current liabilities of £21,760,713 (2024: £21,760,713 ) and net liability of £ 21,760,713 (2024: £21,760,713 ), and is subject to the principal risks and uncertainties described in the Directors’ report. The Company is dependent on funding provided by its parent entity, Lansdowne Oil & Gas Plc (“Lansdowne”), which has confirmed that amounts due to it will not be called for a period of at twelve months from the date of approval of the Company’s financial statements and that it will continue to provide financial support to the Company to meet its liabilities as they fall due.
The Directors have carefully reviewed the future prospects of the Company and its future cash flows, having assessed this the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, being at least the next 12 months from the signing of these financial statements.
For this reason, the directors continue to adopt the going concern basis for the preparation of the Financial Statements. Accordingly, these financial statements do not include any adjustments to the carrying amount or classification of assets and liabilities that would result if the company was unable to continue as a going concern.
The Company’s intangible assets comprised exploration and evaluation assets with a carrying value of £Nil (2024: Nil).
The company recognises financial debt when the company becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instruments. Financial liabilities are classified as either 'financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss' or 'other financial liabilities'.
Equity instruments issued by the company are recorded at the proceeds received, net of direct issue costs. Dividends payable on equity instruments are recognised as liabilities once they are no longer at the discretion of the company.
The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was:
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