Pharos Energy Plc, previously SOCO International, is an oil and gas exploration and production company, headquartered in London. The company changed its name to Pharos Energy Plc in October 2019 after coming under fire for illegal activity in Virunga. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and currently has interests in Egypt, Israel and Vietnam. The company previously held interests in the Republic of Congo and Angola. Pharos Energy no longer holds interests in Africa, and their strategy now focuses on interests in the Middle East and Asia. History In April 1997, the company was founded by Ed Story and was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in May that year. Since April 1997, Ed Story is CEO of Pharos Energy PLC. During 2010, the company aimed to derisk 600 million barrels of potential net recoverable reserves with a drilling programme focused in Vietnam and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2014 they explored for oil in Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the DRC, and attempted to bribe and intimidate people who opposed their efforts. Following international pressure they agreed to suspend further exploration. On 16 October 2019 the company announced that it had changed its name to Pharos Energy plc. On 17 October 2019, Pharos Energy plc announced the appointment of John Martin, to succeed Rui de Sousa as Non-Executive Chair following his retirement. Current operations Vietnam Pharos has been active in Vietnam since 1996 and currently has two oil and gas producing blocks in the country: Block 9-2 of the (Ca Ngu Vang field) and Block 16-1 of the (Te Giac Trang field) and commenced oil production there in August 2015. In May 1999, the Group signed the petroleum contract for Block 16–1 in Vietnam and the Block 9-2 petroleum contract was signed a year later in 2000. In 2002, the Group farmed out 50% of its Vietnam interests to PTT Exploration and Production Co. (PTTEP). In the same year, the Ca Ngu Vang (CNC) Field from Block 9-2 was discovered. In 2005, the Te Giac Trang (TGT) Field was discovered in Block 16–1. In 2020, Pharos announced that evaluation of the offshore Phu Khanh basin blocks 125 & 126 would continue, though planned 3D seismic work would be deferred, possibly until 2021. Egypt In September 2018, the Company reached an agreement to buy Merlon Petroleum El Fayum Company and 100