Premier Oil plc (LSE: PMO) is an independent British UK oil company with gas and oil interests in the UK, Asia and Africa. It is devoted entirely to the 'upstream' sector of the industry - the exploitation of oil and gas - as opposed to the 'downstream' refining and retail sector. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

The Company started trading in 1934 as the Caribbean Oil Company with the intention of pursuing oil and gas exploration and production activities in Trinidad. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1936 as Premier (Trinidad) Oilfields For the next two decades, the Company concentrated its attention on oil production in Trinidad. The Company acquired its first interest in the North Sea in 1971; it expanded its operations in the UK Continental Shelf throughout the 1970's, merging with the Ball and Collins North Sea Consortium in 1977 to gain significant interests in the North Sea as well as properties in Sudan and West Africa. In 1984, the Company took a 12½% stake in the onshore oilfield at Wytch Farm in Dorset. This acquisition transformed the company's reserve base and cash flow and, even today, continues to make an important contribution to Premier's revenues, thanks to large scale expansions which have only become technically feasible with modern technology.