16/03/10 | Nigerian oil bill may prove tough to undo
Nigeria's controversial oil industry bill is expected to eventually pass but the government may find it tough to later shift gears as international oil firms targeted under the legislation scale back their investments. Fawzia Sheikh reports on the longer-term impact the new bill could have on the country’s oil industry.
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15/03/10 | Why I am still backing Nighthawk Energy
Since piling back into Nighthawk Energy in January, our watchful private investor has seen the company’s share price drop like a stone. In reply to a stream of correspondence on the subject to SmallCapNews, here is an update on his views.
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12/03/09 | Companies face higher costs for IPOs
Despite last year’s slump in the number of new companies coming to AIM, it seems that the costs for getting the job done are on the rise. The number of AIM IPOs plummeted by 66% to just 13 in 2009 but professional fees headed north to an average of 7.24% of funds raised, up from 7% the year before.
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11/03/10 | Businesses face bribery shock 
New laws which could put workers behind bars and hit companies with unlimited fines are passing into law unnoticed by UK businesses. However, Eversheds lawyer Neill Blundell (pictured) reckons a worryingly relaxed attitude towards the Bribery Bill could see businesses fall foul of the new law which could lead not only to directors going to prison but the company facing a severe financial penalty.
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08/03/10 | International oil & gas rig count

The latest survey of oil & gas rigs in action across the globe shows that there was a month-on-month and year-on-year improvement in the US during February 2010, with figures for the rest of the world also on the rise. In total, the worldwide rig count for February was 2,982, up 209 on January and up 229 on the same period last year.

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03/02/10 | AIM miners look closer at portfolio deals
With the arrival last November of the first new mining listing on AIM for 16 months, expectations in the market are that the IPO floodgates could be about to open. As confidence returns, the latest analysis suggests that miners have adopted a here-to-stay attitude towards asset acquisitions and disposals as they endeavour to build a healthy portfolio of projects.
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02/03/10 | Small caps impact UK oil & gas rankings
A new league of the most valuable 25 UK upstream independent oil companies listed in London sees Tullow Oil and Cairn Energy take the top two spots, with a combined value worth 60% of the entire ranking. Nevertheless, 17 of the companies featured have market caps of less than £500 million – and seven of those squeezed in with values in the sub-£200m range.
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26/02/10 | UK oil & gas explorers curb ambitions
Offshore exploration and appraisal activity around the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) slumped by more than 35% last year as exploration groups contended with macroeconomic conditions, sporadic rig availability and oil price volatility. In 2010 the climate is still fragile, meaning that many companies will continue to curb their growth ambitions.
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25/02/10 | Balance of power shifts in Iraq’s oil race
For some time the Kurdistan Government has held the initiative over its counterparts in Baghdad when is comes to oil – the well-organised northern territory has attracted dozens of companies ready to get drilling underway. However, recent deals in the south suggest that the Iraqi Government is getting its act together on oil, which could lead the way to a new oil law between the two sides.
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23/02/10 | North Sea oil & gas investment call
The UK’s oil and gas industry could be delivering 1.5m barrels per day by 2020 if it gets government backing and commits to improving efficiency. However, industry analysts are warning that despite estimates of 25bn barrels remaining in the UK Continental Shelf, companies are finding it increasingly difficult to turn new reserves into economic production.
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22/02/10 | Andrew Bell of Red Rock Resources
Andrew Bell’s affection for doing a deal has put his company shoulder to shoulder with one of the mining industry’s biggest names and secured a major stake in potentially massive iron ore and manganese projects in Australia. SmallCapNews spoke to chairman and chief executive of AIM-listed Red Rock Resources about his objectives for the company’s maturing portfolio.
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19/02/10 | Libya faces oil & gas challenge
The Libyan government has been sounding off lately about boosting the profile of its oil and gas market, but it’s questionable whether international companies will ignore the government’s missteps in the industry - not to mention the recent lacklustre energy finds - and keep injecting money into the North African country. Fawzia Sheikh reports.
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19/02/10 | Everyone wants a piece of the Falklands
With activity (and politics) really hotting up in the Falklands ahead of the start of oil and gas drilling work there, our canny private investor reckons he’s got the measure of the companies involved.
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17/02/10 | Gold’s broad appeal maintains demand
Dollar demand for gold remained above the US$100 billion mark for the second year in a row in 2009 despite the backdrop of continued turbulence in financial and commodity markets. Surging prices through the year offset the effects of investors’ new-found confidence as they eased away from the relative safety of the precious metal.
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16/02/10 | Analysts upbeat on upstream M&A
A strong recovery in upstream mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity last year has set the scene for continuing healthy transaction levels through 2010. Analysis shows that monthly deal activity climbed from record lows during the first quarter of 2009 to near-record highs by the end of the year. The rebound was so strong that global M&A spend for 2009 recovered to top US$150 billion.
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15/02/10 | Mining sector poised for growth
Last year’s record round of equity fundraisings by mining companies is expected to trigger a flow of new stock market listings in the sector during 2010. Indeed, as mining groups around the world ponder ways to raise cash in the wake of the economic trauma that began in the latter half of 2008, analysts reckon a new era of mine finance is about to emerge.
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11/02/10 | Oil & gas industry confidence improves
Confidence appears to be returning to the UK oil and gas industry following the double-whammy effects of low oil and gas prices and the freeze on access to capital that knocked the market off its feet in the earlier part of 2009. A survey by industry body Oil & Gas UK suggests that the sector is emerging from the recession with more optimism than at any other point in the past 12 months.
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