Tom Cross says he is on the verge of “creating the next Dana Petroleum” after the value of his new firm topped quarter of a billion dollars yesterday.
The millionaire oil boss – who built up and sold Dana for £1.7billion in 2010 – became chairman of Parkmead later that year.
From having no oil and gas assets in November 2011, the firm has built up a major presence in the North Sea.
And yesterday, as the firm announced that it had won a further five blocks in the southern North Sea, its value rose above $250million (£153million) for the first time.
“It is astonishing what we have achieved in just two years,” Mr Cross said.
“To be worth quarter of a billion dollars already, when we started just two years ago, is incredible.
“We are well on our way to creating the next Dana.”
Parkmead has been provisionally awarded five additional UK blocks, through two new licences, in the second tranche of awards under the 27th Licensing Round.
This follows on from Parkmead securing six new licences, covering a total of 25 offshore blocks in the first tranche.
The latest awards take Parkmead’s total number of oil and gas blocks across the UK and the Netherlands to 53, with 39 of these operated by the group.
“We are delighted with these new licence awards, which increase Parkmead’s total number of blocks to 53,” Mr Cross said.
“The new blocks provide an excellent addition to our Southern Gas Basin portfolio, where Parkmead already has the Platypus gas field and recently made an important gas discovery with the Pharos exploration well.
“Parkmead’s success, with a total award of 30 blocks across the UK’s 27th Licensing Round, is a direct result of the skills, experience and strong track record of the Parkmead team.”
Mr Cross believes the company’s focus on the UK – and the southern North Sea in particular – is paying dividends.
“When I was at Dana, we were operating in nine or 10 different countries.
“But here we have focused on the UK North Sea and the Netherlands, and I think that is why we are making so much progress.
“We are excited about the potential in the southern North Sea. The first thing we did was get involved with Platypus, which we discovered at Dana.
“And we had the Pharos discovery a few weeks ago. We are very pleased with what is going on there, and there is quite a lot to go after.”
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