A North Sea oil explorer is reportedly preparing a stock market floatation with a market capitalisation of more than £350million.
Hurricane Energy has appointed a stockbroker and intends to be a publicly-listed company this summer, say reports.
The firm – which is based in Surrey but has an office in Aberdeen – plans to raise at least £20million, following £31.4million fundraising as part of a pre-initial public offering this year.
Hurricane, which is thought to be targeting a place on the Alternative Investment Market, specialises in hard-to-reach oil reserves considered uneconomic by larger operators.
The firm, founded by Bob Trice in 2005, said it controls an estimated 450million barrels of contingent resources west of Shetland, all held in fractured basement reservoirs.
Its six prospects are close to BP’s Schiehallion field, with the Lancaster field – believed to hold more than 200million barrels of oil – on course to be sanctioned at the end of 2015.