North Sea oil and gas exploration and production company Bridge Energy said yesterday it was targeting a UK stock market listing on September 27.
Bridge, whose shares already trade in Norway, added that it expected to have a market capitalisation of about £78million on its admission to the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) in London.
Chief executive Tom Reynolds said: “I am pleased to announce the intended admission for trading of Bridge’s shares to Aim.
“Taking account of our diverse portfolio, including both our producing and development assets, and now that we are testing the potential from our high-impact exploration assets, we feel that this is the right time.”
Mr Reynolds said the move would support the next stage in Bridge’s development, adding: “We believe that the admission will be an important step in the group’s continued growth, which should provide additional liquidity and broader access to capital. It should also provide increased liquidity for our existing shareholders through the ability to buy and sell ordinary shares to a broader investor base.”
Bridge, with offices in Aberdeen and Oslo, was formed through the March 2010 merger of Norwegian company Bridge Energy and UK firm Silverstone Energy.
It is active in both the UK and Norway, with plans to increase production and reserves through a balanced programme of acquisition, exploration and development using its existing portfolio as a foundation.
In the UK North Sea, the group has production from the Victoria field in the southern gas basin, Duart field (central) and – subject to completion – Boa field (northern).
It also holds operating and non-operating interests in several discoveries planned for development between 2014 and 2017.
Based on its current producing and development portfolio, Bridge said it had the opportunity to increase its production from 1,810 to around 10,000 barrels of oil per day by the end of 2016.
It added: “These developments are subject to availability of funding, access to infrastructure, regulatory and partner approvals, and the availability from time to time of operational resource capacity.”
The firm’s exploration programme includes three exploration wells in the Norway and one in the UK before the end of this year. It also has a target for the future to participate in four to five exploration wells annually.