Funding for oil and gas sector to suffer if brent prices keep falling
LONDON’S mid-market oil and gas sector raised almost $1bn (£626m) last year, but law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has warned that this level of fundraising is unlikely to continue.
BLP analysed all oil and gas fundraisings announced on Aim and the main market of the London Stock Exchange, greater than £1m and excluding the FTSE 100, between 1 October 2013 and the end of September 2014. It found that the average amount raised was $24m, broadly in line with the London market generally. African projects received around $453.5m, despite accounting for only a quarter of deals completed.
Adam Dann, energy and infrastructure partner at BLP, commented: “With demand for oil and gas rising more slowly than anticipated, downward pressure on oil price has reduced appetite for equity.”