Companies: FOGL   

Prospector Falkland Oil and Gas, which lost £938,000 last year, claims potential reserves of 60 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

AIM-quoted Falkland Oil, where RAB Capital is a key shareholder, has completed a two dimensional seismic survey of its 22,450 sq km licence areas in Britain's South Atlantic colony and, ahead of full evaluation, chairman Richard Liddell says indications are 'highly encouraging'. Liddell says the company, which had £14 million cash at its March year end, hopes to start drilling next year, hopeful of 'discovering a major new petroleum province in the region'.

Chief executive Tim Bushell, who joined in January from Paladin Resources, adds that Falkland Oil has mapped more than 100 prospects and leads, with 'at least ten each having the potential to hold more than one billion barrels'. The company has appointed specialist broker Stellar Energy Advisers to help farm-out a percentage of the project and its attendant costs to major oil companies and has extended the deadline for such a deal to the end of August.

At 113.5p, up 7.5p today and valuing the company at £104 million, the shares have fallen from February's 178p high, but are more than twice 2004's 53.5p low. They are a potentially interesting long term gamble.

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