BP (LON:BP) has signed four new coalbed methane (CBM) production sharing contracts (PSCs) in the Barito basin of South Kalimantan, Indonesia, with the government.
Centrica (LON:CNA) announced that its North American subsidiary, Direct Energy, has acquired further natural gas assets located in the Wildcat Hills region of Alberta, from Shell Canada Energy for C$47m (£30m) in cash.
Old Mutual (LON:OML) announced that the Maryland Insurance Administration has approved the acquisition of OM Financial Life Insurance Company by Harbinger Group Inc.
3i (LON:III) issued an update ahead of its full year report for the 12 months ending 31 March 2011. The company said that overall, the private equity portfolio has performed well. There have, however, been “marked regional differences”, with strong growth in Northern Europe counterbalanced by weaker performance from UK companies.
Bahamas Petroleum Co PLC (LON:BPC) said it is awarding a contract to CGGVeritas to carry out a minimum of 1,500 square kilometres 3D seismic survey across its Southern licence area.
Minera IRL (LON:MIRL, CVE:IRL) is well positioned to advance its two mine development projects as well as unlocking more value from focused exploration, chairman Courtney Chamberlain said. In this morning’s year-end results, for the twelve months ended 31 December 2010, the AIM-listed gold company upped revenues by 29 percent to US$41.1 million. It sold 33,240 ounces of gold at US$1,232 each (average realised gold price), which represents a 24.7 percent improvement from US$988 an ounce over the previous year.
Coal of Africa (LON:CZA) gave the details of a boardroom shuffle this morning, as part of broader organisational changes to help it transform it into a fully-fledged operating coal miner. It has hired Wayne Koonin as its new finance director to replace current finance director Blair Sergeant, who is also managing director of Lemur Resources – an associate, in which CoAL is a major investor.
Bowleven (LON:BLVN) has extended its option agreement with Vitol E&P Limited over the Etinde Permit (Etinde) in exchange for 50 percent funding of a seismic programme over the IE and IF fields.
Kazakhstan-focused Max Petroleum PLC (LON:MXP) said it found high-quality oil while drilling the ASK-1 exploration well on the Asanketken prospect in Block E, and it has contracted further rigs to speed up exploration of the block.
Pursuit Dynamics (LON:PDX) has secured a contract to supply a PDX reactor system to a major European food manufacturer. The client company, which makes branded and white label ambient food, soups, sauces and frozen products, will use the system in multiple product lines.
Condor Resources (LON:CNR) chairman Mark Child told investors that the Andrea Vein on the El Rodeo concession could have JORC resources on a par with the largest veins at the nearby La India project.
North River Resources (LON:NRRP) is nearing the start of exploration at its nuclear fuels interests in Namibia, while underground drilling at the Namib mine has begun. North River has completed legal due diligence on Extract Resources' (ASX:EXT, TSE:EXT) subsidiary Brandberg Energy, which owns nuclear fuels licences EPL 3327 and EPL 3328, and the approval processes in Namibia are underway.
Shares in Physiomics PLC (LON:PYC) shot up today after the company announced positive results of a pre-clinical in-vivo study into breast cancer based on Physiomics’ ‘Virtual Tumour’ model predictions.
Broker Fox-Davies Capital is maintaining its ‘buy’ recommendation on Hambledon Mining (LON:HMB) following the latest drill results and news that the group’s AGM has approved a £9 million cash call announced in last month.