STOCK WATCH

OIL and gas firm Clontarf Energy saw its value more than double yesterday after it was awarded a huge area of undrilled deep sea to explore in Guinea.

The firm won a bid for more than 3,100 square miles, with a production royalty of 13pc on the first 100,000 barrels of oil produced a day, and 16pc on anything over. Last month, it reported an operating loss of £200,000 for 2016, down from £205,142 the previous year. Shares rose 114.7pc, or 0.4p, to 0.73p, an all-time high.