£400m bid to drill in oil field

OIL and gas explorer Hurricane Energy is hoping to raise £400m to develop one of the largest untapped oil fields in the UK.

The company is looking for around £231m in equity and the remainder in bonds.

Hurricane, listed on London’s junior market, has made discoveries near the Shetland Islands.

The money raised will be used to develop a system at the Lancaster site, which is expected to produce oil from 2019.

Shares will be placed a 32p each, a 6.6pc discount on the closing price of 37p yesterday, and the placing is expected to close today.

Energy investment fund Kerogen Capital, Hurricane’s largest shareholder, has indicated that it will buy around £27m of the shares.