The sometimes nail-biting growth of independent oil and gas exploration companies was illustrated this week with the entry onto the London Stock Exchange (LSE) of Gulf Keystone Petroleum, led by City firm Memery Crystal, just months after the company successfully defeated a $1.6bn claim by Excalibur Ventures in one of the biggest cases of 2013.
Formerly AIM-listed Gulf Keystone, which is focused on exploration in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, had announced production of 10,000 barrels a day from its Shaikan facility and a target of 40,000 barrels in 2014 from a second facility expected to begin production in the second quarter, but faced a possible cash shortfall of around $20m by the end of May.
