Bridge Energy Joins AIM with a View to Raise Funds

UK-Norwegian oil and gas junior Bridge Energy confirmed Thursday that its shares have been admitted to trading on London's Alternative Investment Market.

Although Bridge has not yet raised any money on AIM, the company wants to the opportunity to do so if certain of its projects on the UK and Norwegian continental shelves are successful in the near future. Bridge already had its stock listed in Oslo, Norway, but AIM is a very popular market among UK-based investors in resources stocks – including specialist fund managers as well as retail investors.

Speaking to Rigzone, Bridge CEO Tom Reynolds said the firm was fully funded for its near-term program and that allowing the stock to trade in London was preparation for the capital-intensive phase of the business' growth.

"We're working on a lot of things that may result in the business needing to grow the capital available to it, so this is very much in preparation of our future requirements. We can talk to a much deeper pool of capital and much wider group of investors," said Reynolds.

Reynolds added that during the next 12 to 24 months he sees a number of triggers occurring that would pave the way for Bridge to raise additional funds.

In the near term, Bridge is currently involved in the drilling of three wells, and a new well on its PL457 license in the Norwegian North Sea is planned for mid-October. The company and its partners have already made discoveries here and are currently looking to prove these before deciding on moving to a field development phase.

"So between now and the end of the year we are looking at some really high-potential results from some very interesting wells," said Reynolds.

A former engineer, Jon is an award-winning editor who has covered the technology, engineering and energy sectors since the mid-1990s. Email Jon at jmainwaring@rigzone.com.

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