The oil exploration sector is rife with takeovers and speculation at the moment, and traders are currently hearing of another possible bid, Royal Dutch Shell for Heritage Oil.
Heritage shares have jumped 29p to 469p on the tale, valuing the company at about £1.3bn. The wrinkle here is that Heritage has already agreed to a merger with Turkey's Genel Energy, so Shell would be breaking up that little party if it is really interested. Shell, meanwhile, has seen its A shares slip 3p to £14.62.
Another report had BP involved in a possible deal, with a suggestion it was interested in Dana Petroleum. BP is 2.1p better at 473.7p, while Dana - recently said to be in the sights of Germany's RWE - has climbed 34p to £13.34.
While these have not been confirmed, there have been some concrete developments in the sector. Emerald Energy, down 1.5p to 630.5p today on profit taking, has admitted to a bid approach, while British Gas owner Centrica, up 0.75p to 225p, has offered 845p a share for Venture Production, down 3.5p at 825p, and China's Sinopec recently agreed to buy Swiss group Addax Petroleum.
