One of the day's biggest risers is oil and gas explorer Rialto Energy.
The company has jumped 27% to 4.4p after it announced a partnership with oil trader Vitol to develop the company's interests in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. Under the terms of the deal, Vitol will take a 20% interest in the Ghana operation in exchange for a $7.7m facility to meet drilling obligations. Vitol will also supply $50m of capital and take a 65% in Rialto Energy (Côte d'Ivoire). Rialto said:
The deal means Rialto forms a strategic partnership with a company with substantial financial and technical ability and it also enables Rialto to retain its exposure to the high impact Starfish-1 well in Ghana that is expected to spud in June 2013 according to the operator Ophir.
Investec analysts said:
The proposed deals, while dilutive, will importantly remove some of the uncertainty that has hung over the stock since a disappointing appraisal campaign at Gazelle (Cote d'Ivoire) last year. In addition the entry of Vitol reinforces the potential of both blocks, while also providing the weight of a name that can possibly advance commercialisation options in the block.
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