UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: Regal Petroleum In Ukraine Govt Talks

28th Jun 2010 16:00

Dow Jones smallcap news is on Twitter, allowing you to catch up on the news away from your desk. Go to http://twitter.com/DJ_UK_Smallcaps REGAL PETROLEUM PLC (RPT.LN), an oil and gas exploration and production group, said Monday it is in talks with the Ukrainian government over the legality of its operations in the country. The company said an order from the Minister of Environmental Protection dated March 30--but only received May 21--identified certain matters that needed clarifying in relation to Regal's compliance with Ukrainian legislation at its Mekhediviska Golotvshinska and Svyrydivske gas fields, and called for operations to be suspended while the matters were rectified. However Regal said it is now in talks with the parties and has been reassured that it doesn't have to suspend operations during such talks. At 1420 GMT, shares -9 pence, or 25%, at 27.5 pence. FALKLAND OIL & GAS LTD. (FOGL.LN), an oil and gas exploration company focused on areas around the Falkland Islands, said it doesn't know any reasons for the recent rise in its share price. The company said there have been some delays to the drilling of its Toroa prospect, but it expects to announce the preliminary results of the Toroa F61/5-1 well next week. At 1421 GMT, shares +16.5 pence, or 8.2%, at 217 pence. URS CORP. (URS), a U.S. engineering consultant, said it agreed to buy smaller U.K. peer SCOTT WILSON GROUP PLC (SWG.LN) for GBP161 million, in a deal which bolsters its presence in the U.K. and gives it footholds in new markets overseas. But the deal, which has the backing of both companies' boards, may yet be trumped by Denver, Colorado-based engineering services firm CH2M HILL Cos. Ltd., which said it is also considering a cash offer for Scott Wilson. At 1421 GMT, Scott Wilson shares +125.5 pence or more than doubled at 245 pence. SCOTTISH RESOURCES GROUP, a coal miner, said it is seeking to raise GBP25 million in an initial public offering in London to fund investment in new mining sites and its portfolio of land. CONNAUGHT PLC (CNT.LN), a support services firm, shares declined after the company late Friday warned profit will be hit by planned public spending cuts by the U.K's new coalition government. At 1422 GMT, shares -67 pence or 31% at 148 pence. THEO FENNELL PLC (TFL.LN), a jeweler, posted a far narrower fiscal-year pretax loss in the same year it carried out a restructuring of the business, and said the new fiscal year has started strongly. At 1423 GMT, shares +0.5 pence, or 1.3%, at 40.5 pence. ENCORE OIL PLC (EO.LN), an oil explorer, said it made a second discovery at the Catcher prospect in the North Sea. Encore said Catcher could contain as much as 300 barrels of oil in total. At 1423 GMT, shares +14 pence or 39% at 49.5 pence. MEARS GROUP PLC (MER.LN), a home maintenance company, reported continuing strong trading across all divisions despite the U.K. coalition government's recent spending cuts in its maiden Budget, and said it isn't experiencing any pressure on spending in social housing business. At 1423 GMT, shares +3 pence, or 1.2%, at 252 pence. TURBOTEC PRODUCTS PLC (TRBO.LN), a maker of heat exchangers, posted a 49% fall in fiscal year pretax profit after it experienced reduced demand for the past five quarters, and said most indicators show "little or slow" improvement for the rest of the calendar year. At 1424 GMT, shares flat at 33.5 pence. RAVEN RUSSIA LTD. (RUS.LN), a commercial real estate company, said it plans to move to the main market of the London stock exchange from its current home on the junior Alternative Investment Market. At 1424 GMT, shares +0.25 pence or 0.6% at 42.25 pence. FIBERWEB PLC (FWEB.LN), a fabrics maker, said it expects to beat market earnings expectations for 2010 due to a rise in sales volumes. At 1425 GMT, shares +2.25 pence or 4.2% at 56.25 pence. DOMINION PETROLEUM LTD. (DPL.LN), an oil and gas explorer, said independent estimates put the resource at its Alpha prospect offshore Tanzania at 134 million barrels of oil, after adjusting for exploration risk. At 1425 GMT, shares +0.22 pence or 4.3% at 5.35 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos -0.1% AIM +0.4% -By Rachael Gormley, Jason Douglas & Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9272; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 28, 2010 11:00 ET (15:00 GMT)