The growth of a mighty oak

Acorn Oil & Gas secured $7.5m to fund pre-development work on the Cragganmore project and appraisal of the Mallory discovery, in July. Liz Bossley talks to Gordon Stein, Acorn's finance director, about the problems the new generation of innovative, small oil companies encounter in funding projects

THE UK'S Pilot industry/government think tank was created in 1998 to achieve a UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) production level of 3m barrels of oil equivalent a day beyond 2010. While Pilot has had some success in ensuring fallow acreage is either explored or relinquished by major oil companies, a new generation of small oil companies that could make the 2010 target a reality find it very difficult, sometimes impossible, to raise the finance for exploration projects. Acorn Oil & Gas has sidestepped this problem by re-engineering abandoned fields to squeeze out remaining proved or probable reserves. It also looks to identify 'neglected oil' in other UK fields and tries to find ways of unlock