It’s been a while since we’ve had a new IPO of a large oil and gas company in the UK, so Ithaca Energy (ITH) caught my attention, especially as it is a company that I had followed previously when it was listed.

Oil has been showing signs of weakness in recent months after hitting highs of nearly $140/barrel – for Brent – earlier this year, and has suffered over concerns about the economic situation in many countries in the coming months.

Whilst I’m generally wary of investing in small oil and gas companies, occasionally one comes along that appears to be in the right place, at the right time, and with the right assets and management team.

San Leon Energy (SLE) has just announced a transaction which would give it a much more significant stake in the OML18 field in Nigeria, which constituted a reverse takeover and required an admission document to be published prior to trading in the shares recommencing.

Touchstone Exploration (TXP) seems to be suffering from rumours on a Telegram group that there are delays to its Cascadura gas asset reaching into production, and this has caused the share price to plummet, currently down over 11%.

Any disruption to production is obviously a big issue for oil producers, and even more so when a company only has a small number of operations and it causes a significant impact on output.

Finding junior mining companies that have the potential to go on to develop a large resource through to actual production, or an asset sale, is never easy and the reality is that most of these companies fail to ever achieve much other than burning through large amounts of cash over a period of years.

A couple of weeks back I wrote a piece here about how I was excited about the prospects of a small AIM oil company, Afentra (AET), where I hold a stake myself and which had just announced that it had potentially secured a stake in two blocks, subject to final due diligence. The company has now announced that it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with the vendor, Sonangol, and has released a lot more information on the finer details of the proposed transaction – including the fact that it is expected to be funded from existing cash balances plus debt, and with no equity dilution to existing holders in order to complete the deal.

At one time I quite liked the look of Hummingbird Resources (HUM) and its gold mining operations, but unfortunately, like so many AIM listed resource stocks, its potential looked better than what it hasactually turned out to be!

Over the weekend reports emerged in the Angolan press that its national oil company, Sonangol, had finally completed the bidding process for the licences that it was selling its stakes in, and that a small AIM company, Afentra (AET), had been successful in being selected for two of these blocks. I’ve been invested in Afentra for some time – as well as having covered it positively several times here going back to the days when it was called Sterling Energy, and like many others have been patiently waiting for some news whilst the shares remained suspended. Due to the size of any transaction resulting from its bids, it will constitute a reverse takeover and the shares were suspended accordingly, and will remain so until either a prospectus is published or it terminates its bids for the Sonangol assets.

EnQuest (ENQ) has just released its results for 2021 and the market didn’t seem to like them, judging by the reaction of the share price, which I find surprising as I think they actually made pretty good reading.

Kosmos Energy (KOS) is one of those companies that has never seemed to be very popular on the London market but it has performed extremely well as oil and gas prices have risen.

Advance Energy (ADV) is a company which I covered last summer and suggested that although it has a very chequered history, new assets and a completely different management team made it well worth a speculative buy with a drill to come.

These days there seem to be very few AIM oil or gas companies drilling wells targeting significant resources, and even fewer where the outcome is a success.

It looks as though Asiamet Resources (ARS) has finally landed the deal for the BKM asset that investors have been patiently waiting for, but so far the market seems unimpressed and the share price is trading lower than it was before the announcement.

Asiamet Resources (ARS) has been a very frustrating share to hold and in the past I have been less than impressed with the management, especially when it comes to the Aeturnum debacle at the start of this year.

Sometimes I look at a company and think its shares are just too cheap at the current market cap and is pretty much being priced to fail, yet in some cases there certainly doesn’t appear to be anything fundamentally wrong that suggests that to be the situation.

If you want to invest in London listed precious metals producers your choice of shares is fairly limited, and has become even more so in recent years following takeovers of a couple of the popular miners.

Following a strong upwards move, platinum group metals have taken a bit of a dip recently but are still at levels that should generate plenty of free cash flow for producers, and the share price weakness that some of those have shown the past couple of weeks could present a buying opportunity.

The name Andalas Energy will be enough to send a shiver down the spine of investors who had high hopes for the company, before getting shafted, but the new company that is has evolved into, Advance Energy (ADV), looks very different.

Kosmos Energy (KOS) has to be one of the most under-rated oil companies listed in the UK, but I think that people that overlook it in favour of some of the more popular producers are wrong to do so.

I3 Energy (I3E) has been a great example of why past failure doesn’t necessarily point to a continuation of that in the future – in the same way that past success doesn’t mean that a company or management team will manage the same again.

Oil has been on a bit of a charge recently and there aren’t any real signs of that strength coming to an end anytime soon, but quite a few of the producers haven’t responded as well as you would expect, in terms of share price movement.

Whilst I mostly stick to trading and investing in companies that are listed in the UK, in recent times I have started to look elsewhere for potential precious metal producers which look interesting.

Touchstone Exploration (TXP) has fallen out of favour with investors in recent days following testing news at one of its wells which the market took badly and caused the share price to drop by more than 30%.

The oil and gas market is quite hard to read at the moment, particularly when it comes to individual companies which are producing, as some have seen large share price rises whilst others barely seem to have moved despite the fundamentals appearing to be strong.

I recently wrote a piece on. ShareProphets suggesting that Asiamet Resources (ARS) would be carrying out a placing within the next few weeks.

Pharos Energy (PHAR) has been one of the worst stocks that I’ve been invested in – not necessarily in terms of the share price performance, although that has also been awful, but more the way the company has been managed and the amount of money that I’ve seen them waste over the years.

When it comes to investing, I’ve always gone on the basis that you should always react to new information, not necessarily in terms of buying or selling, but certainly in assessing upside potential and risks – even when that emerges soon after you’ve made a decision as to whether or not a company is worthy of investment.

Asiamet Resources (ARS) is a company that I’ve been a fan of based upon its assets, which look more attractive than ever at current copper prices, but currently I have some concerns as to where its share price might be heading shorter term.

You might have noticed that recently I have started covering a few companies in the oil and gas sector as being worthy of a long term investment, and in case you are wondering if I’m mad to be doing so given what is going on in the world, I believe that it is the right time in the cycle to start positioning again.

People often try to tell me that it isn’t possible to make money by actually investing in AIM oil and gas companies and that they are only worth trading, but I would have to disagree based on some of those that I’ve picked out over the years as having long term potential.

As any regular readers here will know, I’ve been a fan of Serica Energy (SQZ) for many years and during that time have watched it grow into a mid-tier oil and gas producer, and I believe that now is the time to consider investing in the company once again.

These days I generally tend to avoid taking risks on oil exploration drills, but on occasions I still can’t resist taking a position, of a size that reflects that risk, and when the drill looks particularly interesting.

Back in August I wrote about Shanta Gold (SHG) as being worth a look at around the 16p level, and with a chance of a good profit over the coming months.

Greatland Gold (GGP) is a company that I’ll happily admit to having been wrong about, as were many others, and a lot has changed since I last looked at it around the time that Newmont Mining had decided to terminate its involvement. At the time, I expected that Greatland would go the way of so many other small mining companies that promised a lot and then failed to deliver, given that Newmont had decided not to exercise an option to partake in a joint venture on its Ernest Giles gold project in Australia. At the time it was extremely early days with Havieron licence area, which is now the main focus of attention and which has turned the company around…

Gold is all the rage at the moment and looks set to remain strong, even if we do see some pullbacks or it not advancing to the price levels that some are predicting. So, it is no surprise that there is so much focus at the moment on any company operating in the gold sector, either producing or even just early stage explorers. With such a big recent rise in the gold price, many miners have followed it upwards, so if you are only just getting into gold now, the trick is to try and find value, and if something does look cheap, to understand why it might be trading at a lower market cap than you would expect. One ShareProphets reader has recently asked me to take a look at Tanzanian gold producer Shanta Gold (SHG), as to him it seemed relatively cheap and he wondered if there was a good reason for it being so…

When it comes to new technology that is yet to become common place, being amongst the first to get involved doesn’t necessarily guarantee success, especially for early investors in smaller companies.

Just because a company has traded at much higher share price levels it doesn’t mean that it will do so again, and that is particularly true of oil companies at the moment.

So far Asiamet Resources (ARS) has been fairly typical of many small AIM resource stocks, in that it has largely failed to live up to expectations and has had to keep raising money at ever-lower prices over a number of years.

I3 Energy (I3E) was one of the most popular oil shares on AIM last summer and autumn, but the situation is very different now after a number of failures operationally.

Looking at the chart for Pharos Energy (PHAR) I wouldn’t blame you for coming to the conclusion that it is best avoided as it has been on a steady downwards trajectory for several years and with little sign of any relief.

Rockhopper Exploration (RKH) was one of the most popular shares on the AIM market at one time, but in recent years it has fallen totally out of favour and its share price has plummeted. It is nearly a decade since this oil explorer first announced a big discovery at its Sea Lion prospect in the North Falkland basin and its share price rocketed, hitting highs of in excess of 550p per share and a market cap in the hundreds of millions...

The share price of SolGold (SOLG) has taken a hit in recent months as a result of weak copper prices and political unrest in Ecuador, where its largest project is located, but if you are looking for an early stage mining company that has huge potential, then this could have presented a buying opportunity.

I3 Energy (I3E) is a company which I had high hopes for and have continued to keep the faith with despite being far from happy with the way that the board of directors has handled things during the current drilling campaign. Having screwed up the first Liberator pilot well, which was supposed to have determined the location for a first production well next year on its North Sea licence, and then operationally redeemed itself to some extent by striking oil during an appraisal of its nearby Serenity licence area, and proving that to be an extension of the adjacent Tain field, all eyes have been on the second Liberator pilot drill...

Investing in any small mining company usually carries a large risk and far more fail than ever actually succeed and make it into profitable production, but there are some that appear to have more chance of making a go of it than others...

I3 Energy (I3E) has certainly had its share of ups and downs during its current drilling campaign, but I can still see the potential for shares in this to come good.

Eurasia Mining (EUA) is a company that I’ve been following for the past five years or so, but during that time, other than the occasional spike, the share price has done very little, and up until a few days ago you could have bought for around the same price as when I first covered it. The share price has more than tripled in the last few days though, to a current level of around 1.9p, following news that the company has engaged two large banks to help it assess the possibility of selling its assets and basically becoming a cash shell under AIM Rule 15...

Taking risks on exploration drills is generally a mugs game and a good way to lose money quickly, but just very so often if you choose carefully, it can really pay off. That was definitely the case with Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas (ECO) this morning when it announced a “major oil discovery” at the Orinduik block in offshore Guyana, when the Jethro-1 drill found 55 meters of net high quality oil pay in the lower tertiary sandstones...

Private investors seem to love the boom or bust scenario that applies to many of the exploration drills for oil and gas, but is it really worth taking the risk on these types of plays?

I3 Energy (I3E) has had a bit of a bumpy ride of late, largely thanks to some untrue rumours which were being spread by certain individuals on social media, but the uncertainty has now been resolved following the latest news from the company...

For junior resource companies which aren’t actually producing anything yet, larger movements in the share price are usually dictated by newsflow relating to the operational side of things, rather than by fluctuations in commodity prices. Jersey Oil and Gas (JOG) has gone through a period where not a lot has been happening drilling-wise, and as a result it has seen its share price bouncing around within a fairly tight range for this sort of stock...

Rockhopper Exploration (RKH) was one of the darlings of AIM back in 2010/11 and was a big hit with investors when it first discovered and appraised the Sealion field in the Falklands, but since then interest has waned.

I’m a big fan of Aston Martin cars and it is one of the most famous brands from the UK, but I can’t see myself rushing to buy shares when the IPO takes place in early October. More details on exactly how the floatation will be structured should become available when the car maker publishes a prospectus around September 20, but it is expected that it will be seeking a valuation of around £5 billion.

I’ve been bearish on Canadian Overseas Petroleum (COPL) for some time now, and recent developments have done nothing to make me change my stance on the company, particularly with regard to its operations in Nigeria.

These days it often seems to be the case that if you are interested in a new IPO, it is better to wait until that company has listed and the dust has settled, as often you will get a chance to buy in cheaper than those taking part in the initial fundraise. Block Energy (BLOE) looks to be one such outfit and the timing of its listing looks good, with the oil sector showing strength, plus there is plenty of potential from gas as well.

Given what is going on in the markets and world in general at the moment, it would seem silly not to have gold featuring somewhere in your portfolio.

Jersey Oil and Gas (JOG) hasn’t had much luck in the past, having managed to get a decent sized field into production it was subsequently hammered by the collapse in the oil price.

Cairn Energy (CNE) is one of a number of oil producers which look to be unloved by the market currently, but I would expect that to change in the future. In recent years the company has had impressive amounts of reserves on its book, but has now moved to the stage where it is producing from several of those fields, and with more to come in the near future.

The typical life cycle of a small mining company from initial discovery of a resource through to eventual production tends to feature lots of peaks and troughs along the way as various stages are reached.

Whilst many private investors go chasing rainbows and hoping for one of their oil and gas exploration plays to hit black gold, there are actually a number of AIM listed outfits which are already producing, yet don’t seem to be as popular as they are unlikely to generate large share price rises overnight.

Ophir Energy (OPHR) has made far slower progress than many could have imagined a few years back, but the oil and gas fields which attracted many in the first place are still there, and the chances of them being developed still look very good.

Copper has been showing some signs of weakness in the past week or so following an unstoppable rise from around $2/lb during the early part of 2016, and despite the pullback it is still trading much higher, at around $2.62/lb, as I write this piece.

Orosur Mining (OMI) remains one of my favourites amongst the small gold miners listed on AIM, and I now hold shares in the company myself, hopefully awaiting a turnaround in the price of gold.

On Plexus Holdings (POS) announcing the raising of $5 million of new equity in April, I questioned whether it was to fast track its entry into the Russian and other markets or to keep the lights on – see HERE. We now further have an answer – with the company announcing a conditional (including on 28th June General Meeting approval) gross £6 million placing including to “strengthen Plexus' balance sheet during the current down cycle”...