Exploration company Petroceltic has reported a loss of $4.9m for the six months to the end of June. This compares to losses of $2.1m the same time last year and the increase was due to a fall in finance income of $2.4m.
The company raised $115m from a placing in April 2010 and said it had $108m of cash in the bank at the end of June and no debt.
Petroceltic chief executive Brian O'Cathain said that the company has seen some solid progress in the first half of 2010.
'We have put in place the capital and resources to exploit our world-class discovery in Algeria, and have made good progress in Italy and Tunisia, despite challenging circumstances,' he said.
He said the company remains focused on its 'valuable' Algerian discovery and it remains confident that the appraisal programme for the Ain Tsila gas condensate field will further derisk and demonstrate the value of this important asset. That programme is due to start next month.
