Aurelian Oil & Gas (LON:AUL, 52p, ▲ 0.48%) provided an operational and corporate update. Highlights: First Siekierki South-West well, Krzesinki-1, spudded on 24th June 2011; Target depth of 4,150 metres expected to be reached in early Q4 2011; Targeting mid case of 44bcf net to Aurelian; Well on trend with conventional producing fields and at present horizontal drilling and fraccing are not planned; Completion of disposal of Romanian non-core interests generates initial payment of EUR6.85 million plus future upside potential; Consideration made up of EUR6.85 million initial proceeds, plus future potential payments depending on on-going exploration success of Aurelian Oil & Gas Romania SRL; Deal structure also adjusts up and down depending on future gas pri ces and final production achieved from the Bilca and Climauti Gas Project Areas; and disposal allows Aurelian's resources to be redirected towards Romanian Carpathian Thrust Fold Belt Core Area. Exillon Energy (LON:EXI, 400.2p, ▲ 1.55%) announced the preliminary results from Exploration Well 4 (EWS-10274). Exploration Well 4 was designed to test an area between the EWS I and EWS II fields. Preliminary results of wire line logging confirmed the presence of 6.7 meters of effective net oil pay in an area that has not been previously studied. These results have expanded the management's understanding of the outline of the EWS fields in a manner which may support further reserve growth. The well encountered the Jurassic reservoir at 1,883 meters, and is currently being drilled deeper to assess the potential for further oil pay within the Pre Jurassic. Testing of the well is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2012. New World Oil & Gas (LON:NEW, 6.5p, ▲ 1.96%) announced that, subject to the passing of certain resolutions at the Company's AGM to be held later today and admission of the new shares to trading on AIM, has raised GBP3 million before expenses via a placing of 50,000,000 new ordinary shares of no par value (the 'Placing' or 'Placing Shares', as appropriate) at a price of 6 pence per Placing Share. It is intended that the funds raised will be used to invest in and advance additional oil and gas projects, to build a portfolio of assets which will include New World's first project, the Blue Creek Project in the Peten Basin in NW Belize. Quadrise Fuels (LON:QFI, 4.38p, ► 0.0%) provided a progress update on its key programmes for the commercialisation of MSAR(R) emulsion fuel as a low cost replacement for conventional fuel oil in refining operations, steam and power generation and the international marine bunker fuel market. In the marine fuels market, the joint development programme (involving Quadrise, A.P.Moller-Maersk and AkzoNobel) is moving to the commercial test phase. A key feature of the programme is the production of a stable emulsion fuel manufactured from different oil refinery heavy residues, with fuel properties that substantially eliminate the need for any marine engine modifications. A number of extensive land-based marine engine tests have been completed, with final testing s cheduled to be concluded in the coming months. Commercial negotiations are near completion with European oil refiners for the installation of manufacturing facilities to produce Marine MSAR(R) for a sea-based trial on a designated 105,000 ton container vessel during the second half of 2011. On 11 February 2011, Quadrise announced a Royalty Agreement with A.P.Moller-Maersk. This establishes the commercial basis for future conversion to Marine MSAR(R) across their container fleet with implementation expected to commence in 2012, subject to successful sea trials. In Singapore, through a joint coordinated programme with Powerseraya the preliminary scoping of candidate refineries in the region has been completed and confirms a number of viable possibilities. Discussions with several oil majors are now in progress, with a view to undertaking a commercial demonstration prior to commencing term fuel supply. In Saudi Arabia, the discussions on the proposed refinery based installation of a pilot 'proving' plant are well advanced. The next step will be the execution of the final form contracts. This will be followed by engineering designs for plant installations within selected refineries, with the target of producing MSAR(R) fuel during 2012. In Mexico, scoping studies have been completed on a major PEMEX refinery to demonstrate the benefits of MSAR(R) implementation. Commercial agreements are in the final legal review process, in preparation for execution. These include a defined programme to prepare the site and facilities for the installation of an MSAR(R) manufacturing plant for 'proving trials'. On success, this will lead to commercial production for a number of applications. Finally, Quadrise is placing an order with Akzo Nobel for the first commercial scale, 1000 ton per day, MSAR(R) Manufacturing Unit. Specifications have been finalised and fabrication is expected to start early next month following final agreement on commercial terms. Hunting Plc (LON:HTG, 241p, ▲ 2.56%) Hunting’s closing H1 trading statement read positively. "Since the start of 2011, the business environment for oil services and products has seen an increase in momentum with oil prices remaining near US$100 per barrel and rig counts increasing over 8% as we reach the halfway point. Activity is recommencing in the Gulf of Mexico, which will see new orders being placed, while our European businesses remain resilient despite the increase in taxation on North Sea activities. With the momentum seen during H1 2011, the Board remains confident of trading in line with its expectations for the year as a whole.” Following receipt of the £84.5M from the Gibson Energy Warrant redemption, the company continues to be well capitalised with a strong balance sheet and net cash of approximately £280M. The Group continues to assess a number of acquisition opportunities." Hunting has a strong competitive position owing to its product focus and global footprint. The group is a cyclical play on oil and particularly gas activity especially in the US. Our DCF valuation is not unattractive and we believe the shares are likely to outperform other UK oilfield sector stocks given the relatively favourable risk/reward profile from a geopolitical perspective.

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