Cairn warms to Morocco

Cairn Energy has paid $60m (£38m) for a 50 per cent stake in an oil exploration block off the coast of Morocco.

The oil and gas explorer, which has been focused on Greenland for the past two years, also reported a $50m loss for the first half of this year, down from $141m.

The chief executive, Simon Thomson, said: "Cairn is actively rebalancing its portfolio to deliver exploration growth."