Craven set for market return with Falcon float

John Craven, the serial energy entrepreneur who recently sold East Africa-focused Cove Energy to Thailand's PTT for more than £1bn, is due to make another appearance on the UK stock market with the listing of Falcon Oil & Gas.

The Dublin-headquartered, Toronto-listed explorer with operations in Australia, South Africa and Hungary hired 63-year old Mr Craven to be its non-executive chairman in September 2011.

Yesterday, the company announced plans to seek additional listings on London's AIM market and the ESM market of the Irish Stock Exchange.

The flotation would raise £16.9m through the issue of 120.3 million new shares at 14p each, with dealings set to commence on 28 March.

But Falcon is only one of several projects involving Mr Craven, a 35-year veteran of the oil industry.

He was one of the main players behind last year's float of Fastnet Oil & Gas, the AIM-listed company exploring for oil and gas off the Irish coast, and is also heavily involved in Discover Exploration, a private explorer focused in offshore Mozambique.