Rockhopper leaps after its oil find in Falklands removes doubt

Shares in Rockhopper jumped by 11 per cent yesterday as a promising find helped the company looking for oil off the Falkland Islands to remove any lingering doubts among its sceptical shareholders.

Rockhopper, which is named after a penguin native to the Falklands, said drilling in the North Basin had found oil or gas in all four of its key fields.

Rockhopper had a shaky start when it began exploring the four fields, which are named Sea Lion, Casper, Casper South and Beverley, but prospects have improved.

Investors sent Rockhopper's shares up by 27.75p, or 11 per cent, to 268.5p as the company's latest find appeared to confirm its prospects.

Keith Morris, an analyst at Evolution, said: "We increase our target price to 540p per share from 450p on the positive well result."