Small Aim companies in oil and gas look volatile and uncertain

The Debate

This week's panel discusses oil company prospects in a climate of spiralling prices

With the vast majority of economic debate covering the oil price to some extent, this week's Conjecture looks at how well the sector's companies have fared against a background of spiralling oil prices. In addition to the giants of the sector such as BP and Shell, the debate also covered some of the smaller exploration companies, many of which are listed on Aim in the UK. Present at the debate were Mervyn Douglas, manager of the L&G Growth Trust, and Charles Whall, oil and gas analyst at Newton Investment Management. What have been the trends in the energy market over the last 12 months...