Pan Andean increases profits to £1.2m

Pan Andean, the Irish-based oil and gas company, has increased profits from £360,000 (€526,000) to £1.2m (€1.75m).

Operations in the US and Bolivia have been used to increase exploration, with four wells in the US, three of which have become producers.

Pan Andean also revealed it is examining two strategic acquisitions outside of the Americas.

"Our first priority is to continue to develop our existing assets, particularly the potential of our onshore Texas blocks," said John Teeling, chairman.

"Two significant projects are currently being evaluated," he said. The first is an existing producer with exploration potential in Europe, the second an exploration joint venture in the Middle East.

"Pan Andean is a good company with good prospects. We need to grow but we want to be sure that the direction we take does not fritter away the hard won assets," said Mr Teeling.