Dana Petroleum, the North Sea oil explorer and producer, will spend £235m of its own cash to develop and explore its oil and gas fields this year, after finishing 2008 with an oil-price-boosted jump in profits.

Dana, one of the first junior oil companies to kick off consolidation of the North Sea industry when it agreed to buy Bow Valley Energy for $177m (£125m) in February, said it was still on the prowl. “Dana will focus further on M&A opportunities, continuing to seek out good value opportunities in both the exploration and production arenas,” it said.