LOSSES have widened at Independent Oil and Gas as the group warned it may have to cut jobs in order to reduce financing requirements.

The exploration company made an interim pre-tax loss of £1.4 million in the six months to the end of June, up from £1m last year.

Independent said cash flow forecasts through to December 2018 indicated that it will need additional funding to enable it to meet future liabilities. But the board added that it was satisfied it would have sufficient resources from existing cash and debt facilities, and the likelihood it could raise funding from new and current investors, or convert credit to equity.

“Additionally, the group can cut discretionary expenditure and reduce headcount to reduce financing requirements further,” said the board.

The company generated no revenue in the period, but interim executive chairman Mark Routh said excellent progress had been made in realising the potential of hub including Blythe and Harvey.

The period also saw Independent acquire the strategic Thames pipeline, which will give it a fully-owned export route in the Southern North Sea.

The group has five assets in the area, with further appraisal upside which, management believe could lift the total to more than half a trillion cubic feet of gas.