SHARES in Bowleven have risen seven per after the Crown Ocean Capital P1 investment firm revealed it had put itself in position to play a significant role in the future of the Edinburgh-based oil and gas firm.

Crown Ocean Capital P1 disclosed that it had agreed an equity swap which left it with the ability to control 12.2 per cent of the voting rights attached to shares in Bowleven.

The firm made the disclosure in a regulatory filing notifying a major interest in Bowleven’s shares.

It had control over 6.84 per cent of the voting rights in Bowleven before agreeing the swap on 16 September.

Crown Ocean Capital is known as an activist investor. It is run by Christian Petersmann and Konstantin Stoyanov, who could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Bowleven, which is focused on Cameroon in West Africa, made no comment on Crown Ocean Capital’s stake building.

The latest transaction was announced weeks after Bowleven said that it would complete a $10m (£8m) share buy back.

The company is likely to take some encouragement from the fact an investor appears to be showing interest in its exploration-lead strategy.

Bowleven completed a $250m stake sale in Cameroon last year, which left it with plenty of cash in the bank as oil and gas firms grappled with the challenges posed by the crude price slump.

Shares in Bowleven closed up 1.75p at 26p on the Aim market.