SHARES in North Sea-focused Valiant Petroleum surged 7% yesterday amid speculation it could get swept up in the expected round of consolidation in the area.

Cairn Energy's £414m bid for Nautical Petroleum encouraged expectations that other independents would attract takeover interest as firms look to add scale in the region.

A number of sizeable operators including Centrica Energy and Enquest have highlighted their faith in the North Sea's potential and demonstrated an appetite for deals.

Aim-listed Valiant announced yesterday that it had started drilling a well on the Tryfan prospect in the Northern North Sea.

Shares in Valiant closed up 25p at 410p.