Riverstone Q1 NAV falls, but sees 'fertile' investment opportunities

Investment company Riverstone Energy said its first quarter net asset value fell to $1.33bn from $1.34bn at the end of 2015, but said the current oil price slump was creating a "fertile" environment for investment.

The energy-focused firm also booked an $8.2m pre-tax loss for the period and loss per share of 9.65 cents. Total invested capital in the quarter was $169m.

Despite the falling oil price, Riverstone said the current environment was providing “fertile ground for opportunistic acquisitions by Riverstone's 16 companies”.

“Since the start of the oil price decline in late 2014, REL has deployed $800m of capital, and we currently have approximately $300m in cash to fund other attractive opportunities. The portfolio is well capitalized, heavily weighted towards North American oil production and set to benefit from any market recovery," it said.