In September, Mermaid announced a joint venture deal that would combine the pipe-laying capabilities of both firms. The deal involved Mermaid gaining a $5 million half share in Clough's pipe-laying vessel through the issue of 6.5 million shares at 77 cents per share.

After positioning itself as an integrated oil and gas service company in the state's North-West, Mermaid expects to double its turnover to more than $50 million with earnings of around seven million dollars.

Speaking of Clough, the group is looking to raise around $35 million through a placement to institutional investors. The company said work at hand has risen from $800 million to more than one billion dollars. "The new opportunities were mostly in the oil and gas business in Central Asia, the sub-continent and Australia," managing director Dr Brian Hewitt said.

He added the capital raising was for working capital and maintaining a strong balance sheet. The institutional placement was made at 92c per share.