This comes weeks after the firm failed to find sources of funding and abandoned plans to raise as much as $150 million selling convertible debentures and to issue 20 million shares because its board considered the move too dilutive.
A source close to the company told Reuters that a sale of the company is "one of a number of options". He added that financing was still the preferred option, possibly through mezzanine debt or alternative sources of capital.
The firm has been looking for ways to pay for its exploration programmes in Britain's North Sea since early October when it said it was having difficulty closing a financing it had arranged with the Royal Bank of Scotland .
The report said the company had already received interest from BG Group, Talisman Energy and Petro Canada , whilst Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk is also considering a bid.
Morgan Stanley has been appointed to review the options of the company.
Oilexco declined to comment on the report.
(Reporting by Lorraine Turner, editing by Will Waterman) Keywords: OILEXCO/ (lorraine.turner@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 9597; Reuters Messaging: lorraine.turner.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
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