Xcite Energy Share News (XEL)

Xcite Energy, the North Sea focused oil explorer, saw its share price drop 5% in early trading following the announcement that it has agreed to hire a jack up rig to work in its Bentley field.Xcite has come under intense scrutiny by the UK government which is thought to be concerned over whether the firm has enough money to complete its planned drilling operations.This in turn has spooked investors with the stock down 75% since January.Although Xcite will be pleased to have its hands on the "Rowan Norway", it still needs to complete an audit and inspection of the rig.After inspection the plan is to re-equip the Rowan Norway to accept drilling and processing equipment before deployment in early February 2012. This date will be closely watched as the other concern analysts have about Xcite is that it may struggle to complete its drilling programme on schedule.At 8.35am the stock was trading at 89.53p, down 5.51%BS