I also took a small position and a 50% loss. The news was erroneous. Oh well, buyer beware with pinksheets. What I don't understand is why this POS is still trading?
CORRECTED - CORRECTED-U.S. TCW puts China oil
stake up for sale -source
Wed Jun 14, 2006 6:33 AM ET
Corrects name of company selling the stake in headline and text to Trust Company of the West instead of XCL. Adds comments from XCL
SINGAPORE, June 5 (Reuters) - U.S. investment firm Trust Company of the West (TCW) has put its stake in an offshore China oilfield up for sale to raise an estimated $200 million, a source close to the auction said on Monday.
The asset, formerly held by U.S.-based XCL Ltd., is a 24.5 percent stake in the Zhao Dong block, a shallow-water oilfield in northern China's Bohai Bay, the source told Reuters.
XCL Chief Executive Officer CEO David A. Melman said in a fax to Reuters the Zhao Dong stake "was taken by Trust Company of the West and other holders of XCL Ltd. debt in XCL-China Ltd., then a wholly owned subsidiary of XCL Ltd, in a bankruptcy confirmation plan in 2003."
U.S. producer Apache Corp. <APA.N> holds another 24.5 percent of the block, which could also be sold, said the source, who asked not to be identified. The remaining 51 percent in Zhao Dong is held by China National Petroleum Corp. through a unit known as CNODC.
The source estimated Zhao Dong field was currently producing more than 20,000 barrels per day, of which, about 5,500 bpd, or two million barrels a year, belongs to XCL.
Zhao Dong, operated by Apache, started production in 2003, according to Apache's Web site. Apache holds a production sharing contract of 20 years through 2023.
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060614:MTFH20190_2...