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TOMCO ENERGY Relisting//Open Offer
The information on this site about Tomco Energy is now out of date.
See new website www.tomcoenergy.com for the latest presentation. Tomco shares are due to be relisted on Tuesday 31st May 2011, subject to the prior raising of £3.5m in a pre IPO.
Avenue hold 12M Tomco Energy shares
See also web site www.redleaf.com
If you are interested in the very exciting development of Oil Shale in the US then you will want to read every page of the new TOMCO ENERGY web site
Tomco Energy are currently having a placing at 3p per share. Open offer closes 19th May. Depending on your location it may not be possible to subscribe. See www.tomcoenergy.com for detailed information about the open offer / placing
s
stephanie.speculator@gmail.com
Monday 10th January 2011
TOMCO ENERGY PLC
("TomCo" or "the Company")
Appointment of Westhouse Securities Ltd, and intention to seek Admission to AIM
TomCo Energy Plc (TomCo or the Company) announces the appointment of Westhouse Securities Ltd to examine options for re-floating on AIM during 2011. The company intends to raise funds at this time, which will be used to undertake geological, engineering and process design work in connection with the Company's Holliday Block oil shale project in Uinta County, Utah.
As previously reported, TomCo has recently completed an extensive core hole drilling programme on the Holliday Block, for which analytical work is underway. Results of this work, including a re-assessment of resources on the Block by SRK Consultants, are expected prior to the AIM flotation.
Sir Nicholas Bonsor Bt DL, the Company's Chairman commented: "The appointment of Westhouse Securities brings to TomCo a highly experienced Advisor within the Resource sector. Our focus is now on the development of our extensive oil shale resource in Utah and managing this to production stage".
Contact:
Sir Nicholas Bonsor TomCo 0207 766 0078
Laurence Read Threadneedle Communications 0207 653 9855
Notes to Editors
TomCo Energy Plc owns oil shale leases covering approximately 3,000 acres in the Green River Shale Formation, Uinta County, Utah. The leases have been independently estimated by SRK Consultants Ltd to hold up to 230 million barrels of potentially recoverable oil.
Around 124 million barrels of TomCo's total resource lie on the Holliday Block lease. The main tract of TomCo's Holliday Block lease has around 114 million barrels of 'Inferred Resources', which could potentially sustain a 9,500 barrels of oil per day (bopd) production facility for over 20 years.
TomCo has entered into a License with Red Leaf Resources Inc (Red Leaf), which owns the patent pending EcoShaleTM extraction process (EcoShale), to use this unique and environmentally sensitive technology to extract oil from TomCo's leases.
Red Leaf has developed the EcoShaleTM In-Capsule Technology to produce high quality liquid transportation fuels from oil shale, oil sands, coal, lignite and bio-mass using an environmentally sensitive process. The technology requires no process water, and actually produces water; it protects groundwater and vegetation, uses relatively low temperatures for heating and allows for rapid site reclamation. The resultant product is a high quality feedstock with an average 34o API and no fines. The process also results in synthetic natural gas production allowing for energy self-sufficiency at the plant with some excess gas for sale.
Red Leaf is planning a 9,500 bopd commercial operation to be in production by 2012 at their Seep Ridge site, which lies about 15 miles SW of TomCo's Holliday Block lease. TomCo's strategy is to develop the Holliday Block lease as a similar follow-on project to Seep Ridge using the EcoShale technology.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201101100700071198Z
TomCo Energy Hires Adviser To Examine Re-Admition To AIM During 2011
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- TomCo Energy PLC, which owns oil shale leases covering 3, 000 acres in the Green River Shale Formation, Uinta County, Utah, said Monday it has appointed Westhouse Securities Ltd to examine options for re-floating on AIM during 2011.
MAIN FACTS:
-Company intends to raise funds at this time, which will be used to undertake geological, engineering and process design work in connection with the Company's Holliday Block oil shale project in Uinta County, Utah.
-Company's focus is on the development of its extensive oil shale resource in Utah and managing this to production stage.
-By Ian Walker, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9296; ian.walker@dowjones.com
Tomco Energy Appt London Mining Director as Chairman
Tuesday 09 March, 2010
TomCo Energy PLC
Directorate Change
9th March 2010
TomCo Energy Plc
("TomCo" or the "Company")
Directorate Change
TomCo is pleased to announce the appointment of Sir Nicholas Bonsor as
Non-Executive Chairman with immediate effect. Sir Nicholas is being appointed
pursuant to Kenglo One Limited's right to appoint a non-executive chairman as
detailed in the announcement of 14 December 2009.
A practising barrister specialising in regulatory and commercial law, Sir
Nicholas was a member of British Parliament from 1979 to 1997 where he
specialised in foreign affairs and defence, and was chairman of the Defence
Select Committee from 1992 to 1995 and Minister of State at the Foreign Office
from 1995 to 1997.
Sir Nicholas is currently appointed as a Non-Executive Director of London
Mining Plc and has been Chairman of Egerton International Ltd since 2004. Sir
Nicholas has served on the board of several other companies, including Blue
Note Mining Inc. (Canada) from 2006 to 2008 and served on the Council of
Lloyd's between 1987 and 1992.
He is a Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, a freeman of the City of London
(1988), a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts. Sir Nicholas practised as a barrister from 1967 to 1975
and from 2003 to the present day.
Enquiries:
TomCo Energy Plc Tel: 020 7766 0070 020 7766 0070
Stephen Komlosy
Chief Executive Officer
Christopher Brown, retiring Managing Director of London Mining, said: "I am very proud to have been associated with all the people who work for London Mining. The company is now debt free, well funded and is moving to the next stage of becoming a significant diversified mining house for the steel and energy industries. With its first-rate team, assets and financial strength, London Mining is in an excellent position to take advantage of long term iron and coal demand."
Soon Christopher Brown may be talking about Tomco Energy in the same glowing way. In four years he built LM up from Mkt Cap of £25m to £600m and also was able to repay £250m cash to shareholders.
Avenue & Tomco have signed new agreement.
s
Tomco / I posted on the Advfn BB in the UK
Stephanie_M - 16 Feb'10 - 15:34 - 1456 of 1456 edit
I expect Tomco Energy, Red Leaf (EcoShale) & Avenue to be extremely valuable companies by the end of this year, and that shareholders in Tomco Energy can look forward to a very substantial ROI.
As rmart says once the deal with Red Leaf is announced and the media get to grips with the fact that Chris Brown is now the driving force behind the operation,then the Mkt Cap of Tomco Energy could soar to heights beyond the imagination. I am NOT getting carried away, but like Skiboy10 I have read many articles about oil shale and the shortage of oil and out of necessity it will be necessary to develop oil shale.
s
Avenue have signed new agreement with Tomco and developments expected shortly.
s
Chris Brown the new 26% investor in Tomco Energy (Avenue have a big shareholding and are JV partners in Israel) recently retired as CEO of London Mining. He is still under 50 years of age.
Here is the history of London Minung under his reign.
Impressive!
s
Avenue are shortly to announce their 2010 JV plans with Tomco for their Israel development
London Mining History
2005
* London Mining formed in April by Chris Brown and Graeme Hossie with a mission to develop mines for the global steel industry
* Acquired Greenland Isua licence and raised £1m in initial capital at a $6m post money valuation
* Identified Marampa, Sierra Leone and Brazil opportunities and commenced negotiations
2006
* Acquired Marampa licence after substantial due diligence, development and scoping work
* Negotiated purchase option for Brazilian family owned mine, carried out due diligence and development planning activity
* Identified and began building operational and technical team
* Raised additional ~$4m to support development opportunities from institutional and private investors
* Market cap of $25-$75m
2007
* $120m funds raised Feb-April ($60 equity, $60 bond issue)
* Purchase of Brazilian operating mine for $65m plus deferred compensation of $24m
* Development of all projects and commenced construction of 3.5mtpa sinter feed plant in Brazil and established logistics for domestic and international supply
* IPO in October on Oslo Axess with further $60m fund raise
* $300m Market Cap
2008
* Established Saudi Arabian joint venture to develop Wadi Sawawin 5-20mtpa mine and pelletizer project
* Completion of Brazil sinter feed plant on time and under budget giving tenfold increase in production capacity in less than 12 months
* Completion of logistics arrangements for Brazilian domestic supply
* Strategic review of Brazilian value optimization options led to sale in August of Brazilian business yielding $660m profit after 15 months of ownership and a 1200% return
* Initial investments in RSA and Colombia establish London Mining coal division
* Brazilian CEO Luciano Ramos retained as COO Iron for London Mining globally
* Market cap of $600m
* Repaid all company debt and returned £220m to equity holders
2009
* Chris Brown retires and Graeme Hossie appointed CEO
Standing by.
AVNU investors could be in for a big treat.
See my posts on AVNU..Avenue. Exciting developments ahead.Very exciting!
s
Get ready to turn on the lights
Action to begin shortly.
s
Tomco energy plc. Howard Crosby interviewed on Board Talk. Go to Tomco website and check it out under news. Great information give by Howard. Very good posibility in excess of 100 million barrels in the Jurasic.
Take a listen.
Trying to play both sides of the fence. Have an order in for some Tomco shares been about a week and still not filled. Hope it gets filled before the Tracs report is out.
How drilling works..................
Here is a link to a very informative video that explains in plain english how a drilling rig operates.
http://www.endevcoinc.com/media/index.html
S
Daily Tomco News from London.
Tomco shares had a quiet day, recovering the 1.4% drop yesterday. I agree that this is the vehicle whereby Howard Crosby / John Ryan will make their mark once again after the success of Cadence.
Avenue investors getting excited about the prospects in Israel and I understand there are great hopes for the Israel development. The TRACS report in September is eagerly awaited.
Investors in the UK are not "into" Tomco Energy just yet, but it is only a matter of time. The current price is 1.7p (Sterling £).Some people are getting carried away with the market capitalisation.
Allowing for overseas dealing costs there is not much benefit for UK investors to invest in Avenue when they have a "gem" like Tomco on their doorstep. American investors can purchase Tomco shares via ADR's. Details on top of Tomco thread.
Enjoy your weekend
S
50% partner AVNU Ihub Board http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=10426
Two interesting TOMCO posts from ADVFN UK BB
S
PAUDUD - 31 Jul'08 - 20:02 - 5297 of 5300
I have just had another look at the Winifrith, Crosby interview and a couple of things mentioned concern me. Tom Winifrith twice states to Howard Crosby about a joint venture with the shale and Crosby agrees. He then goes on to say that once the oil in the Heletz project is proven, he expects tomco to be snapped up. Any good news from Heletz will come before any oil shale production, It could be as soon as september. Crosby has repeatedly claimed that they are looking to sell the leases. If, for instance we found out how much oil there is in Heletz and the share price was 5p and a bid came in for lets say 9p, the shale leases would be gobbled up along with tomco and we get nothing for them.I never thought that the shale would ever come to anything and i bought in because of Heletz. I now believe that oil shale now has a real chance of coming off. Crosby claims that he wants in excess of $5 per barrel from the shale leases. Why would a company pay $5 per barrel when they could snap up tomco for a fraction of the cost of the shale?
Skiboy10 - 31 Jul'08 - 20:26 - 5298 of 5300
Directors etc own more than half of the shares in issue. A takeover if it happens will not take place for a few years IMO. They would need to firm up the potential of the deeper plays at Heletz which is some way off yet.
Latest from the UK...
Trading in Tomco shares has been quiet so far this week.Price moved forward slightly today by 1.4%
Not surprised to see the Avenue (AVNU) share price improving over recent weeks. Tomco are paying all the initial expenses and I expect the TRACS report, due out in September, will go to show that the Avenue / Tomco link up was a very good deal.
SM
FYI : US Investors can invest in Tomco Energy ADR..See announcement below
SM
The Bank of New York Mellon Appointed Depositary Bank by TomCo Energy for its ADR Program
NEW YORK, Aug. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK), a global leader in asset management and securities servicing, has been selected by TomCo Energy plc as the depositary bank for its American depositary receipt (ADR) program. Each TomCo Energy ADR represents 200 ordinary shares. The ADRs trade on the over-the-counter market under the symbol "TMCGY," and the ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "TOM."
TomCo Energy, headquartered in the Isle of Man and founded in 1987, is an AIM-listed company which continues to actively develop a conventional oil production profile in the southwestern United States. The company also owns leases on approximately 3,000 acres of shale oil holdings in Utah, estimated by SRK (an independent firm of mining consultants) to contain approximately 230 million barrels of oil. For further information on the company visit: http://www.tomcoenergy.com/.
Howard Crosby, chief executive officer of TomCo Energy, said: "The introduction of TomCo ADRs will enable potential North American investors easier access to the company's shares in their own time zone and currency. The wider US awareness of TomCo Energy afforded by the introduction of the US dollar-denominated ADRs should greatly assist the company with its ongoing acquisition strategy and evaluation of further oil and gas opportunities."
Christopher Sturdy, executive vice president and head of The Bank of New York Mellon's Depositary Receipt Division, said, "We look forward to working with TomCo Energy as it further targets U.S. investors via a Level I ADR program. As the depositary for 71% of all sponsored DR programs from the UK, we have extensive experience with UK issuers and will support TomCo Energy with personalized investor outreach initiatives to help broaden their shareholder base."
The Bank of New York Mellon's Depositary Receipt business is conducted through The Bank of New York subsidiary, which acts as depositary for more than 1,270 American and global depositary receipt programs, acting in partnership with leading companies from 60 countries. With an unrivalled commitment to helping securities issuers succeed in the world's rapidly evolving financial markets, the Company delivers the industry's most comprehensive suite of integrated depositary receipt, corporate trust, and stock transfer services. Additional information is available at http://www.adrbny.com/.
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and move their financial assets, operating in 37 countries and serving more than 100 markets. The company is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has more than $20 trillion in assets under custody and administration and more than $1 trillion in assets under management. Additional information is available at http://www.bnymellon.com/.
The Bank of New York Mellon provides no advice nor recommendation or endorsement with respect to any company or security. Nothing herein shall be deemed to constitute an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities.
DATASOURCE: The Bank of New York Mellon
CONTACT: Kevin Heine of The Bank of New York Mellon, +1-212-635-1569 or
Web site: http://www.bnymellon.com/
http://www.adrbny.com/
http://www.tomcoenergy.com/
For the benefit of Avenue Investors on this BB I reproduce the update from Tomco regarding the Israel development. It gives slightly more detail than the Avenue (50% partners)announcement.
I am not surprised to see the price of Avenue increase over the past month as investors are beginning to understand the vast potential of the Avenue / Tomco link up and what it could do to the balance sheet of both companies in time.
SM
stephanie.speculator@gmail.com
Update Re Heletz (Tomco Energy)
RNS Number : 2053Y
TomCo Energy PLC
03 July 2008
TOMCO ENERGY PLC
("TomCo" or the "Company")
TRACS RETAINED TO REPORT ON THE HELETZ FIELDS OIL AND GAS RESERVES
TomCo Energy Plc (AIM: TOM) is pleased to announce that the international consultancy firm
TRACS International Limited ("TRACS") has
been engaged to study the oil and gas reserves underlying the Heletz and Iris Oil Fields
("Heletz Fields") in the State of Israel.
With a team of over 50 professionals, TRACS operates from offices in Aberdeen (Scotland),
Guildford (England) and Moscow (Russia). TRACS
provides technical assistance in the disciplines of geophysics, geology, petrophysics,
reservoir engineering, production technology, well
engineering and completions design and petroleum economics. TRACS provides its consultancy
services to a wide range of companies operating
in the upstream oil and gas industry including a number of the world's largest multinational
oil and gas companies.
TRACS will prepare estimates of remaining proved, probable and possible oil and gas reserves
attributable to the Heletz Fields. TRACS will
also evaluate the potential exploration upside in the fields including an outline of the
Contingent and Prospective Resources. The report is
expected to take two months to complete.
TRACS' project scope includes a subsurface review of the existing recoverable reserves in
the fields with consideration to volumes of
hydrocarbons in place, the building of partial or full field static and dynamic models, an
outline of future development scenarios, e.g.
water flooding and/or infill drilling and an assessment of the deeper exploration potential.
"The preparation of a bankable reserve report will provide an additional cornerstone to
the Heletz fields redevelopment project," stated
Howard Crosby, CEO of TomCo. "The addition of a TRACS reserve report will assure the financial
community of the oil reserves of the Heletz
Fields in Israel and the exploration and development potential of the Jurassic Limestone"
Heletz Fields Background
The Heletz-Kokhav-Brur license and the Iris license equaling approximately 68,000 acres,
are comprised of 3 oil fields - Heletz, Brur
and Kochav, and are located approximately 55 km south of Tel Aviv and 12 km east of the
Mediterranean Sea. Heletz was the first oil field
discovered in the eastern Mediterranean and remains the most significant oil field discovered
onshore Israel with over 17 million barrels of
oil having been recovered from an estimated 50 millions barrels of oil in place.
The first well (Heletz 1) was drilled to a depth of 4800 feet (1515 meters) and recognized
as a producing well on 12 October 1955.
Initial production was approximately 400 barrels per day; oil was 29o API. A total of 88 wells
have been drilled on the Heletz field to
depths ranging from 4,000 to 6,500 feet, of which 59 were producing wells with the other 29
having oil shows. Peak production occurred in
the 1960's when daily production peaked at over 4,000 barrels of oil per day ("BOPD").
TomCo recently announced that production has restarted from the Heletz field at a rate of
35 BOPD from two wells with a further three
currently being prepared for production.
Enquiries:
TomCo Energy Plc +44 (0)20 7808 4857
Howard Crosby
Strand Partners Ltd. +44 (0)20 7409 3494
Simon Raggett
Bankside Consultants Ltd. +44 (0)20 7367 8888
Simon Rothschild
Hi
I am a shareholder of Tomco Energy PLC in the UK. Tomco (TOM.L) are the 50% partner of Avenue in the Israel project.
The CEO of Tomco is Howard Crosby (nephew of Bing) and he has a very impressive track record.It may be no harm if Avenue investors were to read the ADVFN BB in the UK, each day (I post on that board) to learn what UK investors think of the prospects in Israel.Given the track record of the CEO, great things are expected from the Avenue / Tomco partnership.1000+ BOPD in 2009 expected
In case you do not know American investors can purchase Tomco shares via an ADR.
SM
Heletz Field Operations Update (Tomco Energy)
RNS Number : 2559Z
TomCo Energy PLC
17 July 2008
TomCo Energy Plc
("TomCo" or the "Company")
Heletz Field Operations Update
TomCo (AIM:TOM) is pleased to provide the following activity update on its jointly held
Heletz-Kokhav-Brur and Iris licenses in southern
Israel.
Production: Oil production has been underway on the Heletz-Kokhav-Brur license, in which
TomCo has a 50% interest, since 11 June 2008
when the first well in the field was re-opened after 9 months shut-in. Two wells, H-1 and K-29
are now on production and have increased to
an aggregate rate of around 60 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") (30 bopd net to TomCo); a third
well, K-27, is currently being pumped out and
has started to produce some oil, and three further wells (H-25, H-37 and K-24) are subject to
various ongoing mechanical repairs including
the installation of a pump in one case. It is expected that all six wells will be back on
production over the next few weeks. Over 1,300
barrels of oil have been produced since 11 June 2008.
Process and Separation: New configuration of the separation equipment in the field has
resulted in a significant reduction in the bottom
sediment & water content of the oil to around 2% - much lower than that achieved under
previous operators. New equipment is being sourced
which it is hoped will bring this down further, to the benefit of the price received for the
oil.
Transport and Sales: An agreement has been reached with PAZ Oil Company Ltd, operator of
the nearby Ashdod refinery, to purchase Heletz
oil shipments and sales will commence shortly.
Workover plans: Lapidoth Oil, operator of the second license in the field (Iris), where
TomCo has a 25% working interest, has identified
6 potential workover candidate wells, each of which could result in 10-20 bopd of new
production. These proposals are being evaluated, but
subject to an acceptable technical case some of this work could be initiated within the next
few months. Evaluations for workovers on the
Heletz-Kokav-Brur license are also ongoing. Proposals for new infill wells on both licenses
are also being considered, but will be delayed
pending the completion of current sub-surface studies, including seismic re-processing.
Reserves Report: As previously announced, TRACS International Ltd have been engaged to
undertake a comprehensive reserves study based on
recent re-mapping of the field, including secondary recovery potential, and this work is now
underway.
Seismic Re-processing: All existing seismic data over the field has been assessed for
re-processing potential, and a series of
re-processing trials have been initiated with a contractor in Denver, USA. Results of these
trials will guide a wider re-processing effort
in order to extract the maximum information from the existing data, while consideration is
given to the acquisition of a 3D seismic survey.
Enquiries:
TomCo Energy Plc +44 (0)20 7808 4857
Howard Crosby
Strand Partners Ltd. +44 (0)20 7409 3494
Simon Raggett
Bankside Consultants Ltd. +44 (0)20 7367 8888
Simon Rothschild
Notes:
TomCo is an AIM listed company which has investments in conventional oil production n the
United States and Israel. The Company also
owns leases on approximately 3000 acres of shale oil holdings in Utah, estimated by SRK (an
independent firm of mining consultants) to
contain some 230 million barrels of oil.
news service from the London Stock Exchange
TomCo Energy appoints TRACS to prepare reserve report for Heletz fields
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - AIM-listed TomCo Energy Plc. said it has
engaged consultancy firm TRACS International Ltd. to prepare a bankable reserve
report after studying the oil and gas reserves underlying the Heletz and Iris
oil fields in the State of Israel.
TRACS will prepare estimates of remaining proved, probable and possible oil
and gas reserves attributable to the Heletz Fields.
TRACS will also evaluate the potential exploration upside in the fields
including an outline of the contingent and prospective resources. The report is
expected to take two months to complete, TomCo said.
TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com
yos/ypv/slm
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content,
including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Thomson Financial News.
Update Re Heletz (Tomco Energy)
RNS Number : 2053Y
TomCo Energy PLC
03 July 2008
TOMCO ENERGY PLC
("TomCo" or the "Company")
TRACS RETAINED TO REPORT ON THE HELETZ FIELDS OIL AND GAS RESERVES
TomCo Energy Plc (AIM: TOM) is pleased to announce that the international consultancy firm
TRACS International Limited ("TRACS") has
been engaged to study the oil and gas reserves underlying the Heletz and Iris Oil Fields
("Heletz Fields") in the State of Israel.
With a team of over 50 professionals, TRACS operates from offices in Aberdeen (Scotland),
Guildford (England) and Moscow (Russia). TRACS
provides technical assistance in the disciplines of geophysics, geology, petrophysics,
reservoir engineering, production technology, well
engineering and completions design and petroleum economics. TRACS provides its consultancy
services to a wide range of companies operating
in the upstream oil and gas industry including a number of the world's largest multinational
oil and gas companies.
TRACS will prepare estimates of remaining proved, probable and possible oil and gas reserves
attributable to the Heletz Fields. TRACS will
also evaluate the potential exploration upside in the fields including an outline of the
Contingent and Prospective Resources. The report is
expected to take two months to complete.
TRACS' project scope includes a subsurface review of the existing recoverable reserves in
the fields with consideration to volumes of
hydrocarbons in place, the building of partial or full field static and dynamic models, an
outline of future development scenarios, e.g.
water flooding and/or infill drilling and an assessment of the deeper exploration potential.
"The preparation of a bankable reserve report will provide an additional cornerstone to
the Heletz fields redevelopment project," stated
Howard Crosby, CEO of TomCo. "The addition of a TRACS reserve report will assure the financial
community of the oil reserves of the Heletz
Fields in Israel and the exploration and development potential of the Jurassic Limestone"
Heletz Fields Background
The Heletz-Kokhav-Brur license and the Iris license equaling approximately 68,000 acres,
are comprised of 3 oil fields - Heletz, Brur
and Kochav, and are located approximately 55 km south of Tel Aviv and 12 km east of the
Mediterranean Sea. Heletz was the first oil field
discovered in the eastern Mediterranean and remains the most significant oil field discovered
onshore Israel with over 17 million barrels of
oil having been recovered from an estimated 50 millions barrels of oil in place.
The first well (Heletz 1) was drilled to a depth of 4800 feet (1515 meters) and recognized
as a producing well on 12 October 1955.
Initial production was approximately 400 barrels per day; oil was 29o API. A total of 88 wells
have been drilled on the Heletz field to
depths ranging from 4,000 to 6,500 feet, of which 59 were producing wells with the other 29
having oil shows. Peak production occurred in
the 1960's when daily production peaked at over 4,000 barrels of oil per day ("BOPD").
TomCo recently announced that production has restarted from the Heletz field at a rate of
35 BOPD from two wells with a further three
currently being prepared for production.
Enquiries:
TomCo Energy Plc +44 (0)20 7808 4857
Howard Crosby
Strand Partners Ltd. +44 (0)20 7409 3494
Simon Raggett
Bankside Consultants Ltd. +44 (0)20 7367 8888
Simon Rothschild
Notes:
TomCo is an AIM listed company which has investments in conventional oil production n the
United States and Israel. The Company also
owns leases on approximately 3000 acres of shale oil holdings in Utah, estimated by SRK (an
independent firm of mining consultants) to
contain some 230 million barrels of oil.
news service from the London Stock Exchange
Over the next 12 to 18 months this share should and will explode, oil currently $140, 56 wells that were shut down are to be re-opened in israel. Plys the oil shale approx 260 million barrels.
Keep watching
Tomco Energy Interim Results
RNS Number : 6576X
TomCo Energy PLC
27 June 2008
TomCo Energy Plc
('TomCo' or 'the Company')
Results for the 6 months ended 31 March 2008
Highlights
* Acquisition of 50% interest in the Heletz-Kokhav-Bur License and 25% in the Iris
License, two petroleum licenses onshore Israel
* Raised £1.2 million in new equity and EUR1.0 million in convertible debt
* Increase in net assets in period from £6.0million to £6.8 million
Stephen Koml, Chairman of TomCo Energy Plc, said:
"During this period we have moved forward with our stated plans to build an effective oil
production platform with our acquisition of
the interests in the Heletz oil fields in Israel. Production has started well and we look
forward to an exciting future. With respect to
our oil shale assets in the Green River Basin, we are encouraged by the comments made by
President Bush on 18 June 2008 in his statement on
energy, which specifically encouraged the development of oil shale resources in the area."
Enquiries:
TomCo Energy Plc +44 (0)20 7808 4857
Stephen Komlsy
Strand Partners Limited +44 (0)20 7409 3494
Simon Raggett
Bankside Consultants Limited +44 (0)20 7367 8888
Simon Rothschild / Louise
Mason
Chairman's Statement
I am pleased to announce the results for TomCo Energy Plc ("TomCo" or "the Company") for
the six months ended 31 March 2008. These
financial results reflect the fundamental change by the Company into an active oil production
and exploration company and the build up to
our first major acquisition of interests in the Heletz-Kokhav-Brur and Iris License in Israel
("Heletz Fields").
The £56,000 income shown in the accounts arises from our wells in the USA, averaging a
net 12 barrels per day in the period, prior to
the Heletz Field acquisition. The loss before tax of £668,000 includes provision of £200,000
for the amortisation of the costs of our
existing wells in the USA and £84,000 in regard to oil lease impairments, again for our wells
in the USA.
Acquisition of a 50% interest in the Heletz-Kokhav-Brur License and a 25% interest in the
Iris License, Israel
On 2nd April 2008 TomCo announced that, with its wholly owned Israeli subsidiary,
Luton-Kennedy Ltd ("LKL"), it had completed the
acquisition ("Acquisition") of interests in two petroleum licenses, onshore Israel from Avenue
Group Inc (AVNU.OB), a New York based USA
listed Oil & Gas Company, ("Avenue"). The interests acquired are a 50% interest in the
Heletz-Kokhav-Brur License and a 25% interest in the
Iris License (the "Licenses"), which include the original Heletz-Kokhav-Brur oilfield opened
in 1955 by BP ("Heletz"). The concessions,
covering over 68,000 gross acres, were recently awarded to Avenue by the Israel Petroleum
Commission and are extendable 3-year production
and development licenses which can be extended to 30-year production leases once production
from the fields has increased from the recent 60
to an estimated 300 barrels of oil per day ("bpd").
The Heletz Fields, located 55km south of Tel Aviv and 12km east of the Mediterranean
coast, are Israel's only onshore producing oil
fields. The fields have produced in excess of 17 million barrels of oil to date from
Cretaceous sands, with peak production of 3,000 to
4,200 bpd between 1959 and 1967. The original oil-in-place ("OOIP") for the fields is
estimated to be 50.7 million barrels; the Israeli
Government estimates that there are 2 million barrels of primary recoverable oil remaining,
and studies suggest over 5 million bbls of
secondary recovery potential may exist. A number of undrilled, deeper exploration prospects on
the licenses have estimated potential in
excess of 100 million barrels.
Avenue and the Company with LKL, are commissioning an independent determination of
remaining reserves for the Heletz Fields, as one of
the first steps in an active technical programme designed to identify well re-completion and
infill well drilling targets, and to examine
secondary recovery options. Production from the fields had declined to around 60bpd by 2007,
although TomCo expects that the implementation
of modern production and recovery methods and selected infill drilling will significantly
increase production over the next two years,
resulting in the granting of a 30-year production lease.
The completion terms of the Acquisition:
* At completion TomCo paid a US$1 million fee to Avenue Group Inc ("Avenue") in
respect to the transfer of the 50% and 25% interests
in the Heletz oil fields from Avenue to LKL. Avenue and TomCo will now seek approval from the
Israeli authorities of this transfer to LKL
with a formula to provide TomCo with the effective benefit of the transfer in the event that
no such approval is forthcoming.
* TomCo has issued to Avenue 12,618,615 ordinary shares of 0.5 pence each in the
Company ("TomCo Shares") valued at approximately
US$500,000 at 2p per share with a one year sale restriction.
* TomCo has paid US$107,000 to Avenue in respect to 50% of costs incurred to date in
relation to the Licenses.
* Over the three year Phase 1 period of the Licenses, TomCo and LKL will pay up to a
maximum of US$4.5 million of oil field
development costs.
* TomCo will pay a further US$1.5 million fee to Avenue at the time at which a 30
years production lease is issued, which is
expected to be at the time production at the fields reaches 300 bpd..
* TomCo will pay a further US$5 million fee to Avenue in the event that gross
recoverable reserves on the Licenses are declared by
an independent, qualified assessor to be more than 10 million barrels.
To finance the Acquisition, TomCo placed 80,799,999 shares at 1.5p per share raising a
total of £1.2m before expenses; 67,066,666 shares
were admitted to AIM on 27 March 2008 and the remaining 13,333,333 shares on 3 April 2008.
Each two shares placed has an attached warrant to
subscribe for one new ordinary TomCo share at a strike price of 2.5p per share with a 13
months term and a further Warrant for one share at
a strike price of 5p exercisable within 13 months of the date of exercise of the first
warrant.
At completion of the Acquisition the Company issued a 24 month 8% Convertible Loan Note to
Trafalgar Capital Specialized Investment Fund
(Trafalgar) for EUR1.0 million with a minimum convertibility at 2p per share and repayments
commencing in October at £50,000 per month. The
Company has also issued to Trafalgar 7,000,000 warrants with a three year term and an exercise
price of 1.63p. Additionally, TomCo paid a
fee of EUR25,000 to Trafalgar which was satisfied by the issue of 1,179,562 ordinary shares of
the Company at a price of 1.66p per share.
Following the issue of all these shares the Company's issued share capital now consists of
538,049,151 ordinary shares with voting
rights.
Investments
During the period under review the Company maintained its interests in production wells in
the USA comprising two separate wells,
"Flusche" and "Rock Crossing", and a 50% holding in the Mark III leases, "Saratoga and Abel"
in Lubbock County, Texas, which have 8
producing wells and preliminary estimated Reserves of 28,960 barrels. In March 2008 the
Flusche well ceased to produce and was plugged, but
in Scurry County, Texas, Boone ž2, a new well, started drilling and has encouraging oil
shows.
Strategy
The Company's strategy remains the same going forward, firstly, to hold the oil shale
assets in reserve until such time as their
exploitation becomes commercially and economically practical. In this regard, we believe that
meaningful production from oil shale in the
USA will start within a 6 year time frame (as a result of the huge strategic and commercial
pressures, together with present supply anxiety
and exacerbated by the current increase in oil prices); indeed there has been a flurry of Oil
Shale deals done this year in the USA,
including an acquisition by IDT Energy Corporation and apparent oil shale land purchases by
Shell Oil.
Secondly, the Company is utilizing the expertise of Howard Crosby, our CEO, and John Ryan,
our Commercial Director, in the search for
further investment in oil wells and proven undeveloped acreage located in the USA and in
special situations like the Heletz Licenses in
Israel. This strategy is being implemented with caution and expert examination of suggested
acquisitions with the intention to create a
productive and potential investment portfolio of conventional American and Israeli based
mostly shallow producing oil wells and proven
undeveloped drilling locations and create a meaningful oil reserve. Meanwhile the Board in
general continues to actively seek further
investments, acquisitions and oil business associations.
Future Investment
Your Board is now also reviewing certain other investments where a clear advantage can be
shown to exist to assist in improving the
value of our shares.
Web Site
Shareholders can find detailed information on the Company's web site; www.tomcoenergy.com
which, in accordance with AIM Rule 26,
contains a summary of our current strategy, detailed information about USA oil shale and oil
shale related links to USA Government sites,
the Company's share price, documents, announcements, press releases and articles.
S A Koml
Chairman
27 June 2008
Consolidated income statement
For the six months ended 31 March 2008
Unaudited Unaudited
Audited
Six months ended 31 Six months ended 31 Year
ended 30 September
March March
2007
2008 2007
£'000 £'000
£'000
Revenue 56 -
68
Cost of sales (31) -
(36)
Gross profit 25 -
32
Administrative expenses (693) (204)
(1,274)
Operating loss (668) (204)
(1,242)
Financial income - 5
30
Loss before taxation (668) (199)
(1,212)
Taxation - -
-
Loss for the year attributable (668) (199)
(1,212)
to equity shareholders
Unaudited Unaudited
Audited
Earnings per share Six months ended 31 Six months ended 31 Year
ended 30 September
March 2008 March
2007
2007
Pence per Pence per
Pence per
share share
share
Loss per share (0.15) (0.07)
(0.34)
Fully diluted loss per share (0.15) (0.07)
(0.34)
All amounts derive wholly from continuing activities. The financial information above may
not be representative of future results
Consolidated Balance sheet
As at 31 March 2008
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
31 March 31 March 30
2008 2007 September
2007
£'000 £'000 £'000
ASSETS
Non current assets
Property, plant and equipment 5 2 6
Oil properties 6,682 5,181 5,892
Available for sale financial assets 50 94 49
6,737 5,277 5,947
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 60 54 54
Cash and cash equivalents 1,152 1,004 136
1,212 1,058 190
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables (328) (62) (93)
(328) (62) (93)
Net current assets 884 996 97
Long term liabilities
Convertible Loan Note (772) - -
Net assets 6,849 6,273 6,044
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Share capital 2,690 2,217 2,217
Share premium 6,495 5,057 5,593
Warrant reserve 360 - 272
Retained earnings (2,696) (1,001) (2,038)
Total equity 6,849 6,273 6,044
Consolidated statement of changes in equity
For the six months ended 31 March 2008
Share Share premium Warrant reserve Retained earnings
£'000 £'000
£'000
capit
Total
al
£'000
£'000
Balance at 1 October 2007 2,217 5,593 272 (2,038)
6,044
Recognition of share-based
payments - - 88 -
88
Loss for the financial period - - - (668)
(668)
Issue of share capital 473 902 - -
1,375
Exchange differences - - - 10
10
Balance at 31 March 2008 2,690 6,495 360 (2,696)
6,849
Consolidated statement of recognised income and expense
For the six months ended 31 March 2008
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
31 March 31 March 30
2008 2007 September
2007
£'000 £'000 £'000
Currency translation differences 10 - (24)
Net losses recognised directly in equity 10 - (24)
Loss for the financial period (668) (199) (1,212)
Total recognised expense for the year (658) (199) (1,236)
Attributable to the equity shareholders
of the Company (658) (199) (1,236)
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
At 31 March 2008
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
31 March 31 March 30
2008 2007 Septemb
er
2007
£'000 £'000 £'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations (187) (157) (540)
Net cash used in operating activities (187) (157) (540)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of equipment - (1) (5)
Purchase of oil leases (769) (168) (703)
Purchase of available for sale financial assets - - (49)
Finance income - 5 30
Net cash used in investing activities (769) (164) (727)
Cash flows from financing
activities
Net proceeds from issue of 1,200 1,242 1,320
share capital
Issue of convertible loan note 772 - -
Cash raised from financing 1,972 1,242 1,320
activities
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 1,016 921 53
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of financial 136 83 83
period
Cash and cash equivalents at 1,152 1,004 136
end of financial period
1. Financial information
The interim financial information has been prepared on the basis of the accounting
policies as set out in the statutory financial
statements for the year ended 30 September 2007. The financial information set out herein does
not constitute statutory accounts.
2. Audit review
These interim results have not been subject to a full review by our Company auditors which
is in accordance with our normal interim
procedures.
3. Loss before taxation
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
31 March 31 March 30
2008 2007 Septemb
er
2007
£'000 £'000 £'000
The following items have been included in arriving
at operating loss:
Depreciation of property, plant and 1 - 1
equipment
Amortisation 200 - 40
Oil lease impairment 84 - 337
Investment impairment - - 94
Directors fees 87 8 137
Recognition of share based payments 88 - 176
Auditors' remuneration:
- Audit services 10 - 9
- Non audit services - - 14
Rentals payable in respect of land and 43 - 52
buildings
Net foreign exchange loss - - 24
4. Earnings per share
The loss per share calculations have been arrived at by reference to the following
earnings and weighted average number of shares in
issue during the period.
Unaudited Unaudited Audited
31 March 31 March 30
2008 2007 Septemb
er
2007
£'000 £'000 £'000
Basic EPS
Earnings attributable to Ordinary (668) (30) (1,212)
shareholders
Number Number Number
000's 000's 000's
Weighted number of shares in issue 448,903 290,300 359,746
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
IR UNRNRWRRNUAR
Update Re Heletz and Boone (Tomco Energy)
RNS Number : 0483X
TomCo Energy PLC
19 June 2008
TomCo Energy plc
("TomCo" or the "Company")
Re-commencement of oil production at Heletz, Israel and commencement of production at
BooneAž2, Texas
TomCo (AIM: TOM.L), the AIM listed oil company, is pleased to announce the re-commencement
of oil production at the Heletz Field in
southern Israel, where TomCo acquired a 50% and a 25% interest in two licenses in April 2008.
The Heletz Field, with an estimated Original Oil In Place ("OOIP") of over 50 million
bbls, was discovered in the 1950's and produced
around 17 million barrels of oil prior to production being shut-in in August 2007. TomCo and
its operating partner believe that the field
holds significant potential for additional infill drilling and secondary production, as well
as having several high risk / high reward
deeper exploration targets. The new operator, Avenue Energy Israel Ltd, has initiated a
comprehensive technical re-evaluation of the field
and has already identified a number of specific well work-overs and in-fill drilling targets.
Planning is also underway for a new seismic
data acquisition programme.
Meanwhile, two existing wells (Heletz-1 and Heletz-25) have been re-opened for production
over the past 7 days, and are currently
producing around 34 bopd in aggregate (17 bopd net to TomCo). Oil production is from three
separate Cretaceous sandstones of the Heletz
Formation, at depths of 1,496m to 1,532m. Water cuts are around 40%, and there is little or no
associated gas. Three further wells are
currently being tested and prepared for production, and are expected to come on stream in the
next few days.
TomCo is also pleased to announce the commencement of production at the BooneAž2 well, in
Scurry County, Texas.
TomCo acquired a 2% working interest in this newly drilled well through the contribution
of $20,000 in drilling costs. The well, drilled
by operator Griffin Global Resources in the Cabello Draw Field, penetrated the expected Canyon
Formation reservoir and flowed at rates of 60
- 80 bopd from perforations at 6,290 - 6,302ft. The well has since been equipped with a pump,
and is producing at an average rate of 132
bopd, with virtually no associated water or gas. TomCo's net production share is around 2.5
bopd.
Howard Crosby, TomCo's CEO, commented:
"We are delighted that the first steps have been taken in re-establishing production at
Heletz, and we look forward to the future
re-vitalisation of this field through the application of modern technology and enhanced
recovery techniques.
We are also pleased with the outcome of our small investment in Texas, which forms part of
our strategy to build non-operated production
in established oil plays in the US."
Enquiries:
TomCo Energy plc
Howard Crosby Tel: +44 (0)20 7808 4857
Strand Partners Limited
Simon Raggett Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494
Warren Pearce
Bankside Consultants Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7367 8888
Simon Rothschild
Notes to editors:
TomCo has conventional oil investments in the USA, interests in the Heletz/Kokav/Brur and
Iris Licenses in Israel, and oil shale leases
in Utah estimated by SRK (an independent firm of geologists) to contain some 230m barrels of
oil equivalent.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
DRLFKFKQABKDCAD
Growth Company Investor Article
Companies: TOM
16/04/2008
AIM-quoted TomCo Energy could have half of 100 million barrels of oil in Israel’s Heletz field, suggests chief executive Howard Crosby.
Crosby, an American resources entrepreneur claiming recent multi-million successes with the Cadence and High Plains Uranium ventures, says the AIM-quoted company is this year re-working eight existing wells in the southern Israeli project, first worked 50 years ago with old technology. He hopes this way to lift oil production nearly fivefold to 300 barrels a day, while arguing the company’s potential oil shale reserves in Utah could be in the order of 230 million barrels.
Citing acquisition costs of $10 to $11 a barrel and lifting costs below £5 a barrel – against current levels well above £$110 – Crosby says Isle of Man-based Tomco has so far raised £2 million in shares and convertibles. He contends management and friends hold sway over 45 per cent of the the company, which is paying £500,000 towards Heletz and is committed to put up another £2.25 million over three years to earn its half share in the project.
Crosby argues that Heletz, which is near some major gas finds, has ‘blue sky’ potential in as-yet-untested deeper reserves, which he opines could exceed 100 million barrels. But he says TomCo, which lost £1.2 million in the year to last September, sees even greater potential in its Utah commercial oil shale leases, granted by the state.
According to Crosby, the company paid the equivalent of 10 cents a barrel for shale oil in place in the Utah property and now hopes to do deals with a floor price of $4 to $5 a barrel. He says new treatment processes, devised by Shell, have transformed the viability of hitherto uneconomic oil shale projects.
The stockmarket has as yet been unresponsive to TomCo’s charms. Floated at 25p eight years ago, the shares fell to 0.14p in 2005 and now trade at 1.73p, valuing the company at £9.3 million, where their appeal is speculative
TomCo buys interests in Heletz-Blur-Kokhav, Iris Oil Field in Israel
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - TomCo Energy Plc. said it has completed the
acquisition of interests in Heletz-Blur-Kokhav and Iris Oil Field licenses in
Israel from New York-based oil & gas company Avenue Group Inc. and its unit
Avenue Energy Israel Ltd.
It acquired a 50 percent interest in the Heletz-Blur-Kokhav licence and a 25
percent interest in the integral Iris License, which include the original
Heletz-Blur-Kokhav oilfield.
A number of undrilled, deeper exploration prospects on the licenses have
estimated potential in excess of 100 million barrels of oil (bbls), TomCo Energy
said.
The concessions were recently given to Avenue Group and its unit by the
Israel Petroleum Commission and are three-year production and development
licenses which can be extended to 30-year production leases upon a significant
increase in the production from its current capability of 60 barrels of oil per
day, TomCo said.
TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com
kkb/sal
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content,
including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Thomson Financial News.
The Israeli Deal could be massive, 100 Million plus barrals of oil are just waiting to be found.
HAVE A READ OF THIS
TomCo Energy PLC
21 January 2008
TomCo Energy plc
Letter of Intent
TomCo Energy Plc ('TomCo' or the 'Company') (AIM: TOM) is pleased to announce
that it has today signed a Letter of Intent ('LOI') with Avenue Group Inc
(AVNU.OB), a NY based US listed Oil & Gas Company, and its wholly-owned
subsidiary Avenue Energy Israel Limited ('AEI'); to acquire a 50 per cent.
interest in the Heletz-Kokhav License (the 'License') awarded to AEI by the
Israel Petroleum Commission.
The Heletz-Kokhav field, located 55km south of Tel Aviv and 12km east of the
Mediterranean, is Israel's only producing onshore oil and gas field. The 60,000
acre license has produced in excess of 17 million barrels of oil to date from
Cretaceous sands, with peak production of approximately 3,000 to 4,200 barrels
per day ('bpd') between 1959 and 1967. The original oil-in-place (OOIP) for the
field was estimated at 50.7 million bbls; the Israeli Government estimates that
there are 2 million bbls of primary recoverable oil remaining, and studies
suggest 5 -10 million bbls of secondary recovery potential. A number of
undrilled, deeper exploration prospects have estimated potential of over 30
million bbls. Recent production for the field was around 60 bpd, although TomCo
expects that the implementation of modern production and recovery methods and
the drilling of additional wells on the License will significantly increase
production, resulting in the granting of a 30 years Production Lease.
TomCo and AEI will now work to finalise the terms of a binding contract.
Under the terms of the LOI, TomCo undertakes to:
1. within 5 days of signing the LOI, pay a non-refundable security deposit of
US$75,000, granting TomCo 45 days exclusivity in which to sign a definitive
agreement ('Closing'). This period can be increased to 60 days by TomCo
paying an additional deposit of US$25,000;
2. at Closing, pay AEI US$1 million in cash;
3. at Closing, issue to AEI TomCo ordinary shares ('Shares') valued at US$0.5
million at a price per Share equivalent to the average middle market price
for the seven days prior to Closing;
4. at Closing pay to AEI 50 per cent. of AIE costs incurred to date in relation
to the License, which have been confirmed at US$108,000;
5. over the three year Phase 1 period of the License pay up to US$4.5 million of
development costs;
6. pay a further US$1.5 million to AEI after a 30 years production lease is
issued, which lease may be issued once production at the field reaches 300
bpd; and
7. pay a further US$5 million to AEI after the recoverable reserves are
declared to be more than 10 million barrels by an internationally acceptable
geologist.
Further updates regarding the acquisition of the 50 per cent. interest in the
Licence will be announced in due course.
Howard Crosby, TomCo's Chief Executive Officer, commented:
'Whilst our main focus, of course, remains the implementation of our core
investment strategy in North America and we are stepping up our infill drilling
programme at our Texas Saratoga and Abel leases, we are increasingly finding,
through our extensive evaluation of many oil & gas situations, some extremely
attractive 'special situations' outside the USA. Heletz-Kokhav is an excellent
opportunity to join with the US public company, Avenue Group, to develop the
highly potential Heletz field in Israel and will create new horizons and will be
an important investment for us. We will continue to expand our portfolio, both
in the USA and outside, in order to build TomCo into an oil company with both
significant production and an aggressive exploration programme.'
Enquiries:
TomCo Energy Plc +44 (0)20 7808 4857
Howard Crosby
Strand Partners Ltd. +44 (0)20 7409 3494
Warren Pearce
Bankside Consultants Ltd. +44 (0)20 7367 8888
Simon Rothschild
Notes:
TomCo is an AIM listed company which continues to actively develop a
conventional oil production profile in the South-Western United States. The
Company also owns leases on approximately 3000 acres of shale oil holdings in
Utah, estimated by SRK (an independent firm of mining consultants) to contain
some 230 million barrels of oil.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
News : Drilling Programme
Tomco Energy Drilling Programme
RNS Number:6346J
TomCo Energy PLC
11 December 2007
TomCo Energy Plc ("TomCo" or the "Company")
TomCo (TOM.L) is pleased to announce an agreement with Mark III Energy Holdings LLC, its 50 per cent. joint venture partner at the Abel leases on the Hull Salt Dome oil field, Liberty County, Texas, and at the Saratoga leases on the Saratoga Salt Dome oil field, Hardin County, Texas. The agreement has the objective of drilling up to six new production wells after a comprehensive
Production Optimization Study has been completed. The study will build on previous reports and studies and develop a better understanding of the oil bearing sands. The study will be used by the joint venture to generate economically attractive forward programmes to increase current oil production from these leases.
The Hull and Saratoga Salt Dome oil fields are located in East Texas where numerous similar oil fields have been developed over the last eighty years. These oil fields have characteristically had multiple oil bearing reservoirs and excellent reservoir characteristics.
TomCo has instructed GeoExperts, a Houston based Consultancy Company, to carry out the Production Optimization Study of the two leases, with an estimated completion date in the First Quarter 2008. GeoExperts will also report on the viability of drilling a water disposal well which can be commercially exploited with other producers in the area in addition to joint venture use.
Howard Crosby CEO said: "This programme, to increase our production at these two leases represents an opportunity to fully exploit these assets and cement our relationship with a well known fast growing local oil operator with whom we are also examining a number of other potential oil propositions."
This announcement has been read and approved by GeoExperts of Houston, Texas, USA an independent firm of Geologists.
Enquiries:
TomCo Energy Plc +44 (0)20 7808 4857
Stephen Komlosy
Strand Partners Ltd. +44 (0)20 7409 3494
Warren Pearce
Bankside Consultants Ltd. +44 (0)20 7367 8888
Simon Rothschild
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
It;s about time, we seem to have taken 3 steps forward and 5 steps back over the last few months.
Markets being red hasent helped but eh, we are moving in the right direction now.
Hi Noli
Market whispers suggest will be moving along nicely again soon...
Good to see you here Skiboy, it looks as though you are the moderator. You do run a good thread
Its time for an uptred, and some excellent news after the last bit of news we received.
Noli
Tomco Energy Holding(s) in Company
RNS Number:8397I
TomCo Energy PLC
30 November 2007
TomCo Energy Plc
('TomCo' or 'the Company')
Holding in Company
TomCo received notification on 28 November 2007, pursuant to the FSA Disclosure and Transparency Rules, that Douglas Wright has an interest in 17,775,000 ordinary shares of 0.5p each in the company. This represents approximately 4.01 per cent. of the Company's issued ordinary shares.
For further information, contact:
TomCo Energy Plc +44 (0)20 7808 4857
Stephen Komlosy
Strand Partners Ltd. +44 (0)20 7409 3494
Warren Pearce
Bankside Consultants Ltd. +44 (0)20 7367 8888
Simon Rothschild
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200711300730058397I
Oil shale may finally have its moment...
In a dusty corner of northwestern Colorado, an energy of the future is beginning to look like the real thing. Can oil shale work? Fortune's Jon Birger reports.
FORTUNE Magazine
By Jon Birger, Fortune senior writer
November 1 2007: 11:12 AM EDT
(Fortune Magazine) -- Touring a drilling site on a dusty mountain plateau above Rifle, Colo., Harold Vinegar stops, grins and then announces out of the blue, "I love that smell!"
No, the Royal Dutch Shell chief scientist is not referring to the crisp fragrance of the high desert air or the conifer scent wafting from the nearby stand of evergreens. Rather, it's the faint, asphalt-like aroma of oil shale - a sedimentary rock rich in kerogen, a fossil fuel that is now the focus of Shell's single biggest R&D investment.
Vinegar is the energy industry's leading expert on the complex petroscience of transforming solid oil shale into synthetic crude - a liquid fuel that can be refined into diesel and gasoline. The breakthroughs this 58-year-old physicist has achieved could turn out to be the biggest game changer the American oil industry has seen since crude was discovered near Alaska's Prudhoe Bay in 1968.
If that sounds like hyperbole, then consider this: Several hundred feet below where Vinegar is strolling lies the Green River Formation, arguably the largest unconventional oil reserve on the planet. ("Unconventional oil" encompasses oil shale, Canadian tar sands, and the extra-heavy oils of Venezuela - essentially, anything that is not just pumped to the surface.)
Spanning some 17,000 square miles across parts of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, this underground lakebed holds at least 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil. That's triple the reserves of Saudi Arabia.
The reason you probably haven't heard about the Green River Formation is that most of the methods tried for turning oil shale into oil have been deeply flawed - economically, environmentally or usually both. Because there have been so many false starts, oil shale tends to get lumped with cold fusion, zero-point energy, and other "miracle" fuels perpetually just over the horizon.
"A lot of other companies have bent their spears trying to do what we're now doing," Vinegar says of his 28-year quest to turn oil shale into a commercial energy source. "We're talking about the Holy Grail."
Unlike the Grail, though, Shell is convinced that oil shale is no myth and that after years of secret research, it is close to achieving this oil-based alchemy. Shell is not alone in this assessment. "Harold has broken the code," says oil shale expert Anton Dammer, director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves.
Vinegar has developed a cutting-edge technology that, according to Shell, will produce large quantities of high-quality oil without ravaging the local environment - and be profitable with prices around $30 a barrel. Now that oil is approaching $90, the odds on Shell's speculative bet are beginning to look awfully good.
Shell declines to get too specific about how much oil it thinks it can pump at peak production levels, but one DOE study contends that the region can sustain two million barrels a day by 2020 and three million by 2040. Other government estimates have posited an upper range of five million. At that level, Western oil shale would rival the largest oilfields in the world.
Of course, considering the U.S. uses almost 21 million barrels a day and imports about ten million (and rising), even the most optimistic projections do not get the country to the nirvana of "energy independence." What oil shale could do, though, is reduce the risk premium built into oil prices because energy traders could rest easy knowing that the flow of oil from Colorado or Utah won't ever be cut off by Venezuelan dictators, Nigerian gunmen or strife in the Middle East. In a broader sense, U.S. energy security lies in diversity of supply, so enhancing domestic sources is appealing.
Oil shale has one other big appeal: It's not vulnerable to the steep depletion rates that have afflicted other big oilfields. Alaskan oil production is now 775,000 barrels a day, down from its peak of two million in 1988. In contrast, there's enough oil shale to maintain high production levels for hundreds of years. "Companies just aren't discovering new Prudhoe Bays anymore," says Bear Stearns oil analyst Nicole Decker, who thinks Shell has hit on a breakthrough technology. "This could be very significant - certainly bigger, to our knowledge, than any new discoveries that might be available globally."
Vinegar has been visiting northwest Colorado since 1979. For most of those years, his friends and co-workers back in Houston, and even his children, had no idea what he was doing there. They would have been even more mystified had they known that this Brooklyn-raised, Harvard-educated Ph.D.- a man who looks about as outdoorsy as Alan Greenspan in hiking boots - spent many of the project's early days camped out in rough terrain miles from the nearest motel.
The other side of carbon trading
But now the veil of secrecy has lifted. With some 200 Shell (Charts) oil shale patents already filed and approvals needed from Colorado and the U.S. Department of the Interior to proceed with commercial production, Shell knows it has to make the public case for developing the country's oil shale potential.
So after months of negotiations, Shell and Vinegar agreed to give FORTUNE an exclusive look at a new technology - inelegantly dubbed the In Situ Conversion Process, or ICP - that could vindicate Shell's 28-year, $200 million (at least) bet on oil shale research.
In a nutshell, ICP works like this: Shell drills 1,800-foot wells and into them inserts heating rods that raise the temperature of the oil shale to 650 degrees Fahrenheit. To keep the oil from escaping into the ground water, the heater wells are ringed by freeze walls created by coolant piped deep into the ground; this freezes the rock and water on the perimeter of the drill site. Eventually the heat begins to transform the kerogen (the fossil fuel embedded in the shale) into oil and natural gas. After the natural gas is separated, the oil is piped to a refinery to be converted into gasoline and other products
In essence, ICP simply accelerates Mother Nature's handiwork. Fifty million years ago, large swaths of what is now northwest Colorado, northeast Utah, and southwest Wyoming were covered by two great lakes. Algae, leaves and other prehistoric life forms sank to the bottom, leaving behind a thick layer of organic muck. Starved of oxygen, these sediments could not decay, and periodically they would be covered and compacted by sand and other rock deposits. Over millions of years, the pressure exerted by the weight of the rock layers transformed the organic layers into kerogen.
In its purest form, kerogen looks like ordinary black rock. In most parts of the Green River Formation, however, it exists as thin black or dark-gray stripes between lighter-colored layers of limestone or sandstone. Kerogen is an oil precursor. So given a few million more years, those layers would morph into an oozing crude. Of course nobody wants to wait that long, which is why there has been no shortage of attempts over the years to make use of Western oil shale. The Ute Indians called it "fire rock" and burned it for heating. Attempts to commercialize oil shale began in the early 20th century and accelerated during the 1970s Middle East oil crisis, when the Carter administration began pouring big money into synthetic fuels.
Problem was, the prevailing production process - known as surface retorting - was dirty and inefficient. Federal subsidies masked the problems, encouraging companies to build businesses they never would have created on shareholders' dimes. When oil prices collapsed, so did the economic rationale for shale oil. The day Exxon left town in 1982, turning some communities into ghost towns, is still remembered in northwestern Colorado as "Black Sunday."
The basic problem with surface retorting was that shale had to be mined, transported, crushed and then cooked at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Not only were there toxic waste byproducts, but the oil thus produced had to be purified and infused with hydrogen before it could be refined into gasoline and other products. Vinegar may be a physicist by training, but he thinks like an MBA, and to him such a labor- and energy-intensive process reeked of bad economics.
Wouldn't it be better, he thought, if Shell could extract a liquid that could be pumped and pipelined instead of a solid that had to be mined and trucked? Upon visiting a Shell surface-retorting site for the first time in 1979, he came to a quick, life-changing conclusion: "Wow, we're going to have to do this in situ."
The term "in situ" is Latin for "in place." In an engineering context, it means liquefying the oil shale while it is still underground. That is what Vinegar set out to do. The Eureka moment came in 1981. During a field experiment in Colorado, Vinegar and his colleagues set up camp on a patch of Shell-owned land where the oil shale was close to the surface. Then they drilled seven 20-foot wells within a 36-square-foot zone.
They inserted heating rods into six of the holes and positioned the seventh as a production well. "It was a very low-budget operation," Vinegar chuckles. "The oil would drain into the production well, and every morning we used a fishing pole with a little bailer on the bottom to get it out."
Most of the oil Vinegar and his colleagues collected was, in his estimation, "gunky." However, Vinegar noticed that when temperatures in the ground were still comparatively low, the oil recovered was light and pure. "It was almost optically clear, and that fascinated me," he says. "What was it that allowed us to make this beautiful-quality product early on but not later on?"
The truth about oil
Answering that question took years of lab work, but the company dug in. "Shell continued doing research, even in the 1980s when most everyone else quit," says Glenn Vawter admiringly. Vawter, a veteran of Exxon's failed oil shale operation, is now an executive with an oil shale startup, EGL Resources. In 1998 - when the price for West Texas crude crashed to less than $15 a barrel - Shell spent $799 million on R&D; by comparison, the larger Exxon Mobil spent $549 million.
In 2006, Shell spent $855 million on R&D to Exxon (Charts, Fortune 500)'s $733 million. Both Vinegar and Shell Vice President for Unconventional Production John Barry confirm that oil shale is now the biggest piece of the company's R&D budget, though neither will specify exactly how much has been spent. One source briefed by Shell officials puts the total oil shale R&D investment at north of $200 million.
Shell has long been known for its science. It invented the first semi-submersible offshore drilling rig and pioneered the use of steam flooding to maximize oil well production; it's also the industry leader in natural-gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology. Much of its research originates at its Bellaire Research Center in Houston, where Vinegar has spent most of his career.
The lab's most famous alumnus is the late M. King Hubbert, of Hubbert's Peak fame. Hubbert was the first geologist to understand the mechanics of oilfield depletion and the first to make a reasonably accurate assessment of recoverable oil reserves - initially for the U.S. and later for the world. The founding father of peak-oil theory, Hubbert predicted that U.S. production of conventional oil would peak around 1970 (he was right) and that global oil production would taper off after 2000 (he was wrong, though by how much is the topic of heated debate).
Neither Vinegar nor Barry wants to get drawn into a discussion of peak-oil theory. They simply state that the rapid growth in worldwide oil demand necessitates the development of unconventional oils. (Shell has also invested in biofuels and solar power.)
That said, it's no coincidence the oil company Hubbert once called home is the one now making the biggest bet on unconventional oil - not only oil shale but GTL and Canadian tar sands too. Jim Spehar, a former Colorado community-relations consultant for Shell, remembers company scientists and executives talking at length about peak oil - and about oil shale as a potential "bridge" between conventional oil and renewable energy - when he worked for Shell in the late 1990s.
"They definitely believed that the conventional stuff being pumped out of the ground was a declining resource," Spehar says.
Vinegar and the Shell team of chemists, engineers and physicists eventually figured out why the oil they collected early in that 1981 field test was so light and clean and the later samples so dark and dirty. They found that a slower, lower-temperature process - 650 degrees Fahrenheit, versus the 1,000 degrees required in the retorting process - allows more of the hydrogen molecules that are liberated from the kerogen during heating to react with carbon compounds and form a better oil.
This was a crucial discovery, because one of the hallmarks of a light oil - the most valuable kind because it costs less to refine - is its elevated hydrogen content.
Best of all, Shell was able to replicate the lab results in several field tests; the most recent one, in 2005, yielded 1,700 barrels of light oil. In that test, carefully engineered heating rods were inserted several hundred feet into the ground in order to gradually raise the temperature of the oil shale to 650 degrees Fahrenheit. Now Shell had a proven technology that it believed could produce a barrel of oil for $30.
It also knew it could recover a lot more oil than surface retorting did, since the heating rods and wells reach the entire deposit, not just the oil shale close enough to the surface to be mined. There was just one problem: Except for a few small patches of land that it owned, it didn't have access to the deposits. More than 80 percent of U.S. oil shale is on federal property, including nearly all the most desirable drilling sites. And no mechanism existed for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to lease this land for oil shale exploration or production.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed that. It required the BLM to set up a process for granting "research development and demonstration leases" to companies seeking to develop oil shale. Under the terms of the RD&D leases, companies whose applications pass muster are given a ten-year lease on 160 acres.
They are then expected to prove the commercial and environmental viability of their process, and if they do, they will be granted a second RD&D lease for an additional 5,100 acres. (Five thousand acres may not sound huge, but Shell believes that the most promising parts of the Green River Formation could yield more than one million barrels per acre using ICP.) Shell applied for and received three RD&D leases; EGL, Chevron (Charts, Fortune 500), and Alabama-based Oil Shale Exploration Co. got one each.
Jeremy Boak, a researcher at the Colorado School of Mines and the organizer of an annual oil shale conference there, believes Shell's oil shale technology is far ahead of the competition. Indeed, when FORTUNE met last spring with Chevron's oil shale team and its partners from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Chevroners indicated they were still fine-tuning the production process outlined in their lease application.
This involves fracturing the oil shale using explosives or high-pressure carbon dioxide, and then decomposing the kerogen into liquid fuel using supercritical CO2 or other solvents. The idea has not been field-tested yet.
Though there's no shortage of oil companies now looking to get into oil shale, Vinegar is confident that Shell's 200 oil shale patents, which cover everything from the composition and spacing of the heating rods to the molecular structure of the light oil ICP creates, will make it difficult for a competitor to come up with a competitive in situ process. (Indeed, there was some griping at the recent School of Mines conference about the breadth of Shell's patents.) Even so, it will probably be at least 18 months before Shell breaks ground on its first RD&D project and years before the oil hits market. The reason for the delay: another test.
Because there's no mining and because most of the action occurs underground, ICP is more environmentally benign than surface retorting or even tar sands production in Canada. But one big challenge is preventing the oil from leaching into ground water. Vinegar's solution was to create an impenetrable "freeze wall" of frozen rock and ice around the perimeter of the heating and production wells.
On a football-field-sized parcel of its own land, Shell is spending an estimated $30 million on a test that involves drilling 150 well bores and filling them with coolant in order to freeze surrounding rock and water to a temperature of minus-60 degrees Fahrenheit. "I do realize," says Vinegar, "that the whole idea of heating an area [to 650 degrees Fahrenheit] and simultaneously freezing around the circumference to keep the water out sounds almost like science fiction." Regardless, the freeze wall passed a smaller-scale test in 2004, and Vinegar says everything is proceeding as expected with the latest one.
All this cooling and heating, of course, consumes energy. Can it possibly be worth it? Yes, says Vinegar, who estimates ICP's ratio of energy produced to energy consumed will range from 3-to-1 to 7-to-1, depending upon the scale of the project. Moreover, the power needed to perform the heating and cooling will be generated entirely from natural gas produced onsite by the ICP process. Shell plans on building its own large power plant and is exploring ways to sequester any CO2 produced.
$90 oil won't kill the bull
Water is another worry. ICP uses a lot of water, mainly to refine the oil and purify the natural gas. (Shell plans on building a refinery onsite, which is news in itself: It would be the first new refinery built in the U.S. in 30 years.) Shell appears to be on solid legal footing with its water plans, as it owns senior rights for local river water.
And some of the water it intends to utilize will be salinated water pumped from deep aquifers that are not part of the conventional water supply. Nevertheless, the potential for political backlash remains high, given that this is a part of the country where water is scarce and fights over water rights get nasty. "It will certainly be an issue," says former Rifle mayor David Ling. "There's an old expression around here: We talk over whiskey and fight over water."
The last thing Shell wants is a fight with Coloradans. The 2005 energy act set up some guidelines for commercial leasing in addition to the RD&D program. Once Shell completes an environmental-impact report, presumably by 2008 or 2009, the Department of the Interior is expected to consult with the states to gauge whether there's sufficient support to proceed. Thus far, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has been cool to the idea without damning it altogether.
In a September letter to a DOE panel exploring ways to expedite oil shale production, Ritter - a Democrat who took office in January - cautioned that "proposed oil shale development overlaps areas with increasing tourism and recreational opportunities. Oil shale leasing on top of this existing network of energy development and changing land uses will put more pressure on an already fragile ecosystem and public temperament."
Ritter also asserted Colorado's right to regulate any in-state oil shale projects, though his letter did hint at a possible compromise, one that (surprise, surprise) boils down to money: "Bonus lease payments from federal leases for local government facilities and services [would] help mitigate impacts to local communities and build public acceptance for oil shale developments."
PetroChina begins planning $9B IPO
At the moment, the greens have been quiet on oil shale, perhaps because ICP is an upgrade over the former method. (Shell says its reclamation methods will restore land to its former appearance.) If you ask environmentalists, they do raise objections. "All the information we have points to industrial oil shale development as an enormous threat to our environment and a huge backward step," says Amy Mall, a senior policy analyst based in Boulder with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
There is no question that any large-scale oil shale development would dramatically affect the area, and the problem of how to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions has not been solved. That said, opposition to oil shale is nowhere near as loud and organized as the fight to stop drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Northwestern Colorado is certainly scenic - high desert plateaus interspersed with lush river valleys - but it's no ANWR.
Around Rifle (pop. 6,800), people seem at peace with Shell's oil shale plans, says Ling. There's already a thriving natural-gas industry in the region, so the idea of digging for oil doesn't give locals the shivers the way it would in more touristed, populated parts of the state. All that being said, once Shell gets closer to commercial production - Vinegar says it will be no sooner than 2015 - the politics will surely get prickly.
Oil: No longer a heavyweight
Shell insists that it has no beef with Governor Ritter's desire to proceed slowly. Even so, it's not leaving anything to chance. Shell has a public relations team devoted to oil shale and, in a shrewd move, the company has hired former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton as an in-house lawyer. The stakes are huge. Assuming only $20 in profit for each barrel produced (at today's inflated oil prices, it would be more like $50), 300,000 barrels per day would add $2.2 billion to Shell's annual pretax profits. And three million barrels a day would be worth $22 billion.
It could be decades before Shell hits the really big numbers, if it happens at all. The logistics are daunting. It has taken the tar sands industry of Canada almost 30 years to reach its current production of about a million barrels a day (although it could be double that by 2010).
A mature oil shale industry might employ tens of thousands of workers in sparsely populated parts of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming - and that doesn't include the indirect employment from shop, restaurants and other businesses serving oil companies and their workers. "There's a real question of how we manage that kind of development," says Dammer of the DOE.
While it waits for its latest freeze wall to freeze and for the BLM to grind its way toward some sort of commercial leasing program, Shell is exploring other applications for ICP. It is negotiating with Jordan to test it on that country's oil shale reserves and investigating whether ICP can produce oil from Canadian tar sands - in which Shell also has major investments - more efficiently than current methods.
For his part, Vinegar's attention is focused squarely on Colorado. "So many Americans have no idea that they're sitting on a resource several times the size of Saudi Arabia's," he says. "The fact is that it's entirely possible to produce this stuff. Our technology works. There's no doubt about it."
- Telis Demos, reporter associate, contributed to this story. Top of page
http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/30/magazines/fortune/Oil_from_stone.fortune/index3.htm
Oil Shale: The Future of U.S. Energy Security
Posted on: Friday, 16 November 2007, 06:00 CST
By Henry, Darrell A
Lobbyists make their case in Washington against pending energy bill provisions. Darrell Henry
The Western Business Roundtable, a group of diverse business executives operating in the West from oil, gas and mining, to agriculture to engineering and utilities, recently hosted a briefing in Washington, D.C, for more than 60 representatives of Congressional offices on the tremendous potential of oil shale. The roundtable was also there to lobby against provisions in the looming energy bill that could slow oil shale and other fossil energy development.
The roundtable works on a variety of issues, including economic development, environmental protection, regulatory reform, energy policy, public lands use, waste management, and air and water quality.
This article is a summary of the Western Business Roundtables position on oil shale and its presentations by Darrell Henry of the Roundtables Washington, D.C, office; Jim Bartis of the Rand Corp.; Scott Stewart of Shell Unconventional Resources; and Jim Bunger, an independent oil-shale consultant.
THE POTENTIAL
While oil shale occurs in much of the world, the western United States is home to the world's largest deposits. Most oil shales are fine-grained sedimentary rock containing high amounts of organic matter from which oil and gas may be extracted via a distillation (heating) process.
Oil shale was formed millions of years ago by the deposition of silt and organic debris on lake beds and sea bottoms. During time, heat and pressure transformed the materials into oil shale in a process similar to that which forms oil; however, the heat and pressure were not as great. Oil shale can contain enough oil to burn without additional processing, so it is also known as "the rock that burns."
Total world resources of oil shale are estimated at 2.6 trillion barrels of oil, with the Green River formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming containing an estimated 1.2 trillion to 1.8 trillion barrels- the largest deposits in the world.
Even by conservative estimates, there are 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil from oil shale in the area, an amount three times greater than the proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia.
INCREASED DOMESTIC ENERGY SECURITY
Energy independence is essential to preserve America's economic strength and national security. A recent report by the U.S. Department of Energy is the latest reminder that reducing our dependence on foreign imports of oil and refined products is essential to achieving the energy security objective.
Import reductions can be achieved in two fundamental ways: by reducing demand for oil through conservation and efficiency, and increasing production of fuels from domestic resources, including alternatives, biofuels and unconventional fuels. Oil shale has the potential to increase domestic energy security and make the U.S. less reliant on foreign sources of energy.
"The disturbing irony is that the world epicenter of anti- American hatred and terror is also the epicenter of our number one source of energy," said former New York Governor George Pataki.
In public opinion poll after poll, an overwhelming majority of citizens-nearly 85%-express strong support for weaning the U.S. from increasing foreign energy addiction. They want America to be as energy independent as possible. Soon, new American technologies can help Western oil shale do just that.
21ST CENTURY TECHNOLOGY
The greatest challenge to realizing the vast potential of oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming has been technology, extracting the resource in an economically viable and environmentally responsible way. With U.S. demand for petroleum products topping 20 million barrels per day, oil shale could be used to meet a quarter of that demand-800 billion barrels of recoverable resources, which would last more than 400 years.
A new era has begun for Western oil shale. We are closer to finding viable techniques for extracting the resource in an economically feasible and environmentally responsible way, with cutting-edge research and development under way by private companies in the region.
Oil shale must be mined and processed to generate oil similar to that pumped from the ground, but extracting oil from oil shale is more complex than conventional oil recovery and historically, more expensive. There are several methods to extract oil from shale; some are advancements to traditional techniques while others are being tested for the first time in the Green River formation.
Some companies are using new technology to improve on the traditional method of accessing oil shale. Oil shale is first mined and then heated to a high temperature (retorting); the resulting liquid is then separated and collected.
An alternative experimental process is referred to as "in-situ retorting." This involves heating the oil shale while it is still underground and then pumping the resulting liquid to the surface.
Shell Oil Co. has U.S. Bureau of Land Management research and development leases and is moving stage-by-stage to prove up and resolve the issues around extraction of shale through a proprietary process known as "thermally conductive in-situ conversion." Shell has carried out a small field-test, the Mahogany Demonstration Project South, on its private property in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, using an in-ground heating process to recover oil and gas from the shale formation.
The process involves heating underground oil shale using electric heaters placed in deep vertical holes drilled through a section of oil shale. The volume of oil shale is heated during a period of two or three years until it reaches 650[degrees]F to 700[degrees]F, at which point oil is released from the shale. The released product is gathered in collection wells positioned within the heated zone.
The field results have given confidence in Shell's insitu conversion process. A commercial decision on using this technology is anticipated early in the next decade, though possibly later depending on the sequence and outcome of research activities.
THE EFFECT OF EPACT 2005
Without the oil-shale provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005), federal oil shale land would remain unavailable to the private sector, as it has since 1930 when President Herbert Hoover issued Executive Order No. 5327, withdrawing oil shale from leasing.
Even though President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order No. 10355 in 1952, authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to rescind the Hoover order and lift the moratorium, to date it has not been lifted. (Limited leasing agreements in the 1970s were "prototypes" constructed so as not to have the effect of lifting the moratorium.)
With EPACT 2005, Congress provided clear direction in federal energy policy by instructing the Department of the Interior to develop a commercial leasing program and lift the leasing moratorium. With the exception of Shell, which is operating on private property, there has been no significant money put into oil- shale development on federal land since the prototype program in the 1970s.
EPACT 2005 was passed in August 2005, prior to the deadline for application of the leases in September 2005, and it is generally agreed among applicants and observers that it was the passage of EPACT 2005 and the prospect of obtaining additional contiguous acreage that generated enthusiasm for the experimental lease applications.
Some members of Congress wish to restore the barriers that have been in existence for nearly a century. If Congress succeeds in re- enacting barriers, we can expect the following:
* America's commercial oil-shale production will continue to be sidelined until the federal government provides clarity in its regulatory regime and leasing program;
* industry, and, more importantly, Wall Street, will perceive the proposed legislation as hostile to oil shale. This is a dangerous direction and could slow or halt any investment until favorable government policy is expressed;
* current lessees are likely to be discouraged from making large investments. In the case of the Utah lease, the 5,120-acre preference may not be sufficient to support a full-scale operation. Without a clear path to development, investors prudently will likely hold back from investing further in oil shale; and
* loss of oil shale as one of our domestic resources will exacerbate a future supply crisis. As we've seen from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and the conflicts in the Middle East, the U.S. is highly vulnerable to supply disruptions, and with continued competition for the world's oil supply from China, India and other burgeoning economies, there is some urgency to begin the process.
Lawmakers should recognize the danger of removing this vast resource (richer and larger than the Alberta oil sands) from our domestic energy base.
The lack of clear government policy has inhibited development of this domestic resource for nearly a century. The first serious attempt with the passage of EPACT 2005 to remove century-old, government-induced impediments to development of this resource is in jeopardy because of legislation pending in Congress.
Members of Congress must recognize that delaying, and even cutting off, the regulatory and leasing process effectively removes this resource from our domestic supply options, at least while our government policy is in limbo. Given the competition for investment in energy supply in other parts of the world and the pressures to develop the resource, it's only a matter of time before retreating on the oil-shale provisions in EPACT 2005 is seen as a colossal mistake.
OIL SHALE AND THE WEST
Development of this vast domestic resource could supply the U.S. energy needs for up to 400 years. This presents an opportunity to improve the national energy security position and reduce the instability caused by dependence on foreign sources of energy.
Oil shale's economic benefits would be substantial, not just to our impacted communities, but to American consumers at large. Based on a 3-million-barrel-per-day production rate, estimates are the industry would generate:
* $20 billion annually in revenues through lease bonus payments, royalties on production and corporate income taxes. Roughly half of those profits would likely go to federal, state and local governments;
* several hundred thousand jobs in direct industry employment, plus the associated ripple effect; and
* an estimated 3% to 5% decline in, world oil prices, which would benefit consumers and business users in the U.S. by about $15 billion to $20 billion a year.
Author's note: Research content, credits and thanks go to the Rand Corp., Shell Unconventional Resources, the American Petroleum Institute and Jim Bunger, an independent oil shale consultant.
BY DARRELL A. HENRY, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, WESTERN BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE
Copyright Hart Energy Publishing, LP Nov 2007
Source: Oil & Gas Investor
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1146906/oil_shale_the_future_of_us_energy_security/index.html>Link
it may be that the shares have to be accumulated as its between 20% & 30% available to adrs, also it may be that so many adrs have to be traded before they are shown at the bank of new york.
Cadence you mean? No. But I know of Crosby and researched him and Ryan.
No buying yet? Guessing they're waiting for news.
did you follow crosby previously in candence resorces
Looks good. I noticed it a few months ago. Nice, we can buy easily now.
This is a great company with great management.News is expected any time now from their drilling prospects in texas, their are 5 wells to be drilled in tenessee.Further news is also expected on other prospects.
Issued Share Capital
443,450,975 Ordinary Shares of 0.5p in the Company. No shares are held in Treasury.
Shares not in Public Hands
248,124,681 shares are considered by the Company not to be in public hands. This represents 55.95% of the company as at 30th January 2007.
TomCo Energy Plc is an Isle of Man company, listed on the London AIM market, with oil holdings in the United States.
TomCo holds two State of Utah oil shale leases comprising approx 2918 acres in the Green River oil shale formation which are estimated by independent geologists, SRK, to contain some 230 million barrels of oil. Shell has recently announced that its in-situ oil shale extraction technology could be economic at oil prices of US$30 per barrel.
The Company´s strategy is two-pronged: Firstly to hold the TomCo leases as a long term asset to be exploited when the commercial conditions are suitable, expected to be within 6 years. Secondly, to acquire and develop conventional oil assets in the USA. Led by Howard Crosby and John Ryan, the Company will concentrate principally on acquiring participations in shallow producing oil wells and proven drilling prospects, principally by leveraging their expertise and extensive industry contacts.
Howard Crosby and John Ryan were directors of Cadence Resources which rose in value from under US$1 million in 2001, when the company adopted its oil and gas investment strategy, to over $450 million in June 2006 when Mr Crosby stepped down as director. Together with John May, our financial director, they are also directors of Platinum Diversified Mining Inc which raised $79.5m when it moved to AIM in March 2006.
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Read this very important link (cut n paste if necessary)
http://wiki.advfn.com/en/TomCo_Energy#Ecoshale_Benefits
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