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Spec29 & OpusX all IMO, just adding all up clues
a Rig IMO is would be the best potential for news leakage due to the amount of people associated in the full process
see msgs# 122470 + 122516
thanks ... if Kosmos has/had a 90 day firm + 90 day option on the Aban A than it would make perfect sense to assume if we were supposed to take delivery on/about July 2009
if Kosmos is having financial issues ...
ADDAX / ERHC could take delivery potentially in late 2008 instead
.... as they [or the press] has hinted
WoW !!
yup - just waiting for the News Wire
RED - I have ruled out the leakage of a SEC/DoJ clearance
[no one would be talking]
and ruled out the BuyIn Scenario for now
[no one would be talking] cant see SEO selling/dealing pre-drilling
So this leaves only 1 major CATALYST driving this run up
An Updated RIG Announcement Must be Close !!! [to confirm drilling in 2008]
Lets Discuss .....with A Rig Announcement there would be many parties privied to such news and a more logical explanation for news leakage
the Rig Operators
the Rig Servicing teams
the Parts teams
the Lawyers
the Accountants
the Governing Bodies / JDA and staffers * key source of Leakage IMO
and all the Consortium Partners etc
I'm sure there are more as well
Many Many folks would / could be privided to a Rig Announcement News - prior to its release
Could Be Something - Could Be Nothing
or COULD BE EVERYTHING
the SPECULATION Continues ...
Hosted at SEO's house !!!
I have been pondering what the driving CATALYST has been which has fueled this aggressive run up from $0.18
- in which the PPS was quiet for 4 months and then exploded to the upside to finish at a new 52 Wk high of $0.52 on strong VOL
a] a buying group
b] basic valuation adjustment
c] a Buyin Scenario
d] a Rig Announcement
e] SEC/DoJ Clearance
f] delayed reaction to the Nig O&G event in Feb
g] details of the JDZ Block seismic being passed around
h] long investors topping up
i] SH Meeting
j] New PR Team and first class marketing
etc.
It is hard to know for sure but IMO there must be one of the above events unfolding
d] is the most logical at this juncture as hints have already surfaced that ADDAX is more ready to drill on short notice, the Kosmos financial issues may get us the AA sooner and a Rig of Opp. coming on line.
It is this CATALYST that will not only test our all time highs in the $0.90s BUT will push us into the $1.00 range and THIS TIME stay there and base higher.
IMO the $0.20s are gone forever [say goodbye] hope everyone averaged down - Our time has come and is overdue
Its been a long ride from $0.005
LONGS Will Be Handsomely rewarded !!!
E*Trade now has Global Trading includling
Toronto Exchanges ....
TSE and TSX
$9.99 / a trade
$7.99 / active traders
Great Post ERHCLongtimer
this is what its all about
nice to see green - Cheers everyone
Bye Bye $0.50s
***** ERHC NEWS ***** Interim CEO Updates ERHC Energy Inc. Shareholders
Thursday March 27, 12:41 pm ET
HOUSTON, TX--(MARKET WIRE)--Mar 27, 2008 -- The following update on Company activities was issued by Nicolae Luca, interim chief executive officer of ERHC Energy Inc. (OTC BB:ERHE.OB - News), on Thursday, March 27, 2008.
ADVERTISEMENT
"To ERHC Shareholders:
"I am pleased once again to provide an update on the recent progress of ERHC Energy Inc.
"Our team continues to make progress toward exploration of some of our assets in the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of West Africa. ERHC Energy's assets in the Gulf of Guinea include interests in the deepwater Joint Development Zone (JDZ) as well as interests in the territorial waters of São Tomé and Príncipe known as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). To date, attention has been focused on JDZ Blocks 2, 3 and 4.
"JDZ Block 4 is most likely to be the first of our exploratory drilling locations. ERHC has a 26.7 percent (1) participating interest in JDZ Block 4. Our technical partner, Addax Petroleum, an experienced exploration and production company with significant interests throughout the JDZ, is the operator of JDZ Block 4. Addax executives have indicated that drilling could commence as early as the fourth quarter of this year. The Joint Development Authority (JDA), which was set up by the governments of Nigeria and São Tomé and Príncipe to administer the JDZ, has approved the first drilling location, the Kina Prospect.
"Initial exploration of JDZ Block 2, in which ERHC Energy has a 22 percent participating interest, is currently expected to commence in 2009. Sinopec Corp. is the operator of JDZ Block 2. As we have stated previously, Sinopec and Addax Petroleum jointly contracted the Aban Abraham deepwater drillship, which continues to undergo refurbishment in Singapore. Discussions continue regarding the specific drilling location in JDZ Block 2.
"In JDZ Block 3, in which ERHC Energy has a 10 percent participating interest, the JDA has approved the first well location at what is known as the Lemba Prospect. Anadarko is the operator of JDZ Block 3 and has not disclosed a potential timeline for exploration.
"If you have not recently visited the ERHC Web site, I encourage you to review the latest seismic images that have been disclosed by our technical partner, Addax Petroleum, at http://www.erhc.com/jdzprospectivity The images showcase what geologists and engineers, using advanced technologies, have determined lies beneath 5,000 feet of water and sand on the bottom of the Gulf of Guinea.
"ERHC remains interested in diversifying its asset and investment portfolio. As reported several months ago, ERHC's board of directors approved the reformulation of ERHC's business plan and expansion of strategic focus in August 2007. Greater flexibility was therefore granted to the Company's leadership, letting us explore opportunities beyond the Gulf of Guinea. Most recently, after due consideration and technical appraisal of a proposal to acquire a significant stake in a company pursuing mining investments in South East Asia, ERHC decided not to pursue the proposal. Going forward, ERHC will continue to consider opportunities in mining and minerals in addition to possible acquisitions in oil and gas.
"Plans are taking shape for ERHC Energy's annual shareholders' meeting on April 22, 2008. The requisite notice of meeting and proxy statement were filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 17, 2008. The documentation has been mailed to all shareholders of record as of that date. The meeting will be held at the Renaissance Houston Hotel in Houston, Texas. We hope to see you there.
"ERHC Energy's annual report for 2007 has been completed and is also being sent to shareholders of record as of March 17, 2008. The annual report extends the Company's theme, 'Deep Opportunity.' The annual report continues our telling of the ERHC story and we encourage you to pass it along to others.
"Speaking of telling the ERHC story, the ERHC Energy staffers were doing a lot of that at Nigeria Oil & Gas 2008, a major conference and exhibition in Abuja, Nigeria where ERHC had a significant presence as sponsor and exhibitor. Some photographs from the event have been posted on our Web site and if you have not already seen them, please do so. According to conference organizers, the event attracted nearly 4,400 visitors, approximately 1,100 conference delegates and more than 100 journalists. It was an enormous success. Stories featuring ERHC Energy have already appeared in a number of trade publications.
"And finally, we have received a number of questions from shareholders regarding the significance of a photograph used in various marketing materials and posted online in February. As we have consistently stated, ERHC's management continues to explore options, proposals and prospects that might advance the interests of the Company and our shareholders. It is important to note, however, that ERHC Energy has not signed any letters of intent (LOIs), memoranda of understanding, undertakings or any other form of legal obligation related to any information or transaction that might appear to be depicted in the photograph. In the event that the ERHC leadership signs or enters into any LOIs or agreements related or giving rise to any material transaction, we will publicly disclose that information by the requisite means of dissemination.
"On behalf of the entire ERHC Energy family, thank you for your ongoing trust and support."
Sincerely, Nicolae Luca Acting Chief Executive Officer
This press release contains statements concerning ERHC Energy Inc.'s future operating milestones, future drilling operations, the planned exploration and appraisal program, future prospects, future investment opportunities and financing plans, future shareholders' meetings, response to the Senate Subcommittee investigation, developments in the SEC investigation of the Company and related proceedings, as well as other matters that are not historical facts or information. Such statements are inherently subject to a variety of risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, projected, expressed or implied. A discussion of the risk factors that could impact these areas and the Company's overall business and financial performance can be found in the Company's reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors include, among others, those relating to the Company's ability to exploit its commercial interests in the JDZ and the exclusive territorial waters of São Tomé and Príncipe, general economic and business conditions, changes in foreign and domestic oil and gas exploration and production activity, competition, changes in foreign, political, social and economic conditions, regulatory initiatives and compliance with governmental regulations and various other matters, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Given these concerns, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on these statements. Each of the above statements speaks only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any of the above statements is based.
(1) Subject to a possible transfer of 7.2 percent to Addax Petroleum on parameters that are currently being determined.
Contact:
Contact:
Dan Keeney, APR
DPK Public Relations
832-467-2904
Email Contact
Source: ERHC Energy
http://www.ERHC.com
EOIM - thanks we appreciate your input !!
Hey are you suprised the company after 7 years is finally pushing [promoting] thier assets per todays PR, Nig O&G, shareholder meeting and regular Conf Calls etc.
specifically ... http://www.erhc.com/jdzprospectivity/
up to a short while ago news was only sent out on a NEED TO KNOW BASIS
now with DK's help, it seems the days of keeping quiet are long gone
TELL THE WORLD - may be the new motto !!
we will all sleep well tonight ...
http://www.erhc.com/jdzprospectivity/
Thanks Dan !!! GREAT NEWS !!!!!!
Joe S - blog says it all
Oily - Right on Track
$0.42 is 52 week high
you can bet some alarms will go off when we touch it
correct !!! JUNE is Rose Month
Definitions of autonomy at Dictionary.com. ...
1. independence or freedom,
as of the will or one's actions:
agree but never with the drill parts ordered
never with our balance sheet so clean
never with SEO out
never with our PR Team in place
never with Oil over $100
the "news" is we are undervalued
and everyday closer to the grand prize of HUGE OIL
going into an April shareholder meeting
will help to ...
"keep the pedal on the metal"
WoW !!! LOL
he predicted SEO would "Walk the Plank" way before anyone else did like a year before
so I give him some credit
However I have yet to see any confirmation of additional drilling in the JDZ ?????
ERHC is Still ERHC !!!!!! he said it wouldn't
He Said we'd have a producing Well, Well ????
Not sure what the Exxon Connection is either
They walked on BL 2,4 and then on BL 1
????????????
OILY, thx BUT speak in complete sentences.
no more games
What are you saying ????
How many dollars ???
How big will this party be ???
Who's invited ???
When ???
Where do I send the RSVP ???
keep in mind too, there are always Risk's Accociated ...
Risk of Gas / Risk of Non Commercial Quantities / Financial Risk / Legal Risk / General Market Risk / Political Risk
however our ambitious partner has the best track record in the region, so we are in good hands going forward
But all factors must be considered
Fyi Peter Ntephe is also in London hmmmm.
Joint Announcement coming perhaps ???
new Video of Addax CEO Jean Claude 03/2008
http://www.eurobusinessmedia.com/media/080314addaxWmp.html
Ambitions
"Want to be the largest Independent O&G producer in the World"
Interesting the JDZ is their most exciting project going forward - Hmmmm
UAE, Qatar to Set Up $2 Billion Acquisition Fund
[lets not forget our pals & old employees in Dubai etc]
http://www.cnbc.com/id/23789558
Abu Dhabi government-owned IPIC and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will establish a $2 billion fund for global acquisitions, the managing director of IPIC said on Tuesday.
"We plan to invest in all sectors, including oil and petrochemicals," Khadem al-Qubaisi told Reuters by telephone in an interview.
The fund could thus mark a new direction for the International Petroleum Investment (IPIC), which until now has limited its investments to the energy sector.
IPIC is an investment vehicle for the government of Abu Dhabi, which controls more than 90 percent of the United Arab Emirates' oil reserves.
QIA is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. Its assets stand at around $60 billion, according to an estimate by Standard Chartered.
"We will look at any opportunities where we can make money and add value. That could be anywhere -- the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe and the United States," Qubaisi said.
The new fund has yet to identify any specific targets, he said.
IPIC and QIA will each invest $1 billion in the fund initially, Qubaisi said. Investment will be leveraged to maximize acquisition potential, and the fund will be operating in about six months, he said.
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IPIC and QIA investment in the fund will likely be increased later.
"We will be conservative with the first investments and build carefully," he said. "You cannot be aggressive from day one."
Sovereign funds from the Middle East, Asia, Russia and China have poured billions of dollars into large stakes in Wall Street firms, arousing concern among U.S. lawmakers that politics may be influencing investments.
U.S. and Abu Dhabi officials agreed last week on a set of principles for the funds to keep politics out of decisions.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is thought to be the largest sovereign fund in the world, controlling assets of over $800 billion. The UAE is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, and its government has reaped the windfall from a five-fold increase in crude prices since 2002.
Funds including QIA and ADIA have helped rescue struggling Western banks in recent months
Why do you say - based on what > ?
WoW !!!
[ERHC] Sinking Its Hopes Into a Tiny Nation
LA Times [Front Page]
Saturday, May 24, 2003
Obscure Texas oil firm, secures a deal with poor Sao Tome and Principe
By KEN SILVERSTEIN,
Times Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- Environmental Remediation Holding Corp. / ERHC hasn't reported a penny of revenue for four years and has piled up more than $30 million in losses. Its stock price hovers around 10 cents a share.
Yet thanks to its sole asset -- a con-tract that gives it a major stake in a tiny West African nation's oil fields -- the obscure Texas oil company appears to be on the verge of a stunning turnaround.
ERHC secured its oil rights from Sao Tome and Principe, an island nation so poor that it supplements its budget by issuing commemorative stamps of Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles and other celebrities.
The company's oil contract, made final last month, gives it rights to two offshore fields in Sao Tome's territorial waters and a significant share in deposits in an area jointly controlled by Sao Tome and Nigeria.
About 6-11 billion barrels of crude are believed to lie beneath those waters. Without a drilling rig to its name, ERHC could reap hundreds of millions of dol-lars from its holdings. The company has not revealed its plans, but analysts pre-dict it will sell its interest to one of the industry giants.
That a small energy speculator could get such a lucrative foothold in Sao Tome has mystified experts, who suspect the company benefited from the coun-try's inexperience in the oil business.
Bill Brumbaugh, a Houston energy consultant who advised Sao Tome on its contract with ERHC, says the deal amounts to "a raid on Sao Tome's future national treasury."
The contract has outraged internal opposition groups, which accuse the government of taking bribes. Last month, Sao Tome's president, Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes, admitted secretly receiving $100,000 from ERHC's chairman. De Menezes insisted the money was a campaign contribution.
ERHC officials deny bribing the president. They acknowledge winning highly favorable terms and offer no apologies. They say they've spent $12 million so far on the Sao Tome venture, about half in payment to the national treasury and the rest to chart the country's offshore waters and otherwise pave the way for exploration by multinational energy firms.
The original agreement between the company and Sao Tome was signed in 1997. Since then, it has twice been re-negotiated, and successive governments have threatened to kill it. Yet the comp-any emerged last month with some of the most generous terms ever bestowed on a foreign oil firm. The beneficiaries in-clude a Nigerian businessman, who owns nearly half the shares, and a handful of Texas oilmen.
"ERHC is in the catbird seat," says Phil Nugent, a Houston-based oil and gas consultant and a major shareholder in the company. "We're going to get our pound of flesh and I think we're due it."
West African Oil Rush
ERHC's dealings with Sao Tome reflect a rush for oil riches in West Africa. The region provides 15% of American oil imports, and the figure is expected to grow to 25% within a decade as the U.S. government seeks to reduce energy reliance on the Middle East.
Major oil producers such as Nigeria and Angola have highly trained energy experts and lawyers and can negotiate on equal terms with big oil companies.
But newcomers with unproven reserves, such as Sao Tome, frequently turn to small European or U.S. consulting firms, which conduct or arrange geological surveys, help write foreign investment laws and try to interest big oil companies in developing reserves. The consulting firms typically collect a flat fee, or make their profit by selling their geological surveys to the big companies.
ERHC, instead, negotiated a stake in Sao Tome's oil fields, including a 14% share of the most promising ones. If the country's reserves weren't as big as believed, or couldn't be exploited, the company would be out its relatively small outlay. On the other hand, if Sao Tome's oil potential was borne out, the company stood to make a vast return.
Andrew Latham, a West Africa expert for Wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting firm in Edinburgh, Scotland, says the Sao Tome-ERHC agreement is far out of line with industry standards.
"There are plenty of examples where a small firm will get in early and help promote a country's oil acreage. Their rewards are relatively minor " Latham said. "I've never seen a company get a stake like ERHC obtained in Sao Tome."
Africa's smallest nation, Sao Tome is composed of two islands with a combined territory of 372 square miles -- about one-third the size of Rhode Island -- and a population of 170,000. The country straddles the equator and is located west of Gabon in the Gulf of Guinea.
Sao Tome gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and, unlike most African nations, is a parliamentary democracy with little history of military involvement in politics. Per capita income is a mere $300, and Sao Tome imports all its fuel as well as most consumer goods and food.
Sao Tome's top export earner is cocoa. Besides issuing commemorative stamps, the country raises revenue by serving as a flag of convenience for the shipping industry and by renting its phone lines to porn operators to route phone-sex calls, a common practice in the Third World since developed countries cracked down on "telesex" businesses a decade ago.
"The country has a national anthem and a flag, but it only exists as an independent state because of foreign financial support," says Gerhard Seibert, author of a history of Sao Tome.
Taiwan, the biggest single donor, agreed to contribute $30 million in 1997 in exchange for Sao Tome's granting diplomatic recognition to the island republic and severing relations with mainland China.
First Contract in 1997
ERHC's interest in Sao Tome's oil grew out of a conversation six years ago between Noreen Wilson, a Washington lobbyist, and an official at Procura Financial Consultants, a South African oil consulting firm.
The company official mentioned that Procura was exploring
opportunities in Sao Tome and was looking for an American partner. Wilson's cousin, James Griffin, was on the board of ERHC.
The company, founded in 1986, was involved in waste disposal and cleanup for the oil industry. It had 25 full-time employees, including three petroleum engineers and two geologists. Its contracts included one with Chevron to plug 400 wells in Louisiana.
Wilson said she persuaded the company's chief executive -- then Sam L. Bass Jr., a former wildcatter who had sold oil-drilling equipment to Nigeria and put out oil fires in Kuwait after the Persian Gulf War -- to take a close look at Sao Tome. In early 1997, Wilson, Griffin and several officials from Procura traveled to the islands to speak with government officials.
In short order, they signed a deal. ERHC paid the government $5 million for the right to market the country's oil potential. ERHC, which later bought out Procura's rights, was awarded a minimum of four oil fields and was exempted from all taxes. The agreement also created a state oil company, STPetro. ERHC and the government were to split future profits in STPetro. Wilson was appointed STPetro's president and ERHC's chief financial officer.
"Was the deal a little rich?" asks Wilson. "Yeah, it probably was, but who else was going to take the risk back then? They couldn't give their oil away, let alone get someone to pay them for it."
Wilson said she no longer has an official position with ERHC, but owns millions of shares of company stock.
Brumbaugh, who later advised Sao Tome on how to improve the deal, said ERHC took advantage of the country's inexperience. "The playing field was unequal. So when ERHC asked for the moon, they got it."
The lead negotiator for Sao Tome, Carlos Gomes, wound up with an executive position in the new state oil firm and a $4,000 monthly salary paid by ERHC, according to company officials and corporate records.
ERHC also provided an academic scholarship at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for Gomes' son, according to Wilson and Jim Callender, a former company executive. The children of two other well-connected Sao Tomeans also received scholarships from ERHC, they said.
"It didn't cost much to get on the right side of key government decision-makers," says Gregory Craig, a prominent Washington attorney who briefly served as an advisor to Sao Tome.
Gomes defended the agreement. "At the time, no one had expressed any interest in exploring for oil in Sao Tome," he said in an interview in London this year. "We didn't have any other offers to pick from."
Gomes did not reply to e-mails seeking comment on the benefits he received from ERHC.
Deals Renegotiated
ERHC paid a geographer to chart Sao Tome's waters and lawyers to file demarcation paperwork with the United Nations. ERHC helped settle territorial disputes with neighboring nations, paying the government's legal fees, travel expenses for Sao Tome leaders and other costs. The company also drummed up oil industry interest in the country's reserves.
ERHC was soon in financial trouble. It had largely abandoned its waste disposal and cleanup activities to focus on Sao Tome, which had yet to yield any revenue. Investors were growing skittish because the International Monetary Fund was encouraging Sao Tome to renegotiate the ERHC deal, which the fund said was overly generous to the company.
In 1999, Bass sold his controlling interest in ERHC to Geoffrey Tirman of Talisman Capital, a Little Rock, Ark., investment firm that was a significant investor in ERHC. At the time, Sao Tome was complaining that ERHC was not doing enough to develop its oil industry.
Tirman traveled to Sao Tome in the fall of 1999 to patch things up but talks with the government of President Miguel Trovoada quickly broke down. On his way out of the country, Tirman held a news conference and accused government officials of asking for bribes. The government denied the allegation and charged Tirman with sedition.
After Tirman apologized, the matter was dropped. But Sao Tome announced it would not honor the contract. Tirman filed for arbitration. Then, in 2001, Tirman sold out to Emeka Offor, a Nigerian businessman. By then, ERHC was little more than a shell.
Offor, a friend and occasional business partner of Nugent, the ERHC shareholder, owns a cargo airline, a bank, a newspaper and major telecommunications interests. He appointed himself chairman of ERHC's board but kept the company's headquarters in Houston.
In response to complaints from Sao Tome officials, Offor renegotiated ERHC's deal in May 2001 with the Trovoada administration.
Under the new agreement, ERHC relinquished certain rights, notably its stake in the state oil company. In return, it was granted, among other benefits, a share of Sao Tome's future oil profits and retained its rights to choice oil fields.
Two months later, De Menezes was elected president and, after taking office in September 2001, vowed to revoke the agreement. ERHC threatened legal action but eventually agreed to yet another renegotiation, which began in earnest this year.
By that point, Sao Tome was eager to sign a deal so exploration could commence, said Brumbaugh, the oil consultant. "They saw Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and other countries getting rewards from oil, and they were sucking sand."
The country's lead negotiator was the minister of natural resources, Rafael Branco, whose two children were among those who had received college scholarships from ERHC, according to Wilson and Callender, the former company officials.
Sao Tome's National Petroleum Commission played an advisory role. One of its members was an ERHC shareholder and former company consultant. Two other commission members had been on ERHC's payroll at the state-run oil company. So had two members of another government board overseeing oil exploration in the Joint Development Zone with Nigeria.
Branco did not reply to a request for comment.
The contract, as renegotiated by the Branco-led team, gave ERHC a 14% stake in nine especially promising fields in the Joint Development Zone. It left intact the company's rights in Sao Tome's wholly owned territorial waters, where ERHC has full ownership of two oil fields and a 30% share in two others.
In most of the fields in which it was awarded rights, ERHC was exempted from paying a "signature bonus" -- a one-time fee that oil companies typically pay governments for exploration rights. In West Africa, such bonuses have ranged from a few million dollars per field up to $300 million, the sum ExxonMobil recently paid for rights in Angola.
Chuda Mba, the Nigerian chief executive of ERHC and its lead negotiator, said he had agreed to Sao Tome's chief demand -- that the company relinquish a cut of the government's future oil earnings. In exchange, ERHC asked for and received a larger ownership interest in Sao Tome's oil fields.
"They got what they wanted and we got what we wanted," Mba said by phone from London.
Noreen Wilson was jubilant. "As a shareholder, I'm thrilled," she said. "Everyone was focused on what we gave up and no one added up what we got."
During a public appearance in April, Rafael Branco said the deal marked a "watershed" in Sao Tome's history. "The government and the people of Sao Tome have been keenly waiting for the dawn of this day," he said.
The deal was formally concluded April 10. The next day, an open letter signed by dozens of civic and political leaders accused De Menezes of selling out the national interest.
They charged that the president had received $100,000 from a Bahamian-registered company controlled by Offor in February 2002. The money was allegedly deposited into the account of a Belgian company that De Menezes owns.
At a news conference on April 23 -- the day after the Los Angeles Times sent De Menezes an e-mail asking about the allegation – the president acknowledged accepting the money. He described it as a contribution to his political party and an allied party for parliamentary elections.
John Coleman, ERHC's sole employee in Houston, said the company had nothing to do with the payment.
Sao Tome and Nigeria have announced that they will take bids in October for exploration rights in nine oil fields they jointly own.
Multinational firms "are going to do back flips to get in," predicted Nugent, the ERHC shareholder.
"The IMF and everybody else dumped all over ERHC about Sao Tome, but they forget that we're the one who brung 'em to the dance," he said. "At the end of the day we're going to have the last laugh."
ERHC Energy Strikes Gold in Huge Oil Deal
Houston Chronicle
March 13, 2005, 12:42AM
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3082404
African nation promises local ERHC Energy a share of profits
By DAVID IVANOVICH
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
The impoverished West African nation of São Tomé and Príncipe may
soon become the world's newest oil exporter, and its leaders have
entrusted the country's great hopes to an obscure Houston company.
The winner of this prize: ERHC Energy, which has one full-time
employee, $21,000 in cash and no experience drilling offshore.
This little-known company, based in a Westheimer office building,
has been promised a share in a potential crude bonanza in the Gulf
of Guinea.
São Tomé and neighboring Nigeria have been evaluating bids from oil
companies wanting to drill in waters that are believed to hide more
than 11 billion barrels of crude.
Five offshore blocks in a joint development zone are up for grabs.
Little ERHC has been guaranteed a cut in each one.
"I've never heard of anything like it, anywhere in the world" — at
least not since Africa's colonial days, said Jedrzej George Frynas,
a lecturer in international management at England's University of
Birmingham.
Exxon Mobil Corp. has been granted rights to claim a stake in two of
these blocks. The oil industry is watching to see whether the
world's largest publicly traded company will jump in with this
strange bedfellow.
ERHC's aggressive, penny-stock investors are all but salivating at
the prospects. On Web sites such as www.ragingbull.com or Bradenton,
Fla., investor Joe Shea's weblog, erhc.blogspot.com, they trade tips
and rumors as they await word that the blocks have been awarded.
"I'm a little disappointed that I'm not already a millionaire," Shea
said.
The story of how this small company gained such influence is drawn
from interviews with government leaders, company officials,
diplomatic sources, human rights groups, Africa specialists, and oil
and gas analysts.
Eight years ago, ERHC officials waded out to remote São Tomé before
others in the oil industry were willing to give the twin-island
nation more than a passing glance.
The company has since negotiated a series of deals its competitors
can only envy.
Critics say ERHC took advantage of a commercially naive government
with no experience in the oil sector.
But despite successive political uproars over its contracts, threats
to jail the company's chief executive officer and revelations of a
$100,000 payment — not to mention a coup attempt — ERHC has held on
to its prize.
RESOURCES
TIMELINE
A short history of ERHC Energy:
• 1986: Colorado-based Regional Air Group Corp. is formed. The
company later evolves into an environmental cleanup firm known as
Environmental Remediation Holding Corp.
• 1996: The company reinvents itself again as an oil and gas
producer.
• 1997: ERHC officials explore oil opportunities in São Tomé and
Príncipe, an island nation off the West African coast.
• 1998: ERHC helps establish a state-owned oil company in São Tomé
and takes a 49 percent stake in the entity. What's now Exxon Mobil
provides technical assistance and earns its own special rights.
• 1999: The deal collapses. ERHC CEO Geoffrey Tirman accuses São
Tomé's lead negotiator of demanding bribes. The government
cries "sedition," and Tirman is forced to flee.
• 2001: Nigeria and São Tomé sign a treaty to create a joint
development zone. Tirman sells his stake to wealthy Nigerian
businessman Emeka Offor, who negotiates a new deal. ERHC moves its
headquarters to Houston.
• 2002: São Tomé's new president, Fradique de Menezes, again demands
a new agreement.
• 2003: ERHC successfully negotiates current agreement. De Menezes
acknowledges Offor made a $100,000 campaign contribution. A coup
attempt in São Tomé fails.
• 2004: ERHC teams up with Pioneer Natural Resources, Devon Energy
and Noble Energy to bid on three offshore blocks.
Source: Chronicle research
Known for its stamps
Straddling the equator, the nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is a
former Portuguese colony of 150,000 people.
For generations, its economy was dominated by cocoa and coffee
exports, and stamp collectors knew São Tomé for its Elvis Presley
and Marilyn Monroe stamps.
But São Tomé also is in the hydrocarbon-rich Gulf of Guinea. And as
oil producers pushed out into ever-deeper waters hunting for crude,
São Tomé took on a new luster.
Enter ERHC. Founded in 1986 as Colorado-based Regional Air Group
Corp., the firm has morphed through several business plans —
airlines, environmental cleanup and now oil and gas producer — and
has undergone three major management changes.
At fiscal year's end last September, nearly 10 percent of the
company's stock was controlled by Nigeria's First Atlantic Bank.
The bank was issued the stock to settle a lawsuit against the
company's chairman, Nigerian billionaire Emeka Offor, and his
various business interests, including ERHC. First Atlantic, seeking
repayment of a $57 million loan, had accused Offor of fraud.
And no one really knows, yet, whether all the great expectations
will prove true.
West Africa accounts for 15 percent of all U.S. oil imports, a
figure that is expected to rise in coming years. And the Gulf of
Guinea has been prolific.
But many of the oil prospects off São Tomé are in waters more than a
mile deep. And in such depths, fields holding 100 million barrels of
crude may not justify the expense.
"Everybody talks about it as if there's no exploration risk," noted
Michael Rodgers, a senior director at Washington-based PFC Energy
and an expert on West African oil. "No one's drilled a well there
yet."
Company came calling
In 1997, executives and shareholders for what was then known as
Environmental Remediation Holding Corp. approached tiny São Tomé
about developing its offshore resources.
When approached by ERHC, "we had no experience, no know-how," Luis
Alberto dos Prazeres, executive director of São Tomé's National
Petroleum Agency, said in an interview.
Longtime ERHC investor Phil Nugent is more blunt: "They didn't know
pipe was hollow."
Those talks led to the creation of a state-owned oil company.
With the promise of a $5 million investment, ERHC was granted a 49
percent ownership stake in the company.
This initial deal included a pledge that ERHC would provide college
scholarships for São Tomé's youth, with the idea of creating a cadre
of homegrown oil and gas experts.
São Tomé's lead negotiator in those talks, Carlos Gomes, sent his
son to study in the United States at ERHC's expense, the Los Angeles
Times has reported. Gomes also took a position in the new state oil
company, the Times said, receiving a $4,000 monthly salary paid for
by ERHC.
Gomes now heads the Nigeria-São Tomé and Príncipe Joint Development
Authority, responsible for awarding the offshore blocks in the Joint
Development Zone.
Gomes could not be reached for comment, despite repeated attempts.
Mobil soon signed on to conduct a feasibility study and perform
seismic work to evaluate the country's offshore potential.
But opposition to the agreement quickly grew. Critics accused the
government of handing over the country's oil patrimony for a
pittance. The political opposition insisted the government seek more
money.
Relations between ERHC and the government quickly soured.
During a visit to São Tomé, then-ERHC Chief Executive Officer
Geoffrey Tirman publicly accused Gomes of demanding bribes.
The government, in turn, cried sedition. Tirman "was threatened with
a jail term, so he fled to the airport and took off," Nugent said.
Tirman could not be reached for comment.
São Tomé's leaders also accused ERHC of failing to pay the full $5
million. The deal was off.
Bleak prospects
ERHC sought international arbitration, but its prospects still
seemed bleak.
Nugent sought out Offor, who enjoyed not only great wealth but
tremendous political clout in Nigeria.
Offor, who holds the titles chief and sir, had been close to
Nigeria's last military dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, as well as to
Atiku Abubakar, the country's current vice president.
Back in 1999, Nigeria and São Tomé had begun discussions aimed at
ending a longstanding border dispute. Offor assumed a leading role
in helping push those negotiations.
In February 2001, Nigeria and São Tomé agreed to create the joint
development zone. The pact called for Nigeria to receive 60 percent
of the oil revenues from the zone while São Tomé was to get 40
percent.
The treaty cleared the way for Offor to purchase Tirman's stake in
ERHC for $6 million. The company's headquarters was then relocated,
from Little Rock, Ark., to Houston.
Three months later, ERHC had a new, favorable deal with the
government.
Under that agreement, ERHC gave up its claim to an ownership stake
in the national oil company. But the firm was promised a share of
São Tomé's oil profits, as well as a portion of the signature
bonuses other companies would have to pay for the right to drill.
Again, the company's critics were livid. The World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund voiced displeasure.
The following year, Fradique de Menezes, São Tomé's new president,
insisted the contract was unconscionable and unenforceable.
De Menezes insisted the company renegotiate once again.
Finally, in April 2003, ERHC reached its current deal with São Tomé
and the Joint Development Authority.
The agreement grants ERHC rights to take working interests in six
offshore blocks in the joint development zone, as well as offshore
acreage in São Tomé's exclusive territorial waters.
That means the company can claim a stake in all five blocks being
offered, plus an additional block in the future.
Other companies bidding on the blocks must offer signature bonuses,
upfront payments for the rights to drill.
Several of the bids for blocks topped $100 million. But ERHC's deal
allows the company to forgo making such payments on certain blocks.
Gerhard Seibert of the Institute for Security Studies, an Africa
research group, has estimated ERHC's bonus-free options will cost
São Tomé coffers $75 million — comparable to 150 percent of the
country's annual gross domestic product.
Though that agreement assures ERHC of a minimal interest in these
blocks, the company had the right to join the bidding process to win
an even bigger stake.
Three large U.S. independent oil and gas producers, Dallas' Pioneer
Natural Resources, Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy and Houston's
Noble Energy have teamed up with ERHC to bid on three separate
blocks.
The idea is they would provide the resources and technical expertise
ERHC lacks.
But the agreement again sparked protests. Political opponents
accused de Menezes of accepting a $100,000 payment from Offor
sometime before the deal was reached.
De Menezes eventually acknowledged publicly that the money had been
received, but he characterized it as a political contribution.
Offor declined to comment for this report.
Ali Memon, ERHC's current chief executive officer, said the
issue "has nothing to do with ERHC."
"ERHC has not made any payments directly or indirectly to any member
of the São Toméan government," said Memon, a native of Kenya and a
longtime Marathon Oil Co. executive.
Three months after the deal was signed, military leaders launched a
coup attempt while de Menezes was visiting Nigeria.
The putsch quickly fizzled, but the event demonstrated the
precariousness of the São Tomé regime.
Throughout these years of turmoil, Exxon Mobil has reportedly
steered clear of ERHC.
"Exxon Mobil wished they would go away," Nugent said.
Exxon spokesman LenD'Eramo declined to comment on "speculation or
rumor" about the company's attitudes toward ERHC.
The long-running controversy over ERHC's activities in São Tomé
helped prod international experts to help the tiny country protect
its natural resources.
A group of international law experts at Columbia University crafted
an oil-management law to help ensure any new oil revenues don't end
up in the pockets of corrupt officials, as has often been the case
in West Africa.
Using this blueprint, São Tomé passed a law hailed as a model for
resource-rich, Third World countries. "We are in a position to do
better than other countries did," the National Petroleum Agency's
dos Prazeres said.
But ERHC's contract remained intact.
"São Tomé would be better off if it could get rid of (ERHC's) claims
somehow, but I doubt there is any legal standing to do so," said
Martin Sandbu, a research fellow at Columbia's Earth Institute.
Dos Prazeres thinks his country needs to begin a search for oil.
"This is the agreement we have," dos Prazeres said. "That's the way
it is."
david.ivanovich@c...
EOIM great advice !!! howerver we were at $0.80
three times with less news
IMO Less than 5 years !!!
Its been a long ride, indeed for me started in 1999,
Our story just needs to be told to the masses,
drilling has never been so close,
Drill Budget Approved
Prospects Identified
Kina JDZ BL 4 first well
Rig Booked Aban Abraham
Parts Ordered
Rig Slot pending - Kosmos first ?
2nd Rig of Opportunity - coming in 2008 per Addax
BTW Addax has 100% drill success rate W.Africa so our chances of a strike are good
thanks for all your technical input
there was NO intention to mis lead
simply creating an image nothing more, kinda like putting the ERHE Logo on a huge Rig giving the impression the Rig belongs to / owned by or having to do with ERHC.
an impression - bottom line
some are just reading too far into this, as if the company would post detailed [non public] secretive info on some marketing materials and send them out for the world to see, DUH !!!
wouldn't look to smart considering the SEC/DoJ already know the office phone number by heart - lol
*** ATTN: ERHC INVESTORS ***
(ERHC) Shareholders are certainly welcome to apply whatever amount of significance to anything they please, but as is the case with most photos included in marketing materials, this came from a photo shoot and all the elements were staged for the shot. I was not at the shoot, but it is my understanding that the scribblings on the flip chart were created specifically for the shoot.
It is not secret information and it is not intended to send any particular message. The person “presenting” is the company’s administrative assistant, Sarah Kanorwal. I can assure you that she is acting and that shot does not depict an actual presenation. In other photos from this shoot, the company’s receptionist, Carol, is among those participating in the “meeting.” It was all created for the shoot and to create interesting visual elements, nothing more than that.
Dan Keeney, APR
DPK Public Relations
www.dpkpr.com
note received ....
03/23/2008
not to throw cold water but that photo was probably taken several months ago - and EO would have to approve any deals
my feeling all along is in the DEAL or NO DEAL world
IMO no DEAL till Drilling