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It will be the same anyway. Cookie cutter set up.
WAG.
Identical to previous meetings, prepare for a huge waste of time.
Last meeting we were expecting then to announce Addax bought us. lol
So, your thinking 3.60 is a fair price unless they find more oil/gas than NSAI estimates. Then add the EEZ assets to that. With a NO plan NO growth management I cant see getting past that. I would accept $5.00 a share tomorrow.
64 million dollar question is can or will they find Oil, or will the communist tell us?
Ive been waiting 11 years for a answer.
You know the market controls the sp. Lets see....3 cents in cash ( 20 mill/722mil) NO proven or UNproven assets, no equipment, just a royalty owner controlled by a mute company and Communist partners.
So, 44 cents of the stock price is all pure speculation, trust, hope etc ..... that is the market .. that is the fact.
47 cents at 722 mil shares gives us market expectations of roughly 320,000,000. Thats better than 3 cents or 20,000,000 lets just hope this is the bottom and we are finally on our way.
NOW ... SHOW US THE OIL AND GAS! CHINA
Unchanged! Capitulation –
Selling: Capitulation is best summarized as panic selling. Capitulation is the final phase in an extreme downtrend when stock owners are willing to sell out at any price. Capitulation is the end of a downtrend as a result of this panic selling. During capitulation, there is almost a complete lack of buyers, which creates a vacuum of selling.
Chevron and India’s ONGC interested in oil blocks in Sao Tome and Principe’s EEZ [ 2010-04-20 ]
New York, United States, 20 April – US oil company Chevron Texaco and India’s Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC) are expected to take part in the auction of oil blocks in the exclusive economic zone of Sao tome and Principe, said the director of the west African archipelago’s Oil Agency.
Speaking to Portuguese news agency Lusa last week, Luís Prazeres said that the two oil companies were those that showed most interest at a meeting held in Houston, Texas last week, and had requested the technical specifications for the blocks that are up for auction.
The Houston event, which was organised by British consultancy PGS Marine, was attended by over 15 companies in the sector, including US company Conoco Philips and Scandinavian company Maersk.
The international auction of oil blocks was launched in London at the beginning of March, is open until 15 September and will be followed by an evaluation of the proposals, signing up of the companies and negotiation of the contracts with the companies.
The licensing process relates to seven of the 19 blocks identified in the archipelago’s EEZ, blocks 1,2,3 and 6 of Zone A and blocks 7, 8 and 13 of Zone B.
Initially the process was being followed by China’s Sinopec but, according to Prazeres, there has so far been no specific statement of interest.
The next public presentation of the auction is due to take place at an oil sector conference in June, in Ghana. (macauhub)
http://www.fin24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?Channel=News_Home&ArticleId=1518-24_2579287&IsColumnistStory=False
Oando bought contolling interest of EEL.
"the group acquired controlling interest in Equator Exploration Limited (EEL) during the year. EEL owns various assets in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) of Sao Tome and Principe."
Great map here > http://www.nigeria-oil-gas.com/nigeria_oil_&_gas_concessions_map_&_licenses-34-1-2-c.html
The stock price says it all - long wait.
Do you think the statement " I anticipate that the Company will file a Form 8-K in the event any information of a material nature is disclosed during the meeting" has any teeth? Is this a hint something atually material would happen at a normally boring meeting?
You make a great Ihub operative, thanks for the real world report.
Excellent reporting. Stand by for your next assignment. Ever consider a position with the CIA?
Probably blocks 1 and 2, cause Total has the existing pipeline close by Blk one. Ill bet Chevron stays in to help develop. This is fantastic news, they are ramping up starting with one and two moving South.
He is clearly referring to the JDZ.
"In case we confirm this accord, it will be an association of production, a unification of the reserves of the two blocks [which two blocks?] and the production joined. This will make viable even more hydrocarbons in that area. On the other hand, it will speed up the process of exploration in the JDZ. Because instead of following all the phases provided in the production contract to drill more tests, this association is an advanced process of exploration, all will be quite sped up."
They should toss us a CASH dividend for making us wait 10 long years!
Sinopec Group Pays $4.65 Billion for Syncrude Stake (Update3)
April 12, 2010, 10:34 PM EDT
Wish it were "buys ERHC Energy" for 4.65 billion!
By Edward Klump
April 13 (Bloomberg) -- China Petrochemical Corp. agreed to pay ConocoPhillips $4.65 billion for its stake in Syncrude Canada Ltd., a higher price than analysts expected, as Asia’s biggest refiner seeks overseas petroleum reserves.
China Petrochemical, the Beijing-based company known as Sinopec Group, will buy about 9 percent of oil-sands producer Syncrude through its unit Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration & Production Co., according to a statement issued by Houston-based ConocoPhillips yesterday.
The price the group agreed to pay for Syncrude surpassed by $650 million the high end of an estimate by Macquarie Securities of the assets’ worth, said Jason Gammel, an analyst in New York with the firm. ConocoPhillips received a premium of about 20 percent compared with the value implied last week by Canadian Oil Sands Trust’s market worth, debt and cash, according to a research note from Raymond James.
“What it reflects is China’s insatiable appetite for resource accumulation overseas, not to mention the fact that Beijing has a pretty big checkbook,” said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst with Raymond James who rates ConocoPhillips at “underperform” and doesn’t own any of its shares. Molchanov said he thought the stake would fetch about $4 billion.
Canadian Oil Sands Trust is the lead partner in Fort McMurray, Alberta-based Syncrude with a 36.7 percent interest.
Fuel Demand
ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. oil company, said in October it planned to sell $10 billion of assets over two years to help cut debt.
Oil sands are deposits of bitumen, an extra-heavy oil that must be treated for use in refineries to produce gasoline and diesel fuels.
The Syncrude deal shows the Chinese are putting prices on resources out of line with criteria such as the rate of return, said Mark Gilman, an analyst at the Benchmark Co. in New York who has a “hold” rating on ConocoPhillips shares and owns none.
“You don’t need a degree in rocket science to come up with the fact that this is more than twice its economic value,” he said of the Syncrude transaction.
Spending by Chinese companies on mining and energy acquisitions reached a record $32 billion last year.
China, South Korea, Japan and India are seeking overseas resources to drive their economies. The International Energy Agency on March 12 raised its forecast for fuel demand in developing countries, led by China and India, to 41.2 million barrels a day and cut its prediction for Europe and the U.S.
Asset Race
State-controlled PetroChina Co. won approval from the Canadian government in December to buy a stake in Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.’s MacKay and Dover oil-sands projects for C$1.9 billion ($1.9 billion).
Sinopec Group bought Calgary-based Addax Petroleum Corp. for C$8.3 billion last year to add oil reserves. The group’s Hong Kong-listed unit, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., said on March 29 it will pay $2.5 billion to buy a stake in an Angolan field from its parent to boost crude-oil production.
In the race for assets, Indian companies typically won’t overpay, said Robbert Van Batenburg at Louis Capital Markets in New York.
The Chinese economy grew 10.7 percent in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace since 2007, and is forecast by the United Nations to advance about four times more quickly than the U.S. this year.
Conoco Debt
China, the world’s largest energy consumer behind the U.S., relied on imports to meet more than half of its oil needs last year. The country’s dependency on imported crude will continue to rise, PetroChina Chairman Jiang Jiemin said last month.
Annual domestic oil production is unlikely to exceed 200 million tons by 2020 while demand may increase to about 600 million tons by then, according to Jiang.
Debt at ConocoPhillips ballooned after Chief Executive Officer Jim Mulva agreed to buy Burlington Resources Inc. in December 2005, the day before gas prices hit a record at $15.78 per million British thermal units. The deal closed for a purchase price of $36 billion in 2006.
Mulva said in March that he expects half of the company’s planned $10 billion in asset sales to be completed this year. ConocoPhillips said the sale of the Syncrude stake, which requires Canadian and Chinese government approvals, is expected to close in the third quarter.
Government Review
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government will review Sinopec Group’s agreement to buy ConocoPhillips’s stake in Syncrude. “I don’t have any immediate reaction, but as you know we have various approval processes in Canada for foreign takeovers,” Harper told reporters in Washington.
Canadian Oil Sands Trust climbed about 5 percent in trading yesterday in Toronto.
Other partners in the venture include Imperial Oil Ltd., Suncor Energy Inc., Murphy Oil Corp., Nexen Inc. and Nippon Oil Corp.’s Mocal Energy Ltd.
Credit Suisse Group AG and Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt advised ConocoPhillips. Deutsche Bank AG was financial adviser to Sinopec Group.
ConocoPhillips rose 64 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $55.96 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have gained 40 percent in the last 12 months. American depositary receipts of China Petroleum dropped 93 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $84.93. China Petroleum’s Hong Kong traded shares have risen 19.6 percent in the past year and were at HK$6.65 at 10:27 a.m. local time today.
Exxon Mobil Corp., based in Irving, Texas, and Chevron Corp., based in San Ramon, California, are the largest U.S. oil companies.
--With assistance from Cathy Chan in Hong Kong, Ryan Woo in Singapore, Jim Polson in New York, Wang Ying in Beijing, Rebecca Christie in Washington and Joe Carroll in Chicago. Editors: Susan Warren, Charles Siler, Ryan Woo
Just market makers having fun doing their job.... wait for the news and volume.
Same old MM games, walk down on sales and right back with purchases, same old same old for 10 years. When you see 5-10 million shares traded then maybe somethings really happening.
PM to meet with execs from Exxon, Chevron, others
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6371N920100408?type=marketsNews
SAO TOME, April 8 (Reuters) - Sao Tome's prime minister will meet next week with oil executives in the United States to discuss terms for the West African island's soon-to-be opened offshore oil blocks, an official told Reuters on Thursday.
The tiny nation, hoping to join the ranks of West Africa's top energy producers in the next decade, launched the bidding process for seven of its 19 oil blocks in March with bids due from oil companies in mid-September.
"The government of Sao Tome wants to hear the opinions of the companies that are interested," said Luis dos Prazeres, director of the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), adding that at least 10 U.S., European, and Asian energy companies had already shown interest.
He said Prime Minister Joaquim Rafael Branco, along with ANP officials, would travel to New Orleans and Houston -- seats of the U.S. energy industry -- for meetings with representatives from Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Shell Oil (RDSa.L), Chevron (CVX.N) and others over the course of seven days.
He said feedback from the oil executives could be used in drawing up exploration and production terms for the blocks.
Sao Tome currently depends on its cocoa industry for the bulk of its revenues but expects to become a commercial oil producer within eight years.
Nearby Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon and Gabon have all earned billions of dollars from development of their oil fields in the Gulf of Guinea.
Its first oil licences were sold in 2004 but development was delayed by a row with Nigeria over their shared maritime border. Sao Tome has since been in talks with fellow former Portuguese colony Angola over a possible partnership deal to tap into its oil reserves.
Halliburton to Launch Next Gen Stimulation Vessel Offshore West Africa Halliburton Co.|Monday, May 04, 2009
Halliburton's Completion and Production Division is launching a next generation stimulation vessel, the Stim Star Angola, in response to operators' needs for stimulation treatments on offshore West Africa assets. The new vessel will serve as a high performance platform for delivering technology and helping reduce rig downtime and associated costs for operators.
"We are committed to meeting the needs of operators in the Offshore Angola Region, one of the premier deepwater basins on the globe," said Marc Edwards, vice president of Production Enhancement, within Halliburton's Completion and Production Division.
"With the new Stim Star Angola stimulation vessel, operators will have cost-effective access to all phases of production stimulation including acidizing, fracturing, sand control and conformance solutions for this developing deepwater market."
The new vessel was designed to help minimize rig downtime. Certified for DP2 dynamic positioning, the Stim Star Angola will be capable of working in difficult sea conditions in deepwater locations at tension leg platforms, drill ships, large semisubmersibles, or single wellheads. Cycle time will be minimized by the vessel's proppant, acid and liquid additives capacity, which permits loading sufficient material for multiple treatments, reducing trips to the dock. Cycle time will also be reduced by using the vessel's onboard crane and water maker system.
The vessel is uniquely capable of delivering specialized fracturing and acidizing treatments supported by the latest Halliburton technology developments, including for example, the patented SurgiFrac® service for fracturing deviated and horizontal wellbores.
In keeping with Halliburton's commitment to outstanding health, safety and environmental performance, the Stim Star Angola is engineered to meet or exceed all regulatory requirements enabling the vessel to operate in any international location. The Stim Star Angola will be available by the third quarter of 2009 and will be based in Soyo, Angola.
http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=75730
Sinopec mulls buying Addax assets from parent company Source: Global Times [17:21 March 30 2010] Comments Sinopec will continue to purchase more assets from its parent company, China Petrochemical Corp, after it recently spent 16.77 billion yuan ($2.46 billion) on an Angolan oil field, which was previously under the latter.
The shopping spree will include some assets of the Addax Petroleum Corp, Su Shulin, chairman of Sinopec said Monday.
Addax Petroleum is an oil company based in Geneva, Switzerland and it was purchased by China Petrochemical Corp. in September last year for 49.5 billion yuan. The transaction was the largest deal for a Chinese firm to purchase overseas assets in oil and gas industry.
To ease the capital pressure due to the series of purchases, Sinopec announced Sunday that the firm would issue convertible bonds that worth less than 23 billion yuan to raise money.
News "like this" is what we need.
Sonangol and Total subsidiary announce oil discovery in Angola [ 2010-04-06 ]
Luanda, Angola, 6 Apr - The Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola (Sonangol) and Tepa Ltd, a subsidiary of the Total group, have announced the discovery of oil in a deepwater well off the shore of Angola.
The Begonia-01 well is the second research well successfully sunk in bloc 17/06, Angolan news agency Angop reported, citing a Thursday announcement released in Luanda.
The well proved the existence of hydrocarbons in miocenic formations. During the test phase it produced more than 6,000 barrels per day of very good quality grades, the text indicates.
Sonangol is the bloc's concessionaire with a 30 percent stake, while Total is the operator, also with 30 percent. Other stakeholders include Sonangol Sinopec International (SSI) Seventeen (27.5 percent), Acrep Bloco 17 (5 percent), Falcon Oil Holding Angola (5 percent) and Partex Oil and Gas (Holding) Corporation (2.5 percent).
(macauhub)
Last year, around 35 CEOs of state-owned enterprises were arrested for corruption. The latest was Zhang Chunjiang, 51, the vice-chairman of China Mobile. He was also a former CCP secretary and once held a government post equivalent to a vice-minister. Three executives from state-owned enterprises were sentenced to death last year for graft and two were executed: Li Peiying, former president of the Capital Airports Holding Company, was executed in August after he was found guilty of bribery and corruption involving 26.61 million yuan (US$2.66 million). In February, Yang Yanming, a former senior trader with a Chinese securities company, was executed for embezzling and misappropriating public funds amounting to 94.52 million yuan (US$13.8 million). In July 2009, Chen Tonghai, the former boss of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), was sentenced to death and given a two-year stay of execution. He was convicted of taking about 200 million yuan (US$29 million) in bribes.
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=da781574-a5bb-4a13-8bec-a05a4ad429f1
Sinopec plans to buy more overseas upstream assets
By Justine Lau in Hong Kong
Published: March 30 2010 03:00 | Last updated: March 30 2010 03:00
Sinopec, Asia's biggest refiner, said yesterday it planned to buy more overseas upstream assets from its state-owned parent as it sought to boost production capacity and reduce reliance on its volatile refining business.
Su Shulin, chairman, said the company's $2.5bn acquisition of a stake in an Angolan oil field from its parent, announced late on Sunday, would be followed by similar deals to lift investment returns. The company would avoid any projects that involved high political risk, he added.
"The deal marks Sinopec's entry into the overseas upstream exploration and production business. It gives us a basis to do more," said Mr Su.
Expanding in the upstream segment is vital to Sinopec as the company, which imports more than 70 per cent of the oil it refines into petrol and other products, currently relies heavily on refining. Upstream operations accounted for just 5 per cent of the group's operating revenues last year, before the elimination of intersegment sales, while refining and marketing made up 63 per cent.
The refining operation, which reported an operating profit of Rmb23.1m last year compared with an operating loss of Rmb63.6m a year ago, is highly dependent on government-controlled fuel prices that it can charge customers.
Sinopec reported robust performance for the best part of 2009 as Beijing kept raising fuel prices. But its refining margin started to deteriorate in the final quarter as China was reluctant to increase prices because of inflation concerns in spite of rising crude prices.
Sinopec has announced it will pay its parent $2.5bn for a 27.5 per cent stake in the oil field in Angola, which will increase its reserves by 3.6 per cent and lift daily production by 8.8 per cent. Its parent will continue to own 22.5 per cent of the field, while BP controls the other half.
Gordon Kwan, head of regional energy research at Mirae Asset Securities in Hong Kong, said the deal would give the company a better balance of upstream and downstream assets.
"This deal is just the tip of the iceberg," he said.
Thanks to the turnaround in its refining business, Sinopec reported a 116.5 per cent rise in net profits to Rmb61.8bn last year, on sales that dropped 10 per cent to Rmb1,345bn.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.
Afren set to produce positive drilling results
Mar 26 2010
Oil and gas firm Afren is due to post its preliminary results on Monday.
Last year its share price was just 14p and now it is close to 100p.
In the latest re-shuffle of the FTSE indexes, Afren joined the FTSE 250 and if its oil drilling programme continues to be a success, it won't be long until they reach the FTSE 100.
Nick Raynor, investment adviser at retail stockbroker The Share Centre, said: "Two similar oil companies, Tullow Oil and Cairn Energy are both performing well.
"I anticipate further news from Afren's projects in Nigeria and projects in other parts of Africa and expect the results to be positive."
Domino's Pizza is scheduled to release an interim management statement on Tuesday.
The chain is expected to report a continuation of the good news and performance we have seen for some time.
Poorer weather at the start of the year may have helped to improve these figures, as more people opted to eat at home.
Babcock International will also update the markets on Tuesday. The support services company has exposure to the nuclear, defence and rail sectors.
Analysts expect the trading statement to concentrate on the recent takeover of VT Group.
News on cost savings and the prospects of the newly-formed company going forward would be welcomed.
Contract caterer Compass is expected put out a trading statement onWednesday.
Its most recent update noted an improvement in sales and new business wins.
Raynor said: "We expect this statement to read much the same. We continue to recommend Compass as a buy because we believe the strength of its overseas operations should stand the company in good stead."
Media company, Pinewood-Shepperton will post interim results the same day.
It has been involved in blockbusters such as Mama Mia and Slumdog Millionaire but the market will be keen to hear more on expansion plans.
A deal was recently struck to develop a new film in Malaysia and further details on this are expected
Yes! Thats why I have been here for over 10 years.... still waiting.
This investment is purely in the hands...and whims...of God.
BID OPENING CEREMONY FOR 3D SEISMIC DATA ACQUISITION
The JDA advertised in the dailies Inviting interested Seismic Companies to Tender for 3D Seismic Survey and Provision of 3D Seismic Data Processing. The Bidding companies had to submit two (2) copies each for Commercial and Technical Bids.
The Bid Opening Ceremony was held at the JDA Headquarters Office Conference Room on Monday 8th March, 2010 at 2:00 pm local time. The Ceremony received bids from seven (7) companies namely:
CGG VERITAS
FUGRO / DELTA PLUS
WESTERNGECO
ORWELL INTERNATIONAL OIL AND GAS
WEST AFRICA OILFIELD SERVICES
MCG
PGS.
Representatives from the various companies were in attendance. The bids are being analyzed and winner will be announces in due course
MARCH 4, 2010 Print | ShareThisEnergy M&A: China’s Deals Bright, Despite Disclosure Shadows
By Helen H. Chan (Hong Kong)http://currents.westlawbusiness.com/Articles/2010/03/20100302_0035.aspx
TOPICS:M&A: Acquisitions, M&A: Other, Region: Asia Pacific, Region: Middle East and Africa, Industry: EnergyChina’s oil behemoths are noteworthy not only for their globe-spanning acquisitions, but also for the clever corporate and disclosure strategies that accompany them. Sinopec, PetroChina and CNOOC, have together, quite quietly, acquired major oil assets from Africa to North America, all the while carefully maintaining a cloak of shadow by careful legal structuring. This, despite pressure by the U.S. SEC to the contrary. Subtle breaks in the shadow may be forming – though too early to tell, recent deals in Canada and a parallel counter-opening in China’s restricted domestic may point to a shift in directions.
With an acquisition of Heritage Oil plc rumoured, an emboldened China continues to step up global dealings with oil and gas companies, in Africa and beyond. Publicly disclosed deals such as Addax Petroleum Corp have shown that China is even showing an appetite for Western oil companies, often in the quest to conquer what some foreign oil companies consider to be the last frontier, Africa. In doing so, it's begun emerging to "disclosure shadows" to which it's long-clung.
China has helped foster these shadows. China’s oil players have used complex corporate structures as a strategic tool, putting deals into subsidiaries, avoiding disclosures by parents or other affiliates. As introduction, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is parent company subsidiaries such as CNOOC Ltd. who are parents themselves to other subsidiaries. Other major stars PetroChina and Sinopec, are controlled by one shareholder, the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), a state-owned enterprise. PetroChina is listed on the New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges. As the largest oil and gas distributor in China, PetroChina reported over 1 trillion RMB or roughly US $146 billion in assets in 2009, all of it government property. Both PetroChina and Sinopec are further divided into subsidiaries. Some, such as Sinopec Syria Limited, can be easily traced back to their parents. Others, such as PetroChina’s Mirror & Gas Company Limited, are less obviously so.
As the SEC found to its frustration, China's insistence on the separate legal entity principle frustrates truly open disclosure and enables PRC state owned enterprises to keep their acquisitions quiet. In January 2007, news coverage rumoured parent company CNOOC had dealings with Iran. The SEC promptly issued staff letters to its subsidiary, CNOOC Ltd, a Hong Kong and New York listed company, demanding to know if the company had failed to disclose material facts.
In its defence, CNOOC Ltd calmly explained company law 101 to the SEC: the principle of separate legal entities. CNOOC Ltd stated that it was a limited liability company in which its parent China National Offshore Oil Corporation PRC held a controlling stake. As such, the two companies operated independently and that CNOOC Ltd could not comment on what deals its parent was involved in.
To add insult to injury, CNOOC Ltd referred the SEC to the corporate structure in its annual report to drive its point home. Henry Wang and John Saia of DLA Piper represented CNOOC Ltd in this response, filed June 27 2007. The SEC elected to push back in a different way. In response to CNOOC’s routine disclosure filings in August 2007, the SEC pointed out that CNOOC’s filings did not explicitly state whether its disclosure procedures were effective at communicating disclosure of material information to management, specifically the very top tiers of directors and officers. In other words, CNOOC was to provide in writing, a responsibility pledge from their top tier of management. CNOOC Ltd complied, pledging to have the CEO and CFO attest in writing that future disclosure procedures are effectively executed. Since then, the SEC has scrutinized CNOOC, demanding more detailed disclosure on the smallest of details such as the type of water injection used as a recovery technique for drilling wells.
Thanks to the same basic principle of separating corporate entities, China’s business developments in Africa have stayed out of the limelight for years. Previous acquisitions of oil assets were usually made through foreign subsidiaries of PRC state-owned enterprises. Although these deals were disclosed by the subsidiaries in their filings within their jurisdiction of incorporation, they were often not mentioned in filings by the listed PRC parent companies or vice versa. In this way, China managed to grow its oil interests in Africa without scrutiny from Western competitors, while still complying with disclosure regulations in jurisdictions where some of its enterprises are listed.
Back in March 2006, CNOOC injected US$2.3 billion into an agreement with Nigeria’s South Atlantic Petroleum Limited. The parties would develop an oilfield in the country operated by France’s Total. Since South Atlantic is a Nigerian company and more importantly, not listed in jurisdictions with high disclosure requirements such as the US, Canada or London, CNOOC was able develop its investments under the radar.
Having now secured its foothold firmly in the African oil scene and grown sufficiently deep pockets to worry competitors from the Western oil scene, China has turned its gaze to oil assets in other jurisdictions, as seen in PetroChina’s deal with Canada’s Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. PetroChina disclosed the deal with the SEC in a brief statement filed in August 2009, although Athabasca did not make a official announcement until February 10, 2010. The joint venture sees PetroChina purchasing a 60 percent stake in two oil sand projects situated in Alberta for US$1.8billion or RMB $12.3billion.
Increasingly, China has been showing interest in oil companies listed in jurisdictions all over the map, with assets located in Africa. On September 25 2008, Sinopec International, acquired Canada and Sweden listed Tanganyika Oil, outbidding India’s state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd. Tanganyika’s assets included multiple oil exploration operations in Tanzania and Nigeria as well as locations outside Africa such as Syria. Today the former Tanganyika is part of Sinopec (Syria) Limited, a subsidiary of CNPC. Sinopec Syria is actively developing interests in Nigeria, Algeria, Gabon and the Sudan. Aside from scant press releases, Tanganyika and Sinopec International have not disclosed much regarding their dealings in Africa and Syria. The CNPC’s disclosure filings with the SEC for the subsequent two months, although detailed about the company’s financials and activities in China, are quiet on the arguably material US$2 billion Tanganyika acquisition in Africa.
Last summer, Sinopec International emerged abruptly from the shadows, in an outright acquisition of Geneva-based oil company Addax Petroleum Corporation for US$7 billion. Addax’s points of operation include locations in Nigeria, Gabon and Cameroon. The deal was made by Sinopec’s wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, Mirror Lake Oil and Gas Limited. Although Addax’s purchase price was steep and its board of directors was replaced by nominees of Sinopec International, the Addax deal was not mentioned in Sinopec’s disclosure filings. However, subsidiary Mirror Lake promptly fulfilled its continuous disclosure requirements by filing notice of the Addax acquisition and change in leadership with regulators in each of Canada’s provinces. Disclosure pertaining to the parent-subsidiary relationship between Mirror Lake and Sinopec was made, but buried in the filings.
As the year of the tiger unfolds, China’s state run oil companies are still acquiring oil assets from Western oil companies, building on their already solid presence in Africa. Recent speculation suggests that CNOOC PRC is ready to splash out USD$2.5 billion for Tullow Oil’s Ugandan oil assets which it previously purchased from Canada’s Heritage Oil for USD$1.5 billion in January 2010. In its timely disclosures to securities regulators, CNOOC PRC has been silent on its intentions for Tullow and Uganda, focusing instead on its other activities and day to day financials. Tullow, a London-listed Irish company, has disclosed that it will sell the Ugandan assets to either CNOOC and France’s Total, the same company with African oil ties to the Chinese government dating back to 2006.
There has been some, albeit minimal, quid pro quo. Domestically, the Chinese government seems to be showing some signs of loosening restrictions on the oil industry, a prohibited sector to foreign investment, within China. Consider PetroAsian Energy Holdings Ltd, a publicly listed Hong Kong company with big international aspirations. In June 2009, PetroAsian acquired a controlling stake for oil exploration in Tunisia’s Ksar Hadada Permit for USD14.5million. The company has contracted a subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corporation to develop this project further.
More recently, on January 13 2010, PetroAsian acquired Northeast Oil (China) Development Company Ltd, a Hong Kong investment holding company. Previously in 2007, Northeast Oil entered into a joint venture agreement with PRC enterprise Qiqihar Oil. The joint venture agreement gave Northeast the exclusive right to develop oil exploration of one of Qiqihar’s oil assets in China for a term of 20 years. By purchasing a controlling stake in Northeast Oil, PetroAsian has effectively inherited a way into China’s oil industry.
Legislative changes have also demonstrated an intention from the Chinese government to expand its oil industry not only abroad but from within as well. Although China does not have large oil resources compared to Africa or the Middle East, the opportunity to do business with the Chinese government within China may prove to be the black gold rush for foreign companies. In March 2009, the Ministry of Commerce released a notice on further improving the examination and approval of foreign investment. Policies relating to special provision industries were to remain the same, except that the Ministry of Commerce can now issue special documents in its discretion to grant exceptions.
Additionally, China’s 2007 Foreign Investment Guide is the roadmap for investors to distinguish between encouraged, restricted and prohibited industries for foreign investment. Among the objectives was to encourage energy sector investment, suggesting that although no welcome mat is at the door of China’s oil industry for now, companies looking to get involved with giants like Sinopec may find legal entry through a basement window.
SINOPEC Exploration & Production Research Institute
http://english.sinopec.com/about_sinopec/subsidiaries/research_institutions/20080326/3087.shtml
SINOPEC Exploration & Production Research Institute (EPRI) is in charge of most of the SINOPEC upstream R&D activities and integrating technological development programmes by carrying out business-driven R&D projects as well as state scientific program “973” and “863”. EPRI was established in 2000 and is headquartered in Beijing. It has six branches located in Dezhou, Hefei, Nanjing, Wuxi, Jingzhou and Urumqi respectively.
EPRI was integrated from the petroleum geology research institutions of the former Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources (MGMR), which had over 50 years’ history in petroleum exploration and exploitation studies with excellent scientific achievements and plenty of experience in China. The focus of EPRI expands in various fields of SINOPEC upstream sector, which include. exploration, development, strategy and planning, resources appraisal and management, economic evaluation, finance, sample test and analysis, seismic data processing and interpretation, enhanced oil recovery, drilling engineering, oilfield chemicals, surface infrastructure design and transportation etc. as well as providing the value-added technical consultancy, on-site engineering service and laboratory service.
The research team of EPRI is composed of distinguished scientists, experienced experts and young energetic research staffs. Along with the vast capacity of the PC clusters, latest laboratory facilities and advanced prevailing software, the innovative research scientists have accomplished a series of research programs, among which 52 projects have received state awards. To disseminate the research achievements and to promote scientific discussion, EPRI publishes several journals such as Oil & Gas Geology, Petroleum Geology & Experiment , Petroleum Drilling Techniques and Journal of Geophysics and Engineering.
In 2008, EPRI undertook over 368 scientific research projects. By the end of 2008, EPRI had applied for domestic patents of 89 sets, of which 87 sets had been granted.
Now, EPRI has established business relationships with more than 20 oil companies in China and partnered with over 10 research institutions and universities home and abroad. Integrity, collaboration, innovation and execution are identified as the most important common values of the EPRI in its R&D activities. With strong institution capacity and personal capabilities, EPRI has integrated sophisticated multi-discipline technologies with well-furnished modern research facilities and is ready to meet the emerging challenges in exploration and production toward the sustainable development of SINOPEC.
Address: No. 31 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China
Post Code: 100083
Tel: (8610) 82312089
Fax: (8610) 82312089
Website: www.pepris.com
Estimates ... best estimate unrisked prospective oil resources for identified prospects in the deepwater Gulf of Guinea are 3,042 MMbbl
Deepwater Pathfinder Spuds Kina Prospect in JDZAddax Petroleum Corp.|Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Deepwater Pathfinder
1/2Addax announced receipt of Transocean's Deepwater Pathfinder drillship and commencement of its exploration drilling campaign in the deepwater Gulf of Guinea with the spudding of the "Kina" prospect in Block 4 of the Nigeria Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Zone ("JDZ").
Commenting, Addax Petroleum's Vice-Chairman, Jean Claude Gandur, said, "The commencement of Addax Petroleum's deepwater exploration campaign is a very exciting time for our organization due to our extensive portfolio of prospects which, if successful, have the potential to significantly enhance the Corporation's recoverable reserves. In addition, Addax Petroleum has recently acquired an additional 51% interest in Block 3 of the JDZ and will be the Operator. The acquisition of this additional interest in the JDZ intensifies our foothold in this world class exploration region and significantly enhances the economics of our position in JDZ Block 3 as it allows Addax Petroleum to aggressively explore this prolific region with a sustained drilling strategy."
The Corporation plans to drill the "Kina" and "Lemba" prospects in JDZ Blocks 4 and 3, respectively, with the first two slots on the Deepwater Pathfinder drillship. In addition, Sinopec JDZ Block 2 Limited has notified the Nigeria Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Authority of its intent to commence its exploration drilling in August 2009 on JDZ Block 2 where Addax Petroleum holds an interest.
Addax Petroleum has a deepwater exploration portfolio that consists of interests in five licence areas comprised of OPL291, offshore Nigeria, and Blocks 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the JDZ. As at December 31, 2008, total best estimate unrisked prospective oil resources for identified prospects in the deepwater Gulf of Guinea are 3,042 MMbbl (1,146 MMbbl risked), of which the Corporation's working interest was 1,359 MMbbl (493 MMbbl risked). When adjusted for the additional 51% interest acquired in JDZ Block 3 the Corporation's working interest increases to 1,498 MMbbl (538 MMbbl risked).
Nigeria: Chevron Pledges Support For The Nation's Educational Development
Steve Oko
24 March 2010
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Umuahia — Multinational oil magnet, Chevron Nigeria Limited has pledged to assist the country in areas of resuscitating and developing her dwindling education sector through infrastructural development and scholarship awards.
Chairman and managing Director of the company, Mr. Andrew Fawthrop represented by the superintendent of Eastern operations, Mr. Joe Jakpa disclosed this at the commissioning and formal handover of a four-classroom block donated to Community Secondary School, Obohia Ndoki, Ukwa East LGA of Abia State by Chevron.
He noted that Chevron has demonstrated genuine commitment and recorded notable accomplishments in the area of infrastructural community development and provision of postgraduate scholarship in fulfillment of its obligations under the Nigeria-Sao Tome And Principe Joint Development treaty.
He enumerated some of the projects already undertaken by Chevron in Nigeria to include: multipurpose hall in Waka Teachers College , Borno; students hostels in Gombe and Naarawa State respectively; and scholarship award to 221 Nigerian post-graduate students at $1000 per beneficiary.
In his speech at the occasion, chairman of the Board and Executive Director Finance and Administration, Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Authority, Ambassador Saidu Pindar, lauded Chevron for the gesture and noted it was a clear testimony that the company was alive to its corporate social responsibility.
He also noted that the gesture further indicates that Nigeria and Sao-Tome and Principe have started to enjoy the dividends of a unique and working cooperation under the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) pact.Daily Champion recalls that on February 21, 2001 Nigeria and the Republic of Sao Tome and Principe signed a treaty establishing the JDZ over the area of overlapping maritime boundary between both countries.
The treaty which was for 45 years although subject to review after 30 years was for the joint exploitation and harnessing of the petroleum and other natural resources in the zone at the sharing formula of 60:40 per cent basis for Nigeria and the tiny Island people of about 150,000 persons.
Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Authority was established in 2002 with its corporate Headquarters in Abuja and a liaison Office in the Republic of Sao Tome and Principe to manage and develop the economic resources in the JDZ.
According to the chairman, the JDA has conducted two licensing rounds in 2003 and 2004 resulting in the award of six oil blocks out of which four production sharing contracts have been signed.
He further explained that under the agreement, Chevron as one of the operators was obligated to undertake some social projects in both countries.
However, he added that benefiting communities must not necessarily be from oil producing areas as projects are sited annually across the six geopolitical zones based on the commission's desecration.
In his remarks, a representative of the ministry of Agriculture and water Resources and Managing Director Anambra/Imo River Basin Authority, Mr. Chilaka Uzoho, reiterated Nigeria's total commitment to the ideals of the bilateral relations between both countries.
Responding, the principal of the school, Mrs. Aghukwa Eke-Ngozi commended Chevron for coming to the aid of the school and pledged the judicious use and protection of the facility.
Good read to repeat.
Nigeria: ERHC Declares Non Rivalry With Afren
Sopuruchi Onwuka
15 March 2010
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Lagos — American international energy investment company, ERHC, said its foray into the Nigeria's petroleum industry would not conflict with the business interests of other indigenous multinational firms already on ground.
Before the entry of ERHC and its declaration of acquisition interest in third party assets in the country, another multinational with strong Nigerian interest, Afren, had been bullish with marginal assets operated by mainly cash strapped indigenous players.
Whereas London-based Afren is co-founded and substantially owned by Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwan Lukman, Houston-based ERHC has Nigeria's Chief Emeka Offor as its core investor.
Chief Operating Officer of ERHC, Mr. Peter Ntephe, said the two companies would instead of becoming rivals cooperate to channel international investment capital in development of the Nigerian indigenous capacity for exploration and production.
He said business opportunities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry are very vast, making it unnecessary for rivalry and competition, adding that ERHC would rather see Afren as partners instead of competitor.
"We do not look at companies like Afren as competitors at all. We look at them as peer group, doing similar things as we do and people we hope to collaborate with," Mr. Ntephe declared.
He said ERHC would collaborate with companies with similar vision to promote investments in the Nigerian petroleum industry, and to promote companies with Nigerian face as an important aspect of the company's corporate business culture.
"As far as we are concerned, there is a vacuum in the private sector participation of Nigerians in the international exploration and production business'" he said, adding that participation at that height would enable Nigerian companies access international capital markets to meet their funding needs in order to play in a capital intensive industry.
According to him, companies like Afren and ERHC are leading indigenous world class corporate structures that would meet the requirements of foreign capital markets in order to gain access to investment funds.
He added that the companies that operate at international levels hold promises of redefining corporate business models for local firms to follow. Such models, according to him, had been hitherto lacking in the local business environment.
"We think that companies like Afren, companies like ERHC have opened the door and displayed the new model that hopefully, others can build on and probably do better."
Meanwhile, ERHC says it awaits the Joint Development Authority (JDA) between Nigeria and Republics of Sao Tome and Principe (STP) to post positive results on the drilling campaign the joint marine development zone between the two countries in the deepwater Gulf of Guinea.
Mr. Ntephe, told Business Champion in Abuja that the American multinational energy investment company, expects that results from the JDA would provide the lead into nature of the zone's sedimentary structure.
He dismissed concerns over commerciality of the finds made in the drilling campaigns as premature; explaining that the full picture of the zone's prospectivity would come with cumulative result of the different data collated at the end of planned drilling.
According to him, only the first phase of exploratory wells have been drilled while a second phase was being worked out between the company and her technical partners in exploitation of mineral deposits in the fields.
"So let's look at the results of the first phase together before we can pass any judgment on the prospectivity of the fields and how well our expectations have been met," Mr. Ntephe said.
In emphasizing that the region comprising the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of STP holds high promises of commercial hydrocarbon reserves, Mr. Ntephe pointed at world class discoveries in neighboring sedimentary basins offshore Niger Delta, Gabon and Angola.
"If you look at the Gulf of Guinea, especially as it circles STP, you could see that there are world class oilfields there in Equitorial Guinea, Gabon, off course the Niger Delta Nigeria, and moving further down to Angola. And even from just a layman's perspective, the chances that prospectivity around STP are very high," he declared
Thats obvious Art. We remain in total darkness. Why they wont release exploration results continues to be a mystery. No one knows nothing. We wait.
Nigeria: ERHC Declares Non Rivalry With Afren
Sopuruchi Onwuka
15 March 2010
------------------
Lagos — American international energy investment company, ERHC, said its foray into the Nigeria's petroleum industry would not conflict with the business interests of other indigenous multinational firms already on ground.
Before the entry of ERHC and its declaration of acquisition interest in third party assets in the country, another multinational with strong Nigerian interest, Afren, had been bullish with marginal assets operated by mainly cash strapped indigenous players.
Whereas London-based Afren is co-founded and substantially owned by Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Rilwan Lukman, Houston-based ERHC has Nigeria's Chief Emeka Offor as its core investor.
Chief Operating Officer of ERHC, Mr. Peter Ntephe, said the two companies would instead of becoming rivals cooperate to channel international investment capital in development of the Nigerian indigenous capacity for exploration and production.
He said business opportunities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry are very vast, making it unnecessary for rivalry and competition, adding that ERHC would rather see Afren as partners instead of competitor.
"We do not look at companies like Afren as competitors at all. We look at them as peer group, doing similar things as we do and people we hope to collaborate with," Mr. Ntephe declared.
He said ERHC would collaborate with companies with similar vision to promote investments in the Nigerian petroleum industry, and to promote companies with Nigerian face as an important aspect of the company's corporate business culture.
"As far as we are concerned, there is a vacuum in the private sector participation of Nigerians in the international exploration and production business'" he said, adding that participation at that height would enable Nigerian companies access international capital markets to meet their funding needs in order to play in a capital intensive industry.
According to him, companies like Afren and ERHC are leading indigenous world class corporate structures that would meet the requirements of foreign capital markets in order to gain access to investment funds.
He added that the companies that operate at international levels hold promises of redefining corporate business models for local firms to follow. Such models, according to him, had been hitherto lacking in the local business environment.
"We think that companies like Afren, companies like ERHC have opened the door and displayed the new model that hopefully, others can build on and probably do better."
Meanwhile, ERHC says it awaits the Joint Development Authority (JDA) between Nigeria and Republics of Sao Tome and Principe (STP) to post positive results on the drilling campaign the joint marine development zone between the two countries in the deepwater Gulf of Guinea.
Mr. Ntephe, told Business Champion in Abuja that the American multinational energy investment company, expects that results from the JDA would provide the lead into nature of the zone's sedimentary structure.
He dismissed concerns over commerciality of the finds made in the drilling campaigns as premature; explaining that the full picture of the zone's prospectivity would come with cumulative result of the different data collated at the end of planned drilling.
According to him, only the first phase of exploratory wells have been drilled while a second phase was being worked out between the company and her technical partners in exploitation of mineral deposits in the fields.
"So let's look at the results of the first phase together before we can pass any judgment on the prospectivity of the fields and how well our expectations have been met," Mr. Ntephe said.
In emphasizing that the region comprising the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of STP holds high promises of commercial hydrocarbon reserves, Mr. Ntephe pointed at world class discoveries in neighboring sedimentary basins offshore Niger Delta, Gabon and Angola.
"If you look at the Gulf of Guinea, especially as it circles STP, you could see that there are world class oilfields there in Equitorial Guinea, Gabon, off course the Niger Delta Nigeria, and moving further down to Angola. And even from just a layman's perspective, the chances that prospectivity around STP are very high," he declared.
At the time I was expecting a Addax buyout announcement so I didnt feel that way at the time, but you are correct. Pens and very nice cloth junk bag too.
EMGS Wins Survey Contract Offshore West Africa Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA |Monday, March 08, 2010
Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) received a Letter of Award from an oil and gas company to provide 3D EM data acquisition services offshore West Africa.
The survey will be performed using the purpose-built 3D EM vessel BOA Galatea. This vessel is currently in transit to the survey area following completion of a previously announced contract in the Caribbean.
The work program in West Africa is worth approximately US $5 million and is expected to commence in the beginning of April.
rigzone
Ive been to 2 of the meetings and they both were complete waste of time other than the ERHC Notebook binder and spill proof coffee mug. Only dividends we may ever see.
I must have missed the whole thread there can you provide a link or further detailed insight. THought I had read them all, thanks in advance. great reply by Top shelf he is a Top Notch kind of guy, we need more of them.
Hey Art,
"asking Sinopec to spend billions of dollars in exhange for large "unexplored oil block rights could be a bit too much to ask. ""
That all depends on what they found and how deep their pockets are...lol they are the deepest pockets in the world.
Thats why I always hope for a stock swap. They can arrange that. That way we have the option to stay in.
God please just let something change... anything after 10 years of WAITING!
If a certain anyone bitches anymore about management I'll put them on IGGY.
Move on if you dont like them or apply for the job.