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Totals Nigerian Energy assets:
http://www.rigzone.com/news/image_detail.asp?img_id=5553
http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=84225
Includes partners. Click on Map - yellow = partners.
Not worried about it, Spec29, the intent was to correct Marks statement. Read my recent post. Many here had said "a rig" was coming but no one dreamed it was the pathfinder. Unfortunately, we still wait to see how well they did over a YEAR later!
Bring on the Chinese bank roll!
Show us the money!
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=35954000
Posted by: markgovols Date: Saturday, February 28, 2009 8:51:08 PM
In reply to: spp119 who wrote msg# 152683 Post # of 204419
why is everyone assuming Pathfinder is the rig? It may well be. But, some new poster posts for the first time today and everyone takes it as fact? We know there is a rig but let's see which one it is. I am trying to find out.
Well with Spec news on a speedy rig and your news about 285 billion coming into the Chinese exploration account I think we all can sleep well tonight! All we need is about 7.2 billion to go away. Will SEO and shareholders get his 10 bucks a share? Lets hope so.
No, after two attempts it kinda makes you wonder.
Chevron Discusses Strategy
by Allen Good | 10 Mar 10
This sounds like Chevron would work with Total. (see bottom) If they need cash but want to keep a small piece of JDZ that speaks volumes.
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On Tuesday, Chevron CVX held its annual analyst day to provide an update on its strategic initiatives for the next year. On the downstream side, the company expects weak refining margins to persist for several years given global excess capacity. As a result, Chevron is implementing measures to improve returns. Along with cutting costs, key measures include reducing downstream investment and reshaping the portfolio. Downstream capital spending for 2010 of $2.4 billion is a 23% reduction from 2009 levels. The company plans to continue reducing the number of countries in which it operates by exiting retail markets where it sells minimal volumes. Additionally, planned asset sales include the Pembroke, UK refinery, terminals on the U.S. East Coast, and operations in the Caribbean and certain Central American countries. The divestitures and market departures will also result in a reduction of approximately 2,000 employees in 2010. On the upstream side, the company offered production guidance and updates on key projects. After a peer-leading 7% net production growth in 2009, Chevron expects to grow production at about 1% per year through 2014, at which point growth should accelerate to 4-5% per year through 2017. The start-up of key LNG (liquefied natural gas) projects Gorgon and Wheatstone in Australia will provide the catalyst for growth in the later years and shift Chevron's production mix towards natural gas. The company expects natural gas production to constitute 41% of total production in 2017, compared to 31% in 2010. Exploration activity for 2010 will continue in the deepwater and offshore areas of the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, Thailand and Australia.
Mark, If you knew "Pathfinder rig info long before anyone else" why didnt you post it first?
Not that it matters anymore if ever, but, Mark you know you were second to post the information on deepwater pathfinder coming, not the first. You simply confirmed the post.
Well, Slightly different read it again. I think the Photo of the Minister and his comments are new or added. I dont remember,. I posted both of them.
Scenario 23,987. It would be sweet if Total and Sinopec take over the JDZ pay us in stock and cash to leave. Assuming someone actual knows oil and gas is there.
Then the EEZ and shallow play is the going concern with a new listing and ERHC continues exploiting as they have for 11 years.
Nothing stopping them from doing this today.
You now have ERHC, SINOPEC and TOTAL stock at a very favorable swap ratio's. Sell some Sinopec & Total, hold ERHC for potential. AJMHO
SEO and I dont want to sell the EEZ till we know whats there.
Sounds bullish and like a confident company with a bright future to me.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/03/07/erhc-to-expand-operation-in-nigerias-onshore-2/
Monday 8th March 2010
ERHC to expand operation in Nigeria’s onshore
Finance Mar 7, 2010 ERHC is a sub-Saharan, energy investment company with a strong Nigerian background.
The American oil company with a single largest Nigerian interest of 43 per cent has also decided to expand its shareholding with its recent move to get listed on the London Stock Exchange and subsequently on the Johannesburg stock Exchange.
Rilwan Lukman, Petroleum Minister
This is aimed at giving more people around the world the opportunity of having a stake in the fast expanding oil investment company.
The company was represented at the just concluded Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) 2010 conference in Abuja.
The company’s Vice President Corporate Development Mr David Bowell, Chief Operating Officer Peter Ntephe and Financial Controller Sylvan Odobolu all spoke with energy correspondents on immediate plans of the company in its effort to expand operations and create more presence in Nigeria.
Excerpts
ERHC’s planned investment in Nigeria
We will be looking at the oil services; anything that can enhance the delivery of our products is an investment that could make sense to us. And we are looking at a number of such opportunities in Nigeria. From oil service companies, to refineries, we’ll probably leave that to the experts because it is a technical business that is highly capital intensive and the returns on investments while not steady are not as spectacular as they are. So we see ourselves as primarily an upstream company with some presence in oil services.
Our strategy is to get into production and again that’s where the battle is very interesting, you can’t buy into some of these projects that are very close to production. If we can get into any of those, it will make a lot of sense to us because we make a lot of revenue from extra productions and recycled into our business to try to expand it. We rely solely on share capital, held by our share holders.
Securing credit lines to finance operations
What we are looking at is listing on the London Stock Exchange. The idea is that we will do that to generate funding to be able to expand our business in Nigeria and the advise we’ve taken is that we will raise share capital available to companies through the capital market just as Oando is raising money in London, Afren has raised over hundred million dollars over the last year in London, and we believe we’ve got an attractive set of assets and an attractive set of strategy, so we should also follow suit.
This means of financing is available to companies such as ours and we will end up raising money through the London Exchange. Afren has raised over hundred million dollars in the last year in the London Exhange and we believe that we have got an attractive strategy that we should use as well and that is what we shall do.
Interests despite uncertainties in the Nigerian oil and gas industry
We believe that this is a crucial time and we also believe that if you go to sleep, you will miss the boat and coming at this time when the risks are perceived to be higher than other time is actually a good time to get a good deal. If you wait for the smaller players to come in, you’re going to miss some of the better deals and also you end up paying more, and we believe we understand the market perspectives than most of the international companies.
As far as the PIB is concerned, the Nigerian government is not going to be part in destroying the goose that lays the golden eggs because every body we’ve spoken to tells me that the Niger Delta needs investment, and they can’t make it unattractive for companies like ERHC to come in or we take our money and go somewhere else. So I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Strategy of operations in the Niger Delta
Our strategy is to partner with Local players. We are actually by ownership structure an indigenous company and we believe that to succeed in Nigeria we needed an indigenous company as a partner. So it boils down to choosing your indigenous partner very carefully in participating in a joint venture where our strength is needed with those of the joint venture.
It is coming in a very well sought out manner in working with the right people, if you work with the wrong people its not going to work.
The Sao-Tomeans have announced that their licensing round is going to commence in March this year, and they are going to start a six month licensing rounds for nineteen blocks in what they call the Sao-Tomean (Exclusive Economic Zone) EEZ. But because of what we’ve done in the area in the past, ERHC have the right to choose two blocks of the hundred per cent of ownership each and also has a right to choose 215 per cent interest in two other blocks.
We have to pay a signature bonus on that. We have recently negotiated with the Sao-Tomeans, chosen two blocks, blocks 4 and 11, and we will choose two in the 15 per cent interest in due course which is being negotiated with the Sao-Tomeans.
The EEZ is deep water and it is difficult to get into these fields until we’ve negotiated and the Sao-Tomeans can tell us what the developments would be, but we would know that in the next six to nine months.The currently owned blocks of the JDZ
We are a large working interest holders in the JDZ and the thing to understand about our holdings in the JDZ is that we have what’s called the carried interest, in other words, the operators of the blocks have to pay our development costs, and they can recover that money out of all that was taken out of that block in due course so we don’t have any monetary obligations in the JDZ.
The operators who got interested in blocks 2, 3 and 4. Sinopec is the operator in block 2 and Addax in blocks 3 and 4. Phase one of exploration drilling in that area has happened and is completed, we’re waiting for the results which would be announced within the next month or in six weeks and then we move on to phase 2. We have been following negotiations with the Joint development Authority (JDA)
Ownership structure of ERHC
The company has about two and half million (2,500,000) shareholders, and from a number point of view the vast majority of them are Americans, but from a per centage point of view the company is about 51/52 per cent owned by Nigerian interest, and our biggest single shareholder holding about 43 per cent is the Chrome group, and the remaining 8 to 9 per cent is held by a number of individuals and companies.
Outcome of a recent investigation
The thing to understand is that it was an investigation. They came in and did their investigation, the investigation then went quiet, and in January of this year the authorities returned all the paper works they had taken from us as part of their investigation, and the investigation, if it had proceeded would have led them charging us in the US courts for some criminal misdemeanor and they have not done that, and the fact that they returned all of our documents simply indicates that they are not going to do that. The investigation started in 2005 and it is now 2010 and the expectation is that if they had found anything wrong they would have charged us. As far as we are concerned we’ve got a clean record.
Local content
If we operate in Nigeria we have to be subject to the country’s laws and rules so we would create a reporting structure and a monitoring structure to ensure that we comply with local content requirement and I do not think there is any long term benefit in trying to find a way around these policies as it is more benefitial to play by the rules and that is what we would do.
Scope of operation
We see ourselves strictly as energy investors, we do intend to reinvent the wheel, we speak to people who are good at actually operating them and we would want to tune up with those people, indigenous and non indigenous depending on circumstances of a particular investment opportunity.
Attraction to Nigeria
We have always been attracted to the Nigerian environment, the issue has always been that of corporate development where all of our assets are in the JDZ and the phase one development process that was completed requires that we focus our attention and resources on that, now if that is completed we can start moving forward and looking at other opportunities, also we started off in the JDZ and from the operations point of view our mnagement5 was focused on the JDZ
our resources so that we could focus on other areas and as i said earlier we are looking to expand from sub-
OVL explores projects in Africa
http://www.securities.com/googlenews.html?pc=DW&doc_id=255405266
ISI - Emerging Markets (subscription) - ?Mar 5, 2010?
It also holds 13.5% stake in deepwater Block-2 located in JDZ Nigeria-Sao Tome Principe. OVL holds 100% interest in 2 blocks in Libya and 49% in another ...
Cant get into this site.
Also found this: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ovl-makes-two-oil-discoveries-in-syria/387720/
Sorry, normally I include one.
http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Equator_Exploration_Provides_Update_on_West_Africa_Operations/42d0252bf.aspx
Equator Exploration Provides Update on West Africa Operations
06 March 2010
Equator Exploration Limited provides the following updates on its operational activities:
Exclusive Economic Zone ('EEZ') of São Tomé and Príncipe ('STP')
Equator was invited by the government of STP, prior to the recently announced EEZ Licensing Round, to make its first choice of two blocks in the EEZ as per the Exploration and Production Option Agreement Equator has with the government. Following Equator exercising its option, Equator received from the government of STP a letter of allocation of the rights to two blocks in the EEZ. The government informed Equator that it will soon be able to begin negotiation of Production Sharing Contracts.
OPL 323 / OPL 321
The award of OPL 323 and OPL 321 to the Korean National Oil Corporation ('KNOC'), the operator, was voided by the Federal Government of Nigeria in January 2009. In August 2009, judgement was given in favour of KNOC in a lawsuit that they had brought against the government parties in the Federal High Court in Abuja. Although the government has appealed the judgement, we believe that the government and KNOC are in talks to resolve the situation. We await news of a resolution.
JDZ Bomu-1 Well
Sinopec, the operator, is completing the technical evaluation of the Bomu-1 discovery. In mid-March, the Company and the other participants are required to commit to a second well or to drop the block.
Which means Total's move doesnt necessarily affect ERHC's future unless they want more than Block 1.
Can we get a AFX newswire please.
AFX News. (independent agency for Asian and European news)(International Business)(Brief Article
GUILFORD, Conn., March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Newstex, the Content On Demand(TM) company, today announced a new strategic relationship with AFX News Ltd., the leading European financial news agency. The agreement calls for Newstex to deliver premium financial news content from AFX News to Newstex customers. Newstex provides tailored, real-time newsfeeds from branded newswires, newspapers, magazines, financial and business sources, blogs, and official government feeds.
AFX News is a real-time financial…
It is possible Total is interested in operating the 2 EEZ blocks or partnering with Sinopec. Also, I wonder if Chevron will hold back a royalty like Exxon took 2%.
It just your name, perhaps you should change it
to something like " Marley "
Call them on the telephone and ask if its important to you.
Show me the money, buddy.
"Go with throttle up Houston" let the show begin. Phase 2 is great news, more to come?
Thats just one more reason for NOT releasing the full drilling reports. Cant you see Total asking - please dont release the good news till we finalize our purchase of Block 1. (advanced talks)
Oil & Gas Experts Meet In Accra
Date: 03-Mar-2010
The 14th annual Offshore West Africa (OWA) conference & exhibition on oil and gas is to be held at the Accra International Conference Center from 9 to 11 March 2010.
Offshore West Africa is the region’s premier technical forum that is focused exclusively on West Africa’s offshore oil and gas market. The event, which is under the theme, “Solutions for West Africa’s offshore challenges,” is expected to provide unique networking opportunities for attendees to share technology and to address issues with experts.
The exhibition would offer oil companies, partners and suppliers of the offshore industry a unique platform to showcase their products and services to the senior industry professionals.
PennWell, the organizers of the event, noted in a statement that the annual OWA conference and exhibition remains the leading source of information on technology and expertise for the booming deepwater and subsea market. It is the most significant offshore African deepwater technology event in the world.
Eldon Ball, Director of Offshore Conferences at PennWell said, “Having the conference in Ghana would benefit national and international oil companies that are familiar with the outstanding conferences held by PennWell worldwide. “OWA provides an annual forum that addresses the technical, environmental and business challenges that are associated with oil and gas exploration and production in West Africa,” he stated.
It noted that the event would focus on topics such as lessons learned offshore, field development, case histories and deepwater challenges and solutions, among others. Over 50 companies have already registered to showcase their products and services to the senior industry professionals.
Companies including Anadarko, ExxonMobil, Shell, TOTAL, Chevron, Chinese National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), Petronas and Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) have attended past OWA conferences.
Interesting Options Volume for China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP)
Posted on 03/03/2010
SNP options saw interesting call activity today. A total of 623 put and 6,701 call contracts were traded raising a low Put/Call volume alert. Today's traded Put/Call ratio is 0.09. There were 10.76 calls traded for each put contract.
Options are useful tools for predicting the movement of the underlying stock. Put/Call ratio statistics serve as a useful predictor of investment sentiment, indicating what experienced investors are doing in preparation for a move of an underlying stock. Thus, unusual volume provides reliable clues that the stock is expected to make a move.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP) closed at $79.08 in the last trading session and opened today at $79.21. SNP is trading at $80.23, up $1.15 (+1.45%) in today's trading session. The daily low is $79.21 and the high is $80.60. The trading volume of 443,893 is above the average volume of 277,841 shares. SNP is trading below the 50 day moving average and lower than the 200 day moving average. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. has earnings per share of $0.00. The stock's 52 week low is $46.45 and 52 week high is $94.00.
Sasha Gelf
Options Analytics Group
sasha.gelf@marketintellisearch.com
Art you da man! I love seeing >>>
"then we move on to phase 2" Its gonna get better and better it seems.
Why did they insert "appears to" that just leaves the door and jaw wide open.
Art, Good to see you back, we missed your post. Unfortunately it is as stated a pure WAG. Nobody knows nothin. I do think Mark's hopes are real and there is some news coming, but Ill be real surprised if Emeka sells without us riding the next 10 to 20 year development.
One example of how this might play out, as stated before, a nice cash distribution to all us shareholders and a profitable (if you sell Sinopec) stock swap (Sinopec) would achieve good results for both parties. We could hold some shares for us true longs. Shorts could cash in their Sinopec shares.
The chinese could justify buying unproven oil/gas assets to thier shareholders much easier. They also conserve cash for exploration.
Also , I would guess SEO would spin off some local deals to keep active in the area. ie... Chrome.
All just a WAG.
You know the answer to that, sure if the price is right.
Look at Addax- all the other PROVEN producing prospects (several countries) and skilled employees etc... you cant compare them. I would guess the JDZ asset was 5 t0 10% of the 8 billion and a gamble for them.
Ask yourself IF you had to pay top dollar for ERHC, you would want to know what you are buying. What percentage of ERHC's potential assets have been discovered --- 0 % maybe 10% but we still havent heard have we. Long way to go to discover the entire area.
Have you seen the size of the JDZ blocks>> What is it 160,000 sq kl.! Not to mention EEZ, this area is only just in its Infancy! It takes YEARS and Billions to figure out what is down there in an unexplored area like this.
Bottom line; WHAT is Sir E Offor's price?
We are lucky to have very wealthy partners, count your blessing and HOPE they go on with Phase 2.
Your expecting way too much from ERHC management. ERHC is a puppet concerning others drilling reports, Sinopec calls the shots. Sinopec paid for all the drilling. Get use to it and quit harping on management. They are doing the best they can. PR today was the best they can do.
WAG : Announcement soon of Phase II to commnence in August. Chevron joins consortium in exploration and development.
Nothing more. We wait. Once the fields are proven. THEN we will bought out God willing and the Earth still needs oil.
This would be better news than hearing "We cant find anyone to drill Phase II"
Buy-out's always come when you least expect them.
ot:China Battles Exxon In Ghana Oil DealMarch 2, 2010 - 3:30 pmShare
Christopher HelmanBio | Email
Christopher Helman is the Southwest Bureau Chief of Forbes, based in Houston
The rumors have been swirling in recent weeks over the fate of ExxonMobil's $4 billion deal to buy Dallas-based Kosmos Energy for its oil and gas finds off the coast of Ghana. "Exxon really, really wants it," says a source with knowledge of negotiations between the Texas oil giant and Ghanian officials.
The trouble is, Ghana is now being lobbied hard to force the sale of Kosmos to China's state-controlled international oil company Cnooc. According to several sources, Cnooc has hired Neil Bush, brother of President George W. Bush, to work on its behalf.
As you recall, Kosmos, with partners Anadarko Petroleum and U.K.-based Tullow Oil, pioneered a rash of big oil and gas discoveries of the coast of Ghana in the past year--including Jubilee and Tweneboa--proving out the region as a world-class hydrocarbons basin.
Ghana's government, however, feeling flush and regretting the kingly terms granted to the explorers, has blocked Exxon's entry, claimed for the government all natural gas found in certain fields, and now intends, according to a source close to the government, to form a new Ghanian national oil company. This is the government's perogative; it is common for countries to renegotiate what started as sweetheart contract terms once big reserves are discovered.
China has, of course, been aggressively pursuing oil assets in Africa, with strong positions in Angola, Sudan, and in Nigeria (where Sinopec bought out Addax Petroleum for $7.2 billion last year). Along with money, China brings to Ghana a willingness to invest in more than just oil and gas. Following the model that's worked in other African countries, Chinese contractors are busy with infrastructure projects. A source who has worked in Ghana says that a highway project there funded by the U.S. government-backed Millenium Challenge Corp. is actually being built by Chinese subcontractors. No word on when Exxon might fold its hand and call off the deal.
Its referring to old data and conservative forecast based on block 1 only.
Thanks Mark, thats much better than reading PN jaw flappin pr and sub sahara BS. They spend all their time building up image, we need action not talk.
Phase 2 Exploration Fast Track is what we need. Looking forward to hearing the plans.
Peter has a new tie and haircut. Still smiling too.
Is "always wrong Oily" saying Offor sells 2/3rd of ERHC to Texaco?
China's flag does have Stars...
Good google idea, hey anyone want to recap the "buy up to a buck" then offer Offor 3-4? Cant remember the source with a million post. Maybe a partner of Sinopec is buying up shares. Nigerians?
"I think he named a drillship once as his only claim to firsthand knowledge" No, it wasnt him puff, but he confirmed my post quickly.
Angola's Sonangol interested in oil exploitation in Sao Tome and Principe [ 2010-02-26 ]
Luanda, Angola, 26 Feb - Sonangol is interested in exploiting oil reserves in Sao Tome and Principe if the operation is "attractive", the president of Angola's state-held oil company stated on Thursday in Luanda.
Manuel Vicente said the most likely format for Sonangol's entrance in Sao Tome and Principe would be a joint investment by oil companies from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP).
The first auction of blocs in Sao Tome's economic exclusion zone (EEZ) is scheduled for 2 March in London.
Besides the Angolan enterprise, the consortium would be open to Petrobras of Brazil and Galp Energia of Portugal, as well as Sao Tome and Principe's national oil company, Vicente said.
"Nothing is definite yet - talks have concerned a common investment approach in the CPLP context with Sonangol, Petrobras, Galp and Sao Tome's oil company," he specified.
However, a source from the Brazilian oil company recently said it would not take part in the public oil exploration tender to be launched by the Sao Tome and Principe government in March, but offered no further explanations.
Vicente emphasized that Sonangol has long been present in various sectors in Sao Tome to justify its interest in taking part in all oil-related businesses in that island country.
"We've been in Sao Tome for many years. There are close ties, we have a business presence, a leading position, and we're not only in petroleum. In 2009 we signed an agreement to control the duty-free zone and operate the airport," he said.
Regarding oil matters, the work of Songangol "has been more to advise the government regarding organization of its legal framework in the oil area and definition of a strategy more in line with reality from the oil exploration standpoint," the company's president said.
He stressed that "we are interested in being present in bidding for blocs in Sao Tome".
(macauhub)
Brief: Angolan Oil Investment In Sao Tome And Principe Expected ... 9 hours ago - Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol is expected to bid on oil blocks in Sao ... is likely to get the attention of West African oil powerhouse Nigeria, ... Joint Development Zone (JDZ) in an area full of oil deposits with Sao Tome. ...
www.stratfor.com/.../20100226_brief_angolan_oil_investment_sao_tome_and_principe_expected
Cant open the article.... sounds exciting though.
Both you guys take it outside and hit the reset button, its getting old. lol