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Sinopec plans first deepwater oil exploration
Tue Apr 3, 2007 11:51am
Market News
HK shares open higher, shrugging off HSBC's slide
China's BoCom sees profit growth slowing this year
US STOCKS-Futures rise on toxic asset plan reports
More Business & Investing News... BEIJING, April 3 (Reuters) - Sinopec Corp. (0386.HK) plans its first deepwater exploration well off China's coast in 2008, and is considering to lease a drilling vessel from Canada's Husky Energy Inc. (HSE.TO), company officials said on Tuesday.
Sinopec, Asia's top refiner but new to deepsea oil and gas exploration, has a tight budget as most of its expenditure is geared towards boosting onshore exploration and production as well as expanding its massive refining business.
"We don't have a capex for the deepsea sector. The spending is based on well by well," Ge Weimin, deputy chief engineer of Sinopec's offshore business, told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry seminar.
The company was expected to sink its wildcat in block 3 or block 4 in the Qing Dong Nan basin in the western South China Sea, with a water depth of 1,500 metres (4,920 ft), following seismic works that showed promising reserve potentials, said another company official who declined to be named.
"We have been talking to Husky about the possibility of renting its vessel," the official added.
Husky made China's first deepwater discovery last year in block Liwan 3-1-1 in South China Sea.
The global deepwater sector faces tight supplies of drilling rigs as high oil prices spur activity from the Gulf of Mexico to Angola.
Sinopec has been slow in pushing for its offshore sector as its top management mostly comes from the onshore side and views deepwater drilling as too expensive and risky compared with onshore drilling.
An onshore exploration well costs roughly $4 million, whereas a deepwater wildcat easily burns $100 million, they said.
SINOPEC Shanghai Offshore Oil & Gas Company
SINOPEC Shanghai Offshore Oil & Gas Company (hereinafter referred as "Shanghai Company"), with rich experiences in offshore oil & gas exploration and controlling certain developing technique, is engaged especially in offshore oil and gas exploration and development.
Shanghai Company has three main business scopes: First, on behalf of SINOPEC, playing a significant role in the management including exploration evaluation research, development construction and production technique managing, defending SINOPEC's shareholder rights in two cooperation projects i.e. Xihu Project and Pinghu Project; the Second is undertaking an autonomous exploration in the regions in either the East China Sea, the South China Sea and the Yellow Sea for the purpose of finding new oil & gas field to establish autonomous developing base as soon as possible; the Third is undertaking the research work on appraisal of the oversea oil & gas resources exploration and development project.
Autonomous exploration focuses on achieving oil & gas breakthrough in new area. In the year of 2007, Shanghai Company has finished compiling the scheme, which now got approved by SINOPEC, of the Qiongdongnan deep water 3D Seismic Exploring Project, meanwhile, completing the negotiation and signing for the 3D Data collection Contract; Start researching on preparing project for "Qiongdongnan deep water drilling technique survey and earlier stage operation appraisal" by surveying the deep water drilling technique and related equipments for the earlier stage preparation of deep water drilling; Organizing two brainstorm geophysical technical projects, one of them is "2D Seismic Data re-processing in South Part of East China Sea", thus lay the foundation for SINOPEC's ocean exploring territory fundamental geology research and exploration potentiality appraisal. .
With a total area of 242km2, Pinghu Oil & Gas Field which has began to supply high quality nature gas to Shanghai since April 1999 is the first oil & gas field under developing. Up to the end of year 2007, it has accumulated producing 3.1052 million tons of crude oil, nature gas in 3.599 billion m3. For the purpose of appraisal the Pinhu Oil & Gas field as well as it's surrounding structure profoundly, searching for backup resources, Shanghai Petroleum Company LTD has carried out a hi-precision 3D seismic Data re-collection covering 382km2. Various measures have been taken to enhance the oil and gas production of Pinhu Oil & Gas field. Well A11, B01,B9 has been completed and put into production successively.
Chunxiao first phase construction of Xihu Project had been accomplished in February 8, 2006.
Oversea projects achieve success. The research results of two oversea technical support projects--Sakhalin project and Nigeria project has achieved acknowledgement from SINOPEC International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation as well as the foreign partners.
Up to the end of year 2007, Shanghai Company owns a share of proven geological reserve of 916.1 million ton of oil and 316.7 hundred million cubic meter of gas, and 46 exploring wells and appraisal wells in total had been drilled which hit a 60% more success rate. Up to present date, the Company owns twelve marine autonomous exploration blocks in about 56748km2 that located in East China Sea Basin, Qiongdongnan Basin and Beibuwan Basin. Jointly shared with China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Shanghai Company also owns thirteen prospecting blocks and two exploiting blocks located in East China Sea Shelf Basin, Xihu Trough covering 37765km2.
A series of achievements covering various fields such as coast investigation, sea bed mineral resources investigation, maritime space delimitation, sea bed sedimentary topography study ect. has been made by Shanghai Company. More than 60 various awards has been granted to the Company by National science and technology committee, National development and reform commission, State Economic and Trade Commission, State Mineral Resource Commission, Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Finance, SINOPEC and Shanghai Municipal Government together with a honorable title of Notable Unit of Geological and Mineral Resources Exploration.
Remember this: Marathon is a possibilityIMO
Sinopec, CNOOC Agree on $1.8B for Angola Asset
by David Winning; Benoit Faucon Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday, October 01, 2008
LONDON (Dow Jones Newswires), October 1, 2008
China Petrochemical Corp., or Sinopec Group, and Cnooc Ltd. are close to buying a stake held by Marathon Oil Co. in an Angolan oil block after agreeing a price of around $1.8 billion, two people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
Marathon has chosen Sinopec and Cnooc's joint offer over separate bids from ONGC Videsh Ltd., the overseas investment arm of India's state-run explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp., and Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro, known as Petrobras, the people said.
Related Pictures
Angola, Block 32
(Click to Enlarge)
Sinopec and Cnooc are still to negotiate other terms of a sale-and-purchase agreement with Marathon for 20% of deepwater Block 32, and will seek approval from the Chinese and Angolan governments before a deal is completed and announced, the people added.
It could take another two weeks to finalize the deal, one person said.
Marathon intends to retain a 10% interest in Block 32, where 11 successful exploration wells have been drilled.
Lee Warren, manager of Marathon's external communications, and Cnooc's Head of Investor Relations Xiao Zongwei separately declined to comment. Sinopec's media relations team couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Sinopec and Cnooc are China's second- and third-largest oil producers by capacity. Sinopec is the parent company of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.
China's state oil giants are stepping up their pursuit of overseas assets as domestic oil output stagnates, and supply of natural gas fails to keep pace with the growth in demand.
Last week, Sinopec won the bidding for Canada's Tanganyika Oil Ltd., which has producing oil fields in Syria. Sinopec also bid recently for London-listed Imperial Energy Corp., whose assets are in Russia, but lost out to ONGC.
A person familiar with the matter said Cnooc has bid between US $300 million and US $700 million for oil and natural gas assets in Trinidad and Tobago put up for sale by Canada's Talisman Energy Inc.
Interest in Block 32 was kickstarted by Marathon's decision early this year to review all assets in its global portfolio, including refineries and oil projects nearing development or already producing crude.
Late Tuesday, Marathon announced the disposal of its 50% stake in a joint venture selling transport fuels in the U.S. in a deal worth $700 million.
Marathon expects total pre-tax proceeds from all asset sales in the $2 billion to $4 billion range.
Block 32 is operated by Total SA of France, which owns a 30% stake, while U.S. oil major ExxonMobil Corp. has an interest of 15%. Angola's state oil company Sonangol and the Petrogal unit of Portuguese oil and gas firm Galp Energia own 20% and 5%, respectively.
It's unclear whether any of these parties will exercise their preemption rights.
Angola is a cornerstone supplier of crude oil to China and has been a major recipient of loans and investment in recent years as the world's fastest-growing major economy seeks to leverage political ties to secure greater access to its natural resources.
In 2006, Sinopec agreed to pay $692.2 million for stakes in three deepwater oil blocks in Angola through its Sonangol Sinopec International joint venture with Angola's state oil company.
The joint venture took a 40% stake in Block 18, which has a tertiary reserve estimated at 1.5 billion barrels, comprising mostly light crude.
It also took a 27.5% stake in Block 17 and a 20% stake in Block 15.
Topshelf, I saw the same report. I think its sensationalized with the weak link being the "However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken's massive reserves" part. What exact technological breakthrough have we missed.....any idea what they are referring to?
We could all "go in" charter a "yellow" submarine when The Deepwater pathfinder shows up to drill, then we would know first-hand, up close what happens when and where. Seriously, It seems we are following the market with the current volume and moves, we still havent seen any real buying. Its like waiting for fruit to ripen, you got to be patient & pray.
The guys drilling these holes live with uncertainty, no one knows for sure whats down there till they study and analyze the data from drilling.
I 'll take a penny or 2 a day increase till Christmas, 2.25/share sounds like a fair value today. Steady as she goes. Guess we will have to wait. GlTAL'S 2.25 by years end, THATS MY PREDICTION.
Mark, Thats all we can do... "Enjoy the ride".
Unless someone puts us out of our misery, sooner.
"Oily face" did you ever NOT mimic me or TongaTx on Rbull to get just one prediction right for a change. You need to listen better. Quit predicting. Name one instance you were spot on. I bat 1000. No debate there.
Did anyone see Tonga TX post on February 26? NO D&D there.
Tonga=Southern Man OK?
Krombacher, (DAN K) good point! Has Dan responded to this? Dan are you reading this?..... we need broad coverage! Investors arent googling ERHC, please add add Chevron, Addax, Sinopec, JDZ, West Africa, Why isnt this news in the Houston Comical? Use Obama, Chinese, etc,, whatever it takes to get this excellent news heard. Obviously NO ONE is seeing the value here other than "us". 29 cents ...just makes me puke.
Guys (and Mich.Native) once the good news does get out, get ready for the vultures and ERHC haters to emerge. It happens everytime we have good news,thus far
"...he didn't include the names of the other oil companies in the PR, and hence shareholders of other oil companies" could not read or see the news.
Call the PAPERS!
Thanks for all the kind words everyone. Its like a dream come true for all of us who have been here since 2000+ ,we are finally "golden"! We know there are massive, low sulfur, high quality oil reserves in the JDZ and EEZ.
Should we reserve a whole floor and Penthouse for our celebration ? ...... New Years! would be good. fyi,Vegas is a ghost town right now I hear.
Double?! How about Quadruple!!
Glad, I could share some good news. Lets hope we get some real attention and have price appreciation!
Drill baby drill.lol
Alright, Me and Tonga said it first on the 26th , before Mark or anyone else, rememeber that for Vegas, we dont pump we report the facts ... "Deepwater Pathfinder is contracted for the Jdz" if you knew the source you would all say" FACT ". Check Raging Bull back onthe 26th if you doubt. Tryoty cant read RB, he is too snobbish, though he has soul. GLTAL Tonga TX is Southern Man, cant beleive you didnt put that together. Oily etc. has been riding my post for all its worth. Guys we are GOLDEN..accumulate!
I have been listening to all the BS. It's solid info, be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day. GLTAL.
Yes, agent Spp119, very nice indeed reporting, there is no way to know when, the important thing is we know it has been contracted.
Do you think the fact that people are losing their jobs, the stock market is collapsing and declined, 12 out of the last 14 days might have a just a little to do with the lack of Uptrend here. lol .. Come on. Count your blessings. People are selling to pay rent and buy food. Its going to get worse imo...GLTAL
"Contracted" is the word Krombacher, I have said it 10 times now. As far as next week, I never promised a time or press release date. Mark has no control over that either. Yes, I am (been here for over 8 years) very very encouraged by what I have heard. I have not sold or bought shares in years and have many many shares. So --- just keep the faith, you all know, the oil is there, you also know they will drill before deadlines. Now you know the 2 drill ships names.
Gentlemen we have our boat(s)! Celebrate, accumulate and be patient! The bad news is, all this exciting news will coincide with the deepest USA depression ever seen in our lifetime.imo
Art, as also posted previously, do you want penny stock owners from a small joint venture emailing your company constantly? Do you want to ruin the element of surprise, negotiations with other entities, bakers approval, board of directors approval, partners approval, jda approval, chain of command? Who knows why? 200 reasons to respond that way. Just wait and see. OK Have a nice weekend. All is well!
Put yourself in Jean Gandur, CEO, position, then ask the question.
That was my hypothetical suggestion of a possible stock swap, 5 for 1, 8 for 1, 12 for 1 or 30 for 1, what ever, the point was intended to point out a easier way for Addax to aquire ERHC and we would have instant gains and still tremendous growth potential. If you cant see that as a plausible real world scenario, then God help you. 20 cent to 5+ bucks doesnt happen very often. Triple your money buy ins then 4x your money 3 years later DOES happen more often. (Addax at 25 goes to 100 in 3 years). THAT was my point.
Midtier,Sorry to say youll be eating crow on your statement, this one has already happened regardless of lack of an official international release. You guys have been waiting for this new for years. I say its here. As I have stated since Feb.26 The DP rig is contracted by Addax for the JDZ. NO further details are available so dont ask.
Yep, old news. Who would sell into the good news supplied by Tonga on February 26th. Oh, ye of little faith. You guys really think youll get rich in 2 or 3 days? Buy and Hold. Be patient.
BM TONIGHT?
Yeah, real funny. Sure. Whatever you say, we all know your right. I just hope I am still here to reap the benefits of the drill bit. Only, with Gods blessing it will happen.
Whats your point?
Just because "you think" Mark is wrong or has been wrong doesnt make it so. Its your opinion and your entitled to that. I dont pump(.) I dont "think" Mark is wrong either. Business such as this is never Black and white, it changes constantly..its called capitalism (or accounting).
Cause he listens.
Can we get a official count down "days to christmas" at start page? lol
All GREAT NEWS!
Thanks for repost Mark, I should read more carefully,
Addax and its key partner ERHC Energy hope to have the deepwater Pathfinder drillship on location at the end of the second quarter.
Thats... only 147 days?!!
Four wells are to be drilled commencing with the Kina prospect in Block 4.
That is a possibility, good point, didnt think of that. We dont know yet which JDZ block the Deepwater is headed to.
Its going to be a very busy ocean soon, this we do know.
The good news is that Addax has the rig. Just hope its in ERHC's blocks.
Mark and Ajjaxx, thanks. :PR this week or next week" sounds fine to me. I wonder who else might release news ? It is coming, so just wait for it. This isnt all going to happen overnight ya know.
I cant imagine anyone selling this stock at 30 cents or even 80 cents, this year. This is the BIRTH of our company, let it grow up a little. Celebrate the beginning! Congratulations to everyone who has bought and held on for so long.
In 180 days the drill bit turns IMO>WAG.
Mark, Nice to have further confirmation of my news. I have to say if I were a Addax or Transocean executive I would not want numerous emails coming into my office from penny stock shareholders begging for information. Put their shoes on for a minute. You guys have to think. That action can cause problems for businessmen trying to maintain relationships with numerous oil field operators/clients and partners. You have to be patient and wait for it.
This inquisitive "barrage" only delays release of news and makes the executives more reluctant to share information in the future. I heard "CONTRACTED FOR JDZ" not negotiating. Transocean/Global Santa fe site says its released in August, I just "hope" it can be sooner. I guess what I am saying is leave Addax alone and dont bug them.
Again, it sure looks as if we will have 12 wells drilled in the next 12 months. Sit back and relax. WE ARE GOLDEN! Say a prayer of thanks too! Go Minnow. GLTAL
Thanks for the heads up and kind words Art2004. Keep up the good work. I have followed your post for years. I think we have common friends and contacts, that would explain the email. I am so looking forward to the drill bit turning. Its been a long, long strange trip. Let hope for a steady climb in share price. It would be so fine to have Addax release "the news" tomorrow, dont see any reason they could'nt. No big deal if they don't.
Can't say where you heard $5.75 is a more realistic buyout number?
Cant say,sorry.
Thank you Pepsiman, Ill see if I can get some more details.
Sail to where Tryoty, is the AA coming to JDZ, now? That would be great news. Also, would someone post where Bovell said 10 bucks, I think that was implied and vague. I always heard 5.75 was a more realistic number. Guys, the 30 and 15 to 1 was purely a sample of what could happen, as stated it all depends on negotiations, current enviroment and acceptance on both sides. To outright buy ERHC is a tall order and I dont think it will happen till some discoveries are found and analyzed. THEN Addax will play cards with us. Addax is planning to buy us somehow. The actions will be justified only when we discover oil and the investigation is cold. The Pathfinder should be able to punch holes quickly with oil being only 5000 ft down. Very encouraging and supportive of what Ive heard report by bsk2007.
Sit back and wait! We are grey, but still golden.... lol
Ajaxx, you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?, personal attacks and childish threats. I was responding to Oily, I can mention him all I want. As for vested interest, Ide be surprised if you had over a million 1/2 shares. Your rude, you rush to judge and you are the main reason I havent posted here till now. Its too difficult to reason with some like you. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and thoughts in this country. You should be banned. I have been here over 8 years and supply you with the biggest news in a year and you talk about credibility?
What is the latest (guess) value of our shares after we pay our share in the blocks with Addax? Oil at 40.
Well, it was for discussion purposes, thats all. In this market 1.60 for ERHC today doesnt sound too bad to me. 3.20 would be much better. We would keep the assets that arent in our JV agreements with Addax. FYI: Adddax has 155 million shares outstanding. They paid 1.6 billion cash in a buy out 2 1/2 years ago.
Everyone seen this? Addax is poised for continued growth!
UPDATE 1-Addax Petroleum draws interest from Asian suitors
Fri Feb 13, 2009 5:44am EST Email | Print | Share| Reprints
HONG KONG, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Africa and Middle East-focused oil and gas firm Addax Petroleum (AXC.TO) has attracted buyout interest from major Chinese, Japanese, and Indian energy firms, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Toronto and London-listed Addax (AXC.L), with a market value of roughly $2.9 billion, has projects in Nigeria, Gabon, Cameroon, and exploration licences in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Chinese offshore oil giant CNOOC (0883.HK)(CEO.N), Japan's Mitsubishi (8058.T), and Indian firms including Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO), have all expressed interest in the firm, sources said.
"Addax has been talked about for a while. Chinese players are looking at it," one of the sources told Reuters, adding that Chinese oil majors continue to scour Africa for quality assets.
"CNOOC has looked at Addax," a second source said.
An Addax spokesman in London declined to comment.
The sources declined to be named due to the sensitive nature of the process, which is at an early stage.
Mitsubishi and CNOOC declined to comment. A New Delhi-based spokesman for ONGC could not comment immediately when asked whether the firm was looking at Addax.
As the global financial crisis curbs consumption and U.S. oil trades below $35 a barrel after nearly reaching $150 last summer, many oil players have struggled to finance new projects and control costs.
But unlike some firms being combed over as low-priced targets during the financial crisis, Addax is not in a distressed situation, dealmakers say. The firm is expected to book $858 million in net profit for 2008, up from $482 million in 2007, according to Reuters Estimates.
"The company has ongoing operations in some of the most socially/politically unstable oil-producing regions in the world, but has proven its ability to grow and generate substantial income," BMO Capital Markets said in a report.
"As most international companies have focused on reducing capital programmes in order to survive 2009, Addax is positioned for continued growth with material catalysts throughout the year," the report said.
IMO SEO might go for a 15 to 1 scenario.
A stock swap depends on fair value and dilutive acceptance.
15 to 1, You get one share of Addax for 15 shares of Addax at (currently) 24. Thats a 1.60 a share today and you can sell your addax shares or stay in. I would take that in a heartbeat to get off the talkboards and BB. addax could save its cash and line of credit. Take a look at the common shares of ADDAX and and tell me it couldnt work.
30 to 1, you would get 1 share of Addax for 30 shares of ERHC.
Thats only .80 cents but its sure better than 30 cents! Either way you get to cash out or keep playing Oilman.
The deal would have to be sweetened by Private sale of some of SEO offshore shares, I would guess.
Addax shareholders wouldnt be greatly diluted. They understand the growth potential, trust the judgement of Addax because of the leadership and record and see savings by combining the two.
This is the natural set up to a bigger player coming in right after the stock for stock offer and Buy ADDAX. Ive seen it happen first hand.
GLTAL
Yeah, I agree, I have nearly run out too. Maybe we should start on complete strangers, cold calling etc.. lol. They will all thank you soon!
Personally I think/hope Addax will do a buyin with a stock swap say 30 to 1, and give SEO a large cash incentive. That would give us "jdz die-hards" the opportunity to stay on long term or cash out. Existing shareholders wouldnt care much if Addax continued to be brilliant and find more and more oil.imo
I think Addax is a steal at todays prices. Did you see how fast it ran up from 12!
My belief is the "investigation" is all that stands in the way. Can anyone get the latest info on the investigation? Will it ever end? It never really began, it just existed to depress our psp imo.
Thirty one cents doesnt excite me, a nice day but guys we are on our way and its a long path. Pun intended. Until we get the volume up around 3+ million shares/day we are spining our wheels. Seems to me everyone should spend more time telling friends about the story of ERHC and less speculating and worrying about who posted what when. How about we start a newcomers count with referals and see who here wins. Winner gets free room in Vegas..lol Contest ends July 31st. I assume the Pathfinder starts Aug 1, 2009 from the Transocean Rig pdf.
Oily has mirrored news I have heard before but they dont always come to fruition. It not "his or her" fault. There are a lot of moving pieces to ERHC's fate and future. No one entity can control that. The good news is Addax definately has the "pathfinder drill ship contracted for the JDZ". Yes, alwright I posted it way before Mr.Oily. Who cares.
It is nice to have a green spot on the portfolio today, lets just hope it continues and the world markets find stability soon. Otherwise, we are all going to experience the worst depression in USA's history and even the strongest oil companies will retract. God bless Addax and Sinopec!
Gltal Southern Man
Keep thinking Wally, your gettin real warm. You all know me.
Hey this cryptic stuff is addicting! Oily must feed on it.
Guys (Dane) lol, calm down. The info I shared is good as it gets. Wait for your official news Dane, its coming.
All any of us can really do to make a difference in share price is share the wealth and tell everyone you know about ERHC and its potential. Maybe just maybe our lifetime wait will reap profits. With the USA capitalism system collapsing right before our eyes the timing couldnt be worse IMO, Pray!