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I challenge anybody on this Board to show me the law or regulation in Belize mandating or justifying "quiet time". I truly doubt that such a law or regulation exists. Oiljob
Damn, BNE even has a video on Youtube showing anybody who cares to look the very moment they struck oil at one of their wells, if not the very first well. It shows the oil suddenly spitting out of a hose into a sump pit. "Quiet Time" ????
There is only one explanation for quiet time, and I don't support insider trading.
I don't really get the "quiet time". There is no reason to make this a skunk's work project, unless something stinks. It means only insiders have tradeable information.
Let's follow a U.S. style of business, it's called total transparency. We always knew where an Apollo mission was, unless it was on the dark side of the moon, and Belize is not the dark side of the moon. Oiljob
I need an update on Belize too. Oiljob
It's time for this company to make some money the old fashion way. WORK. Stop trying to make the quick buck. What makes anyone think they can make money somewhere else if they refuse to go to work here, meaning building real working relationships, with people that like to work, honorable people putting in an honest day's labor. There is something wrong with management's phlosophy if they can't figure this simple little part of business out. There is NO free lunch. Get off your duffs and go to work, just like everyone else that took their hard earned money and invested in this enterprise of dreams. It's time to turn at least one dream into a reality. I'm sorry, you'll have to get out of bed and go to WORK.
There, I feel better now. Oiljob
OK, Treaty is bigger than Belize, ergo it's time for some news, any news, something local, something Texan; an update on anything this side of Mexico, I'm hungry and need feeding. It's a brand new year, how about a projection. Oiljob
Whatever you do ... do not call them Hope and Change. Oiljob
I would be shocked if somebody did not already possess the gold mining rights in the Maya Mtns. .. Oiljob
Like dlog says, it's best we concentrate on what we do best ... locate and bring into production commercial oil wells. Then we are in a better position to make deals .... However one must also strike while the iron is hot.
Maybe our political capital is worth as much as their economic capital ... I mean in the long run ... one must always think long term.
The most valuable mineral resource in the Paradise concession area is probably gold, not petroleum. Oiljob
Maybe we can get an amendment to our concession license. Oiljob
I know from personal experience that Treaty reads this Board daily. Oiljob. Mr. Reid is probably reading all these posts as I type. Oiljob.
He might even be picking-up his phone to make the dinner arrangments. Anybody know a nice reataurant in Placencia. lol Oiljob
What a disappointiment 2011 was for this stock. Hopefully management learned some valuable lessons. If anybody ever planned to average down, this is certainly the time and place to do it. Then put the shares in your back pocket and check back in about a year. Oiljob.
Whatever you do ,,, don't sit there and waste your time following this stock everyday, unless you like financial flagulation.
Well it's a new year ... 2012... and I'm still the only poster here. and it should be a really bif and exciting year for Sherritt.
This should be a great year with Ambatovy production coming on line in the first quarter. The stock should be moving real soon. This is a gem in the rough ... not to mention the company is the largest coal producer in Canada. Oiljob
A deal like this would also let us build that new refinery in Belize. Think Big. Oiljob
The perfect play right now, it s seems to me, would be a merger with BNE; they would get publicly tradeable stock, which would make most of their shareholders happy (mostly Irish), and we would get the producing field in Belize. Their money would fund all our operations, including unknown wealth offshore as well as making all our domestic operations move forward rapidly.
I wonder if this is a possiblility. Kind of like the Paradise deal, only 10X better. Oiljob
Right now BNE is almost out of business, having lost most of their lease, they need a new home. They could relax a little and we would be up and running Belize-wide. They rould be repairing their polictial ties and solidifying their future in Belize.
Somebody give them a call, sit down and have dinner and a drink. This is do-able.
Just thinking out loud.
My New Year's Eve Resolution: "I ain't gunna be Stupid mo more" I'm gunna become educated and read, and listen to those voices inside my head more often. lol Oiljob
Here is some light reading to start your New Year: 2012 Go Teco.
Horizontal Drilling - What Have We Found?
Gary S. Swindell, Consulting Engineer, Dallas, Texas
This article was published in the Oil & Gas Journal, March 25, 1996. Copyright 1996 by Pennwell Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Oil & Gas Journal or any part therof may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical without the prior written permission of the Editor.
Horizontal drilling has become one of the most valuable technologies ever introduced into the upstream oil business. Along with other advances over the last fifteen years such as massive fracturing and 3-D seismic, horizontal drilling has had a significant impact on oil and gas production.
A considerable number of articles and papers have been written on horizontal drilling, but the focus has been on the hardware and drilling side of the technology. Relatively little has been published on the reserves that have been found. This lack of reserve and economic information is partly due to operators wanting to retain a competitive advantage in their drilling. But it is also due to the difficulty in applying traditional reserve estimation methods to a situation which we do not fully understand.
Volumetric analysis is complicated because of a lack of knowledge on extent of the fracture systems - there are documented cases of wells interfering as much as two miles away, and other cases where wells 1,500 ft apart show no interference. Pressure transient and reservoir simulation methods are made difficult by the same poor understanding of the reservoir character. Analogy has not been effective since there simply are none to this new technology.
That leaves performance analysis as a reserve estimating tool. And it is only recently that enough history is available to reliably examine the reserve potential of horizontal wells. So, let's take a look at what we have found from horizontal drilling.
At least 12 states have some horizontal production. But Texas overwhelmingly dominates the use of the technique. Together with North Dakota, the top two states account for 89% of the producing horizontal leases drilled since 1987.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State New Leases Major Formations
since 1988
Texas 2,054 Austin, Buda, Georgetwn,
Ellenburger
North Dakota 175 Bakken, Madison
Wyoming 71 Niobrara, Minnelusa, Frontier
Alabama 58 Pottsville Coals
Montana 42 Red River, Mission Canyon
Louisiana 35 Chalk, Miocene, Cotton Valley
Oklahoma 27 Bartlesville, Miss, Viola,
Hunton
Utah 17 Desert Crk, Twin Crk
New Mexico 13 Fruitland Coal, Mancos Shale
Colorado 8 Niobrara, Codell
Michigan 5 Antrim
South Dakota 1 Red River
US Total 2,506
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation Complications
One difficulty in evaluating the results of horizontal drilling is that production for Texas wells is reported on a lease basis and not by individual well. Dwights EnergyData shows some 2,700 Texas leases designated as "horizontal". These include older leases that have had horizontal wells drilled around existing vertical production. To reduce the effect of mixed vertical and horizontal drilling, this study was restricted to leases which began production after 1987. In Texas, the 1987 limit excludes about 700 mixed leases from the statistics. Most of the Texas study group are single well leases. Other states generally report production on a individual well basis and the problem is less significant.
Another problem with using summarized rate vs. time curves for reserve estimation is that the completions took place over a number of years. Our study accounts for the time effect by the use of normalized production.
North Dakota
Bakken Shale has been the primary target for North Dakota horizontal drilling. Billings and McKenzie have been the dominant counties. Through mid-1995, horizontal wells have produced 11,336,000 barrels and 18 BCF, or about 14 MMBOE since late 1987 when the first wells were completed. Note (fig. 2) that production began to fall in 1991, even as the total well count continued to rise. This is due to the sharp production declines often seen in the early life of fractured reservoirs.
Normalizing, the procedure of setting each well back to the same "time zero", provides a means for taking out the problem of time shown in figure 2. When all the horizontal wells that make up the total horizontal production for North Dakota are normalized, a composite average well profile develops as shown in figure 3.
The average initial production from the typical horizontal well in North Dakota is 4,300 BBL/month with an early decline of about 65% and only a small hyperbolic factor that serves to flatten the decline over time. The relatively small hyperbolic nature of the curve compared with the Austin Chalk wells may suggest poor contribution from the rock matrix versus the fracture system.
In an earlier study, we looked at every individual Bakken Shale well in the state and projected an ultimate recovery using rate vs. time curves. The average vertical well was projected to ultimately recover 104,000 BBL. Surprisingly, the average horizontal well's estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) was less than the vertical wells at 97,000 BBL. Perhaps the horizontal wells found fracture systems that had already been substantially depleted by vertical wells. Of the larger fields, only Elkhorn showed higher per well EUR for horizontal wells. The advantage was only a 15,000 BBL per well increase for horizontal drilling.
Poor overall economics have slowed the use of horizontal drilling in the Bakken Shale of North Dakota.
Texas
More than 101 Texas counties have experienced some horizontal production (fig. 5). Statewide leases designated as "horizontal" (Dwights EnergyData) with the earliest production after 1987, have produced 188 MMBBL and 497 BCF (271 MMBOE).
As in North Dakota, the total oil production began to decline after late 1992 even as well count continued to increase. And when total horizontal well count generally stabilized in early 1994 the overall decline steepens considerably.
Although scattered horizontal drilling has occurred in most Texas basins, the vast majority of the wells have been in the Austin Chalk trend. The top ten Texas counties in horizontal drilling since 1987 contain more than 90% of the total horizontal leases, and our further study was narrowed to these ten counties.
Normalizing again provides a tool to take out much of the effect of differing dates of first production. Some of the leases in our study group did have additional wells added after the earliest production. Furthermore, some had wells which added a second horizontal leg, often in the updip direction. Overall, though, the effect of added wells and reworks of existing wells does not appear to have a significant influence on the statistics developed in the study.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Study Group Cumulative Oil Avg Ultimate Avg Peak
No. of Wells (BBL) per Well Production
(after 1987) (BOE) (BBL/Month)
Brazos Co., TX 245 23,020,620 155,045 14,249
Burleson Co., 286 24,026,926 187,887 8,069
TX
Dimmit Co., TX 109 7,193,795 86,171 7,218
Fayette Co., TX 317 33,988,344 200,198 13,538
Frio Co., TX 408 27,236,932 82,917 6,658
Gonzales Co., 142 8,767,873 77,882 7,416
TX
LaSalle Co., TX 124 7,686,914 79,555 8,633
Lee Co., TX 115 11,194,118 153,278 11,743
Wilson Co., TX 51 2,337,059 62,470 3,824
Zavala Co., TX 93 15,279,901 199,134 12,387
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Austin Chalk EUR
The average estimated ultimate recovery of horizontal wells, based on the normalized profiles of each of the top ten Texas counties, is shown in figure 6. Average EUR ranges from a low of 80,000 BOE per well in LaSalle County to 200,000 BOE in Fayette County.
Fig 6. Estimated Gross Ultimate per Well - Austin Chalk Trend
The average peak production can be obtained from the normalized rate vs. time curves. Usually this peak occurs in the first month of production but at times the second or third month is the highest level as wells clean up and produce back drilling and stimulation fluids. The data is influenced by the fact that the first month of recorded production may not be a full 30 or 31 days.
Fig 7. Peak Monthly Production, MBBL per Well, Austin Chalk Trend
Closer Look at Four Counties
The rate vs. time profiles of four counties, Brazos and Fayette in the northeastern part of the Chalk trend, and Frio and Zavala in the southwest, give a better understanding of the average reserves. Brazos County shows fairly high peak production, 14,250 BBL/month, but very rapid decline. Over 68% of the average EUR (155,000 BOE) is produced in the first year, and over 80% in the first two years.
Fayette County shows similarly high initial rates and higher EUR than Brazos because of more flattening of the decline. Still, over 65% of the EUR is produced in the first year. The Giddings Field is located in Fayette County.
Pearsall Field is on the southwestern end of the Chalk trend, covering portions of Frio, LaSalle, Dimmit and Zavala Counties. The Frio County rate vs. time plot shows a significantly lower initial rate the northeastern counties, but perhaps a stronger hyperbolic behavior. The first year accounts for 55% of the ultimate predicted recovery.
The Zavala County typical profile is a composite of 93 horizontal wells. Initial rate is fairly high at 12,400 BBL/month. Ultimate recovery is estimated to be nearly 200,000 BOE/well. Hyperbolic behavior is not very evident after the first 2 years, possibly suggesting that the primary porosity is less a contributing factor than curves with more flattening. Other studies2 have concluded that both fracture size and fracture density are significantly lower in the Pearsall area vs. Giddings Field.
Summary
Results from horizontal drilling have been highly varied. Successes on a large scale have been limited to the Austin Chalk Trend. And even within this sizable trend there are areas which have been unable to realize sufficient reserves to make horizontal wells profitable. It is apparent that not all fractured reservoirs benefit economically by the application of this technology. The two top states, North Dakota and Texas have produced over 285 MMBOE to date through horizontal wells, an important contribution to the US supply. Rapid return of investment due to high initial production rates, ability to implement economies of scale, and the realization of statistical averages with multiple well programs are the driving force behind continued use of the technique in much of the Chalk Trend.
References
1. Maloy, William T., Horizontal wells up odds for profit in Giddings Austin Chalk, Oil & Gas Journal, Feb 17, 1992, p. 67.
2. Maloy, William T., Statistical relations predict horizontal well production, World Oil, April, 1993, p. 55.
3. Beliveau, Dennis, Heterogeneity, Geostatistics, Horizontal Wells, and Blackjack Poker, Journal of Petroleum Technology, December, 1995, p. 1068.
4. Thomas, Gilbert E., Sonnenberg, Frank P., Homing in on sweet spots in Cretaceous Austin Chalk, Oil & Gas Journal, Nov. 29, 1993, p 110.
Go back to Gary S. Swindell & Associates
Happy New Year my brother risk takers. Oil job
Merry Christmas everyone. I was hoping for some little "baby oil drums" under my X-mas tree by now, lol, but I guess I can wait a little longer.
Merry Christmas Mr. Reid and to all your family, and to our drilling crews, and to everyone. Who worked so hard on all our corporate dreams this year. 2012 is looking good due to all your hard work.
What, no picture of the rig Christmas Tree. Did everyone go home for the holidays?
And for all my I-Hub friends, may all your wishes come true this coming year, may our troops come home safe, may our soldiers be brave, and may the Star of Israel burn bright across our land. Oil job
I just wanted to invest in an oil rig builder, and as far as I can tell that relationship doesn't even exist anymore. I can't believe men would publicly trash their own reputations and subject themselves to this level of scorn . Really shameful. Oil job
P.s. Merry Christmas everybody. Maybe we will witness an epic comeback next year, doubtful, but one can only hope.
There is a possibility that some of the stock action we are looking at is just end of the year portfolio management. If you need a little loss to offset a gain you might unload a little Treaty, particularly if you bought in at .05 or .06 cents per share. Balance the books and take another look maybe 30 days down the road, after the New Year.
As for me I don't like taxable events. Oiljob
Another Cool post, nice to learn something new so early in the day. I always wondered about that, it seems so simple now. Keep it coming Cool. Oiljob
So much speculation. The company has promised to be quiet .. this is what quiet time sounds like. I would like to see a drilling picture with an installed BOP. I find it difficult to believe they could actually hit oil and keep it quiet for more than 24 hours. Nobody is gonna start drilling well number two before knowing the results of well number one. Obviously full production data will involve a logging, but if they hit oil, we will all know it pronto. Oiljob.
So they are drilling today and the mysterious photographer is no-where to be seen. You would think we would have more serriptitiouus photography on display. The bears are truly roaming the hills, watch your investments people.
I'm holding as long as the ducks stay in a row .... Treaty, Paradise, Princess, Bruce, Reid, drill team in Belize, etc (I'm leaving some names out on purpose). It looks like green lights from now until the end of the first quarter 2012 anyway.
Long and Strong ... good luck to all ...
I'm, impressed ..... (Who is Dr. Canton?) .... for your information .... Amandala 11-30-2007, (Compliments of Oiljob: You just never know who is really reading this Board):
Cavanaugh, Canton face off in oil forum!
Posted: 30/11/2007 - 09:15 AM
Author: Colin
Master of ceremonies at the latest UEF (UBAD Education Foundation) and KREM Radio sponsored symposium, Senator Godwin Hulse, set the tone early. We were there to find out about “wi” oil! A capacity crowd turned out at the Bishop Sylvester Memorial Center on Wednesday night to hear Dr. Gilbert Canton, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Belize Natural Energy (BNE), Mr. Jim Cavanaugh, an oil expert resident in Belize since 1996, Dr. Joseph Iyo, a historian from oil rich Nigeria, and the Director of Petroleum in Belize, Mr. Andre Cho, speak on the present and future of oil in Belize.
The night was electric. At the steps attendees were greeted by a group of energetic activists, bearing placards expressing their distrust of government. But upstairs there was disappointment when Senator Hulse informed the gathering that only two of the advertised speakers, Dr. Canton, and Mr. Cavanaugh, would be presenting. Dr. Joseph Iyo (we learned later that he had been called out of the country on an urgent matter) didn’t show, and, more conspicuous, Mr. Andre Cho of the Department of Geology and Petroleum, also no-showed. Dr. Iyo is not a known petroleum expert, so the audience was not particularly put out by his absence. But the failure of Mr. Cho to show was a tremendous disappointment. Senator Hulse made no apologies for him.
The first presenter for the night was Dr. Gilbert Canton, the CEO of BNE. Dr. Canton took his audience through the process from accessing land to seismic testing to production of oil. For BNE to enter an area to do testing they have to get the permission from the owner of the property. If an owner refuses an oil explorer (BNE), the company can get the government to “step on” (our term) the owner. He noted that in the vast majority of cases landowners are happy to accommodate the oil companies as they benefit from expensive road construction and other compensatory benefits. Of 1700 parcels where they have gone to do testing thus far, less than 1% of landowners had resisted the company. They, of course, have experienced, as we would say, “the big stick.” In the question and answer segment of the presentation, Dr. Canton explained that oil is a national resource, so it is unfair for landowners to stand in the way of exploration.
It costs BNE Bz$3.4 million to explore a well, Dr. Canton explained, and Bz$4.6 million to bring a well into production. To date BNE has drilled 11 wells, of which 5 are productive (in Spanish Lookout), 4 were dry, and 2 are still in the drilling process. The Government of Belize had received over Bz$23.4 million from BNE for the year 2006, while the company had netted (after costs (include other oil exploration in the country)) Bz$9.742 million. BNE employs 388 people, 92% of whom are Belizeans working in all capacities, from truck drivers to senior management. Down the road his company will expand into a gas processing plant to produce butane, propane and electricity, and refine/blending of crude oil to produce diesel and gasoline for local sales and export. BNE, on its own initiative, Dr. Canton said, has set aside 1% of their take toward “corporate sponsorships”, sponsoring local projects to the tune of Bz$1.79 million to date.
There is compensation for landowners for use and damages caused by oil exploration. Landowners are paid a rental fee for drilling. To date the company (BNE) has paid out $289,000 to residents of Spanish Lookout for damages caused to their properties.
Mr. Jim Cavanaugh titled his presentation “Oil in Belize - benefit or curse.” Mr. Cavanaugh, a chemist/geologist with extensive experience in the oil industry, told his audience in his introduction that way back when the Arab world was threatening to take the price of oil to $30-$40 per barrel, the “presence of oil in Belize was no secret.” Still, despite all the modern technology involved in research, the “only way to find oil is to drill”, said Mr. Cavanaugh. He described BNE as a company with “unbelievable courage,” and “fortitude”, for, before their success, Belize had turned up about 50 dry wells.
Mr. Cavanaugh sounded a very serious warning. It will be an “absolutely unnecessary tragedy…(if) corruption ruins things,” he said. Belizeans must have “the guts to stand up and make sure things are done right.”
Mr. Cavanaugh also discussed the creation of oil, where it is found, how it is found; and his special beef, how GoB was trampling the rights of landowners in favor of rapacious oil companies.
BNE is just 1 of 21 companies exploring for oil in Belize, he told his audience, and look what they have produced just from the few wells in Spanish Lookout.
Belize MAY have 1 billion barrels of oil! If the oil industry is properly developed it will provide great opportunities for Belize, Mr. Cavanaugh told his audience. Oil can make Belize “achieve the highest standard of living in Central and South America.” Oil revenues should result in lowering of taxes on citizens, increased employment and improved conditions for new businesses. Belize should have low cost fuel, and better roads.
This should translate to lowered transportation costs, lowered processing and energy costs, and increased competitiveness of goods produced in Belize.
“The most shameful thing in Belize is the lack of educational opportunities for our children,” he said. Education should be free, and medical services improved. All these things can come to Belize “by just making proper use of what we have.”
But, we will realize none of these things if the industry is not “in our hands.” There must be annual audits (there is no verifiable production measuring, he claimed (Dr. Canton refuted this)); we must ban secret agreements; prosecute corruption; remove government control from the industry; make ownership in oil companies transparent (we must know “every individual that is involved” in these oil companies); and establish an “independent oil commission comprised of people (professionals, business community, churches, etc.) who have an interest in Belize, not in producing money for a selected few.”
Mr. Cavanaugh, who is employed by the citizens in Spanish Lookout to protect their interest, spoke extensively about the problems, the disrespect BNE is showing to landowners in this area. They (BNE) “refuse to pay for consent of owners to use their properties” and “they pay only damages determined by the contractor.” BNE “flares” (burns) the gas from the wells, which is a serious health hazard, outlawed all over the world (Dr. Canton refuted this). On the matter of flaring, Mr. David Penner of Spanish Lookout told us that people living near where flaring is done complain of respiratory problems, and “there is a greasy residue on the rooftops and on the water.” This has caused many folk in those areas to re-locate.
BNE has constructed a 5-mile long pipeline with a 25,000 volt electrical line on top (in the same trench). Mr. Cavanaugh described this as dangerous. And there is no leak detection on the pipeline, he said. This could lead to major degradation of the environment.
Specific to compensation of landowners, Mr. Cavanaugh said that landowners are getting a very raw deal. He thought that landowners should be getting 5% of the take, not 5% of the 7.5% that was GoB’s share. After two and a half years, Spanish Lookout got only Bz$433,000, he reported. When the Chairman of Oil in Spanish Lookout asked GoB for an “accounting,” he was told: “No!”
Mr. Cavanaugh closed his hour-long presentation advising his audience, and the thousands listening via KREM Radio, to not “let this opportunity slip by.”
Senator Godwin Hulse, commenting on Mr. Cavanaugh’s presentation, declared his position that the “mineral wealth (in the country) should be shared by all Belizeans.” He also said that Belize needs a simple formula to take the complication out of computing our take out of the oil.
A broad cross section of citizens attended the symposium, a number of whom waited in line to express their views on the critical oil issue, and to ask questions, after the presentations.
Copyright © 2011 Amandala News Online
All rights reserved.
Giant steps are needed to close the distance between fact, theory and speculation. I might add dreams. But I admit I like your dreams and I enjoy your speculation.
Jen: If you actually desire to contribute to this Board, then why not share your "disturbing" news with the whole Board. I presume your information is not a secret .... so reveal what you found and stop causing havoc on the Board. Oiljob
The rules for posting on this Board have not changed... so chill out guys. Oiljob
No new news here, sorry, I have heard nothing more from Mr. Reid, I am waiting for news with everyone else. Oil job
And we filled the gap on our chart. lol Oiljob
P.S.. : You would think Amandala would have a reporter out there with all the oil/drilling/corruption coverage they normally provide. Don't they monitor this board?
Geo ... you are describing an operation much larger than 1500'. Most people drill 1500' for water in many parts of the country, and you don't have 20 trucks coming and going for a water well!! Oiljob
P.S. How deep are you drilling???
P.S.S.: In the early days of California oil drilling, if there was a seep, they would dig a trench or mine a shallow well, and just let the oil seep in. They would come out once a week and pump the oil out of the trench. That is pretty much what we did in Belize. We stuck a dip stick in the ground to see if we had a shallow surface field.
BNE is drilling about 5500', and somebody must have logged those holes.
It's my inderstadning that we took the second rig down to Belize because we anticipate drilling deeper holes in the future, and our first rig was not capable of drilling 5-6 thousand feet.
I just got a chance to look at the Belizeoil pictures closely. When I go to the last picture, and slide my viewing bar over, you scan to the right, and the picture shows not only the pipe sticking out of the ground (picture No. 1) but both rigs on site. I thought people were suggesting that we had pulled off site.
It looks like the well is finished and we are waiting for the cement to dry and the logging crew to arrive. We just might have oil. Be patient. Oiljob
P.S.: If that well is done, and I have to assume it is, then that pipe will either get capped off (i.e. dry well) or they will perforate and bring the well on line. Which is one reason to have at least one rig still on site. We have two.
Once again, I'd like to see some real news. Oiljob
Hope this is all sorted out by the time I'm out of court this morning.
The pictures on this site cannot possibly be of the same sign. Pine trees don't grow that fast.
I told everyone a week ago not to underestimate Oren Miles. This litigation needs to be resolved in a back room quickly; I have to assume our name is on the complaint and that the injunction specifically enjoins us from doing anything with "our" Princess asset until such time as that litigation is settled.
And I must assume that simultaneous drilling programs in both Texas and Belize will be commenced by the end of this month.
Finally, I am renaming our well in Belize, it's new name is "Forever" because it is taking forever to drill and I hope once it is declared commercial that it will produce forever. Oiljob
Chit .... Oren Miles does not give a rip about our stock price .... He is suing to get his concession back ... Oil job
OK, just for everyone's information, Mr. Reid was kind enough to get back to me this morning, and he has indicated he cannot answer my specific questions with me as the only receipient, i.e., the precise location of our well in layman's terms, the current depth of our drilling program and the eta to total final depth.
However, he has promised to release a PR sometime early next week "to update all investors".
I would like to thank Mr. Reid for taking time out of his weekend to so kindly respond.
And, everyone can expect some public news very soon. Oiljob
And, it's clear we have two rigs (at least) down there because the paint jobs on the cabs are different. One is white and orange, and the other one (in the picture with our well sign) is all white.
The all-white-cab rig looks larger to me, and we don't seem to have any pictures of that rig at work. Oiljob
Geo, I sent an e-mail to Andrew Reid this morning, asking for an update. I'll let everyone know if he replies. Oiljob
P.S.: I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Reid suggested in reply that we are in a "quiet period". But I'll let you know if I hear anything.
Geo, I have no inside information, Sorry. I think we need to identify a local bar owner and get him/her to feed us info from the ground. Either that, or some shareholder in Belize needs to identify themselves on this Board, and give us the day to day skinny. I've looked on Google maps for our rig but can't seem to find it. Not really sure where to look, although the coordinates are in that old prsss release.
As far as U.S. Energy is ccncerned. I know the government is unhappy with them blazing seismic trails through the national forest. They say "banditos" are using the new trails as avenues for drug smuggleing and illegal tree cutting and removal. They want the company to pay for rangers to watch the new access routes into the park.
But I'm not in Belize. I'm in California. We need a local informant Oiljob.
P.S. Somebody get on that please .... lol ...
I don't like the gap in our chart. Gaps like to fill, I wish it had filled a week ago. I'll feel better once we get past the $.06 threshold. Oiljob
I'm ready for some real news ... Oiljob
and some new pics.
Question: How large is our drilling crew ... do we have a contingent of roughnecks large enough to drill 24/7? I think we're shutting down every evening and turning everything (the drill site and equipment) over to security. Just a guess ... but it could partially explain why this well seems to be taking so long. Either that or we are do a good deal of coring, but somebody pointed out we've never seen any coring tools on the equipment inventory lists. Oiljob
P.S. I expect news by Monday.
Good news .... The rainy season in Belize now over, we will have 6 months of clear sky's to fill our oil tanks to the rim and hopefully our pockets with cash. Don't sell those shares quite yet.
There is hot coffee and whiskey on the porch, just kick back and watch our tanker trucks roll by. Lol Oiljob
I'm told that the oil barons of Belize are very patient, however if you are experiencing "pins and needles" then I would recommend a cup of chamomile tea not black tea. oil job
Oren Miles is being seriously underestimated by this Board. He is a bull elephant in the Belizean oil patch. He owns Miles Tropical Oil, a concession, practically outright, and he was one of the first boots on the ground seaking an oil concession once they became available. He is spending big bucks down there. He isn't going anywhere as long a he drills, like we are. We might end up in a partnership with the man; his concession abuts our Paradise concession and some of our hotspots overlap. The concessions have deadlines, if you don't drill by definate dates you lose 25% of your concession, until finally your whole concession vaporizes. We have negotiated extensions to our concessions but I don't know if Miles has. We could end up drilling his first wells for an overriding royalty, both in the Paradise concession and in Miles Tropical concession. This could be a solution to the litigation. Miles and Saum have brought in essence what sounds like a Quiet Title Action probably coupled with some fraud and misrepsentation allegations or counts. It could be real messy to litigate and I doubt the Barrows family wants this case tried in the newspapers, it would not be good for them politacally. Kimano is the prime ministers nephew; it does not look good for him to be running around basically influence peddling for valuable national natural resources. This litigation will be settled in a back room, and I think Treaty will be at the table. I am sure Reid has access to capable Ivy League attorneys who would love to go on vacation in Belize for a while.
Just for background here is an old article worth reading (Amandala) ; I think Oren Miles is in the driver's seat personally. Kimano needs to go talk to his uncle and listen carefully. Treaty needs to be ready to lend a helping hand. Oiljob
"Front men, or partners in petroleum? Excellent!Very GoodGoodFairPoor Rating: (0 votes)
Posted: 18/02/2011 - 10:13 AM
Author: Adele Ramos - adelescribe@gmail.com
The Government of Belize has come under serious fire from the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage for awarding secret contracts to investors who do not have a reputation or “proven ability” in petroleum exploration, as stipulated in Section 11 of the Petroleum Act.
More specifically, the Barrow administration has been faced with a volley of questions over the deal landed by Paradise Energy Limited, which was formed by the Prime Minister’s nephew, Kimano Barrow, and Alfredo Acosta, to potentially conduct oil exploration in the Maya Mountains—an area which includes 14 protected areas.
The newspaper of the Opposition People’s United Party, The Belize Times, reported in its headline article today that the ownership of Paradise has changed hands—to very familiar names: Oren F. Miles and Allen Saum. According to the article, Barrow and Acosta have recently transferred control to Miles and his nephew, Saum.
Amandala readers will recall that in October 2007, Saum made serious corruption allegations against the former administration, alleging that an associate had been bribing them for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Saum had alleged that $100,000 had been paid as a sweetener to settle the petroleum contract.
Miles later disassociated himself from Saum’s allegations.
The contract awarded at the time, and dated October 12, 2007, was granted to Miles Tropical Energy, in which Alfredo Acosta also has 20% interest. Amandala has records which list the founding directors of Miles Tropical Energy, which was granted a concession just east of the concession later received by Paradise. It covers both onshore and offshore territories, including the Culture Capital of Dangriga and South Water Caye and Carrie Bow Caye, along the inner channel of the Belize Barrier Reef.
The records indicate that Oren F. Miles held 60% controlling interest in Miles Tropical Energy, which the 2009 records indicated that he has continued to hold.
The well-known Belizean businessman, Chayben Bou-Nahra, who was said to have committed suicide in 2008, held 10% of the shares in Miles Tropical Energy, which he had willed to his daughter, Madison, but which are held in trust for her by Chayben’s mother, Maria, and sister, Rachelle.
It is clear that the deal with Miles and Paradise were orchestrated using different schemes. In the first contract Miles got in 2007, he, Miles, was at the forefront of the deal, holding majority shares from the outset.
Interestingly, his nephew, Saum, came in later with the transfer of 599 shares between 2007 and 2009 from other shareholders, paying roughly $3,500 in consideration, according to company documents.
In the deal with Paradise, the locals, Barrow and Acosta, are being regarded as “front men” for Miles, his son, Oren F. Miles II, and his nephew, Saum.
Amandala has learned that Miles has a petroleum company in the US called Miles Petroleum Corporation, as well as a farm company OFM Inc, both based in Illinois. Internet information on the companies, as well as their owners, is scanty.
We note that at his press conference last Wednesday, February 9, 2011, when Barrow was questioned about the Paradise contract, he said: “The fact is, that the locals in the company no doubt have partnered with foreigners.”
The Prime Minister did not proceed to call any names, although the transfer of control to Miles and Saum is reported to have occurred on Friday, February 4—exactly one week after Amandala broke the story on the Paradise concession over the Maya Mountains.
In commenting on the reported transfer of control of Paradise Energy from Barrow and Acosta to Miles and Saum, Audrey Matura-Shepherd, co-chair of the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage and vice president of Oceana, told Amandala that Prime Minister Barrow had to have known that this development had happened at the time he gave his press conference.
While the Coalition was questioning the abuse of the Petroleum Act, they were preparing their defense, said Matura-Shepherd, an attorney.
She said, however, that the recent transfer does not take away from the fact that those who got the contract, Barrow and Acosta, did not have the expertise and are trying to acquire it after the contract was awarded.
She also questioned why Paradise would be paying $300,000 in fees, as government officials have said, when Government has indicated that the area has no potential for oil.
Responding to this probe last week, Barrow said, perhaps they thought they would be the beneficiary of “fool’s luck.”
Matura-Shepherd told us that the companies may be doing more than oil exploration, as a prospecting license may also allow them to look for other kinds of minerals, such as gold.
She told Amandala that she is now, via this medium, publicly calling on Andre Cho, the Director of Geology and Petroleum, and Minister of Natural Resources Gaspar Vega to give the Coalition copies of the production sharing agreement (PSA) with Paradise Energy.
“Every week when we feel we have solved one thing, there is another [problem] that crops up,” said Matura-Shepherd.
She also said that there have been reports that two other concession blocks are being amalgamated, as one big name local is reportedly selling out to foreign interests.
Last week, Prime Minister Barrow said, “The fact that the locals have partnered with foreigners and are in a position to pay Government its money and fund what needs to be done is a situation where there is no harm, no foul.”
He pointed to a number of such arrangements, including Belize Natural Energy, which partnered with a local, Mike Usher, after whom the Spanish Lookout wells are named.
Alistair King, who Barrow said is the owner of Blue Creek Exploration, is the local representative of US Capital, which has a concession in Toledo.
Matura-Shepherd pointed us to information published by CHx Belize, the joint venture partner of Belize Natural Energy, indicating that CHx also has partnerships with two other petroleum companies in Belize:US Capital and West Bay.
The man behind that Bahamas registered company, CHx, is Alex Cranberg, the husband of BNE’s chair Susan Morrice.
Barrow said last week: “Do you think these [locals] are going to put up their own money?” He said that if locals can show they are capable of acquiring the money and getting the required expertise from abroad, then the Government of Belize has no problem giving them the concessions.
Matura-Shepherd described the petroleum industry, as it now stands, as “incestuous.”
To date, our newspaper has received no explanation as to why a company that acquired a concession in its own name back in 2007 would deem it necessary to use locals as alleged “front men” to acquire a concession in 2010."
P.S.: Our Paradise concession is in jeopardy until this injunction is lifted and the litigation is settled.