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Back up what statements? Did you get a chance to look through the businesses ? Any one in particular that you wanna throw out for discussion?.
Lol! that certainly says a lot- would you like to go thru each business with me- I spent a little time researching all the info I could gather publically on many of them. Or I could drop by your office later this week and give you a copy of my research.
Lot's of interesting stuff there- did you get a chance to run through all the business he and the other officers were/are associated with? I'll be happy to run through each one if you guys wanna discuss them
If you search all the principles of progas and PBLS you find many things that need to be discussed imo.
http://www.sos.louisiana.gov/cgibin/?rqstyp=CRPIC&rqsdta=John+Burge
Charter/Organization ID: 34575659D
Name: PROGAS OF LOUISIANA, INC.
Prior Name: FFI, INC. ( 1/18/2002)
Type Entity: Business Corporation
Status: Active
Annual Report Status: Not In Good Standing for failure to file current Annual Report
Last Report Filed on 11/03/2004
2005 Annual Report is required at this time Print Annual Report Form For Filing
Mailing Address: 226 EAST GIBDSON ST., COVINGTON, LA 70433
Domicile Address: 77515 HWY. 1082, COVINGTON, LA 70435
Incorporated: 10/27/1997
Registered Agent (Appointed 10/27/1997): JOHN BURGE, 226 EAST GIBSON ST., COVINGTON, LA 70433
President: JOHN BURGE, 226 EAST GIBSON ST., COVINGTON, LA 70433
Secretary/Treasurer: JOHN BURGE, 226 EAST GIBSON ST., COVINGTON, LA 70433
Director: JOHN BURGE, 226 EAST GIBSON ST., COVINGTON, LA 70433
Amendments on File
NAME CHANGE (01/18/2002)
Lets try and talk oil and gas on Friday- If anyone is up for it. I have a bunch of things that may be of interest to "some" of you. Until then enjoy the pro-gas closing and I hope it does what a lot of you are pulling for as far as PPS.
http://www.oilandgasstocknews.com/OGSN/Articles/Nevada.asp
http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=27551
http://www.blm.gov/nhp/efoia/nv/
http://www.elynews.com/archive/2005/07/15/LocalNews/324444.html
Rather than do all that- wouldn't it be better if PBLS management itself just said where their lease was? I mean this is a public company and in theory all stockholders are owners of the company.
This is what I'm sure a lot of investors and potential investors are looking for. IMO
"According to ProGas audited financial statements, the acquisition when closed, is expected to add in excess of $190,000,000 in annual revenues to Phoenix. While specific information on the acquisition will be made available when the transaction closes, the Company did release that transaction consideration will consist of a combination of cash, restricted and preferred shares. "
http://www.pbls.biz/pr45.htm
Since I would think the company had audited financials for the Rome oil- midsouth resources aquisition- I'm suprised PBLS hasn't released the original terms for that since that was completed in October. So maybe this pro gas closing will be represent a new trend in that direction. Let's hope so!
Very excellent DD- Now if PBLS would just release this officially along with their % of W/I in each project we could all crunch some numbers- Nice work Griz!
I certainly hope that the reason I can't find Rome oil and gas or Paul Alonzo's or John Barksdale's name or anyone else ascociated with PBLS on any lease info for the state of Nevada isn't because they have bought a lease interest with Cedarstrat. Reading through Eden corps 10q would be helpful too Cowboy . Once again the company had two choices in their latest PR- One was to give some specifics about the newly aquired lease so we could all do our DD- or 2 Release some info that is impossible to verify- [ except by some "insiders" who supposedly get all the info that should be made public before the public].
http://xml.10kwizard.com/filing_raw.php?repo=tenk&ipage=3788522
Hehe- sorry forgot about you west coasters .
Yeah I think the closing is kinda priced in at the moment- anything extra will likely give the stock a nice bump-imo-- btw good afternoon MWC!
OT Griz the second - I'll be visiting him soon . On a related note looks like PBLS will make a move here - next couple days look promising. GL!
Yes that is what I was thinking too- That would be a really big play if any of these wildcat companys start to hit. One refinery for the whole region will clearly need to change. Wonder what company/s if any might be looking in this direction?
Nevada is going to have to really beef up its oil storage and refinery capabilities if any of these wells come into production.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/petroleum_supply_annual/psa_volume1/c...
Much better thank you!
OT -The only problem is you can't subtract the loss if you were flipping the stock and you will always have to pay on any profit- What I mean is if you trade the same stock within [30days] and had losses on it- you can't take the loss on those trades. Did I make it more confusing?
Well my friend said that well shouldn't be too hard to find- It'll be near a man made lake about 1 mile by 1 mile and 500 ft deep- it'll be filled with crude oil waiting to be trucked to a refinery 500 miles away. He may have been being facetious .
This is interesting-
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mcrfpnv1m.htm
The well in question would be producing in one month more than the total production of all other wells in the entire state of Nevada produce in an entire year combined? I'm on hold right now with a buddy at EXXON to get his take on this claim.
All I can say is Wow!
Well raging bull conked out on me-- says my post was succsessful but will not show so I'll use my last post here to continue the Raging bull thread and hopefully complete it here
this weekend. This is a repost with more links included.
First you will need to download this file reader . Only takes a couple minutes.
http://www.lizardtech.com/download/dl_download.php?detail=doc_djvu_plugin&platform=win
Now you can search
http://kgsweb.uky.edu/DataSearching/OilGas/OGSearch.asp
These are all the wells I come up with
http://kgsweb.uky.edu/DataSearching/OilGas/OGResults.asp?farmname=&farmtype=wild&limiter=AND....
http://kgsweb.uky.edu/DataSearching/OilGas/OGResults.asp?farmname=&farmtype=wild&limiter=AND....
http://kgsweb.uky.edu/DataSearching/OilGas/OGResults.asp?farmname=&farmtype=wild&limiter=AND....
It's helpful to use the abreviation keys
D&A = Dry and abandon
Loc = Well locations (includes locations for which a permit has been issued but for which no completion data is available; and wells on computer with incomplete or missing completion data).
oil = Oil
Gas = Gas
O&G = Oil and Gas
to speed your search you can skip dry and abandon wells [ unless you just wanna read about the history of them]
LOC reports have a mixed bag. You'll have to read thru them.
http://www.dmm.ky.gov/library/Oil+and+Gas+Production+Reports.htm
KY is very tough to get production numbers for oil or gas wells- they have basically a 2 yr hold on the info - one by the owner operator and one by the state so in january we would have 04 numbers- so inorder to get an idea how much production was reasonable from the 05 wells I had to get help from a very nice UK geology Professor and and a T/A- And let me tell you it is/ and continues to be hard work. But I think I can make a solid case for the numbers. And that is excellent news if you're long- imo.. If you are reading this from Ragingbull- sorry I can't seem to post there at present- but the numbers I'm using are only for sake of discusion- All the better if I am ultra conservative with them- imo
have to continue this Saturday or Sunday as each well report takes awhile to properly explain. so I'll say goodnight and hope I can make sense of this this weekend for anyone interested!
Apologies to the board- I'm not looking to buy in at a lower price- quite the contrary. I'd be happy to pay $1.00/ share for a company that I had good info on- even if it means I missed the initial run in the process. And I try and post both good /bad or indifferent DD in hopes to get a dialog going that would help all investors here- I have about 50k I was hoping to put to work before year end [ not all here ofcourse] . So please excuse me if I seem a little irritated at times- I have no agenda and anyone who needs to know who I am or what I do for a living can easily do so.
FWIW Since I only have one post remaing for today I'll not be able to respond so don't take it personally if I disappear until I post the KY production numbers tonight!
Useless? You don't see the problem with having a brand new IR firm which was even PR'ed in yesterdays release, being a defunct company that doen't have a website and is now doing drop shipments for ebay on the other coast of Florida? I mean does that instill investor confidence? Looks like I should dust off my old Raging Bull alias and spell it out for you completely. And this from a guy or gal who claimed to visit the company several weeks ago yet could only say that everyone was busy and they seemed aware that the share price was too low? If you don't like my posts ignore me-- Good luck here- I truly hope you get all that's coming to ya !
It will take me too long - and my post will likely get deleted- check your email in 5 mins?
Got it and sent, thanks!
That'll be great!
Ty and may I say the same to you- I think my problem is I came late to the party- most posters have already aquired a nice position here and so understandably they are hoping that PBLS is the real deal. [me too], But I'm just suprised that not many want to discuss the other side of the coin here [so to speak]. Gonna take a break now and hopefully I can talk to some of you by pm during happy hour so as not to disrupt the board.
Look- I'm about ready to drop the hammer here- and I'm suprised only a few have pm'ed me that have figured it out.
Check this
RAPT is no longer a company-
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 08:33 ET
PLANTATION, Fla., Jul 13, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Raptor Investments, Inc. (OTC:RAPT), which recently announced that it was changing its name to Snap N' Sold Corporation, released a general update and outlook on the progress of current company initiatives. CEO Jamie DeSane remarked, "The integration team has been working diligently to unify existing operations and complete the transformation of the company. We anticipate that the name change should become effective within days and that the new symbol and CUSIP request will be facilitated by the NASD shortly thereafter. As soon as those are completed, we will select a new transfer agent that will enable full transparency to all shareholders, release the new company identity to the public and begin scaling operations."
The company also provided some general business updates with respect to the recently acquired EZ Auctions & Shipping. Listings and sales are steadily increasing at the drop location and worldwide shipping and packing store, which has also received several serious inquiries for its $1.8 Million eBay listing of a land fill in Indiana. Additionally, Jim Grady, one of the founders of EZ Auctions & Shipping and host of Auction Info Radio, which airs every Wednesday at 9:00pm ET on WTAN 1340 in Clearwater, Fl. and can be heard live at http://www.tantalk1340.com , has decided to list the show's 60 second commercial advertising spots on eBay (Item number: 5597407683). The show's national call in number is 1-(866)-826-1340 while email questions can be directed to: askus@auctioninforadio.com.
Many investors have been eagerly awaiting an update with respect to the closing of the previously announced LOI to acquire HotAutoWeb. To this, DeSane obliges, "We are in the process of finalizing the paperwork now." He continued, "With in excess of $9 Million in classic car sales over the past 2.5 years and a significant backlog of customers waiting to be serviced, we believe HotAutoWeb will provide us with a dynamic growth engine and a strong footprint in high-end merchandise niche auctions." HotAutoWeb continues to add high value listings on a daily basis, including a 1938 Ford Sedan "THE TORMENTOR" listed for $124,950.00.
In late May 2005, Raptor Investments announced it was joining Dallas based Orbit Drop, Inc. (Pink Sheets:OBDP) and Auction Mills Incorporated (Pink Sheets:AUML) in the eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) drop store industry. Raptor Investments has decided to manage growth through the acquisition of community-centered retail 'thrift stores' that will continue operating in that business while also acting as local eBay drop store 'consignment centers' and corporate and estate asset disposition offices.
Safe Harbor
This press release contains statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Raptor Investments, Inc., and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include fluctuation of operating results, the ability to compete successfully and the ability to complete before-mentioned transactions. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.
SOURCE: Raptor Investments, Inc.
For Raptor Investments, Plantation
Brass Bulls Corp.
Investor Relations
Marc Lovito, 954-340-2464
now this number
SOURCE: Snap N' Sold Corp.
For Snap N' Sold, Palm Harbor
Brass Bulls Corp.
Marc Lovito, 866-342-2700
Copyright Business Wire 2005
http://www.knobias.com/individual/public/quote.htm?ticker=SNPD
ne14atrade- You don't know anything about Raptor or any of their principles do you buddy?
Well it doesn't take much digging to see that Raptor and their subsidiary Brassbulls.com seem to need PBLS much more than PBLS needs Brassbulls. Check this-- this was supposedly the plan for Brassbulls at inception.
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2002/04/15/daily105.html
Coral Springs consulting and merchant banking company Raptor Investments (OTC BB: RAPT) said its subsidiary, LBI E Web Communities, has launched its first Web site: http://www.brassbulls.com
The financial site, according to the company, focuses on advertising publicly traded companies. The site offers message boards, a featured company section, quotes, research and access to general financial market data from third-party sources.
E Web said it plans to generate revenues through advertising and listing fees.
At market close, Raptor shares were down 12 cents to 10 cents. The 52-week low was 2 cents on March 4. The 52-week high was 29 cents on March 26.
BTW Look at Raptors current share price- [This release is from 2002].
Hmm looks like their client didn't fare very well with Raptors guidance.
http://www.pennyprofits.com/news/ACHT/051302.shtml
Poof they are gone..
PBLS takes 1 step forward and three steps back on this deal imo
Why in the world did PBLS hook up with Brassbulls? NE14trade you aren't familiar with them are you?
http://raptorinvestments.com/_wsn/page3.html
http://brassbulls.com/
Site was up for the latest PR and mercifully now they are redoing their website- but what kind of message does this send potential investors who read at the bottom of the latest PR to contact Mike Mulshine or Brassbulls?
More from 2002 - 3 principles are all family- just don't see why PBLS would seek these guys out to help spread the word.
RAPTOR INVESTMENTS: Losses Raise Going Concern Doubts
-----------------------------------------------------
Raptor Investments Inc. incurred a net loss of $521,067, a
negative cash flow from operations of $969,694 and has an
accumulated deficit of $8,187,485. These factors raise
substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a
going concern.
Management's plan for the Company in regards to these matters is
to continue to grow the produce operations of the business
through the J&B Produce subsidiary, which management believes
will provide the necessary revenue and earnings to enhance
shareholder value. Management intends to focus the business on
profitable core customers and reduce costs using inventory
controls. The Company is also actively seeking to refinance its
long-term debt on terms more favorable to the Company.
Management believes that the actions presently taken to reduce
operating costs and obtain refinancing provide for the Company
to operate as a going concern.
The Company plans to develop into a holding company through the
acquisition of various business operations. Raptor closed on the
Acquisition of J&B Wholesale Produce, Inc. on July 2, 2002.
Raptor completed the acquisition of LBI E Web Communities, Inc.
LBI E Web is an Internet related holding company that currently
owns the following five domain names: FinanceItOnTheWeb.com (a
financial services directory site), Brassbulls.com (a public
relations and financial information site), MyEnumber.com (an
online address book and one stop Rolodex), Homewaiter.com (a
food delivery and information site), and Mimesaro.com (a Spanish
food delivery and information site). The Brassbulls.com website
was completed in April 2002 and is fully operational. LBI E Web
plans to create a network of self-developed websites covering a
diverse universe of subjects.
The Company continues to pursue business consulting contracts
from publicly traded and privately held companies. Raptor plans
to provide consultation in various areas including: mergers and
acquisitions; venture capital; public relations; restructuring
and financing. The Company plans to market its services
to publicly traded and privately held companies through
referrals and advertising in various business publications.
As of September 30, 2002, the Company had a stockholder's equity
of $5,299,305, and as of that same date Raptor incurred net
profit of $24,627. The Company plans to generate revenue in the
future by retaining business consulting clients in the private
and public sector. In addition, the Company plans to seek the
acquisition of additional income producing assets such as J&B
Wholesale Produce, Inc.
The Company completed the acquisition of J&B Wholesale Produce,
Inc. on July 1, 2002. Raptor acquired 100% of the issued and
outstanding common stock Of J&B, a privately held Florida
Corporation, from Gennaro Mugnano in exchange for $ 2,325,000.
J&B is engaged in the wholesale produce business in Florida.
Pursuant to the agreement between Gennaro Mugnano and the
Company, the Company acquired 1000 shares of J&B Common Stock,
and J&B became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
In order to effectuate the purchase, Raptor and J&B borrowed
$2,825,000. from Gelpid Associates LLC, a Florida Limited
Liability Company. A promissory note in the amount of
$2,825,000. was executed. The Note has a term of three years,
and bears interest at the rate of LIBOR plus ten percent,
adjusted monthly. The minimum monthly payment due under the Note
is accrued interest only. There is no prepayment penalty under
the Note.
The Note is secured by the machinery, equipment, furniture,
fixtures, inventory, accounts receivable, work in progress,
motor vehicles, computer hardware and computer software of J&B.
UCC-1 Financing Statements have been filed by Gelpid and Gelpid
has taken possession of the titles to all of the motor vehicles
owned by J&B as per the Terms of the Loan Agreement between
Raptor and Gelpid. Contemporaneously with the execution of the
Note, Raptor and J&B entered into a loan agreement with Gelpid
which permits Gelpid to either appoint one member to the Board
of Directors of Raptor and J&B, or at the election of Gelpid to
appoint an observer to be present at the meetings of the Board
of Directors of Raptor and J&B.
The loan agreement requires, in addition to the minimum monthly
interest payments under the Note, that the principal balance due
under the Note be reduced by an amount equal to the greater of
$250,000. per annum or 50% of net operating earnings of J&B per
fiscal quarter.
As of September 30, 2002, the Company had not made any payments
to reduce the principal balance under the Note. Gelpid had not
appointed any member to the Board of the Company and had not
appointed any Board observer as of September 30, 2002.
TY for the number! I appreciate it!
OT Not to split hairs- [ I agree with your clean numbers comment] the 3 stocks I mentioned had flawed unreliable and even missing financials. The key was that you could still verify revenue from their respective clients and customers. But it needs to be mentioned that all 3 of thoses stocks made incredible gains but it took a year to 2 years to fully realize these gains. That's whats funny about message boards- even the most devoted longs who claim to be putting their shares in a drawer and forgetting about them for 6 months or 2 yrs still post almost daily looking for PR's and speculating on dirty MM tricks. If PBLS is legit- there will be numerous highs and lows along the way but ultimately true long term holders will become very wealthy. But lotta caution needs to be excersized here imo. Thank you for your thoughts!
TY! I kinda muddled up that post you replied to- Shoulda just said that management is gonna make or break this company- Investors here are banking that management is honest and has a plan to make this a viable company. I'm still on the fence- but if I throw out oil and gas and concentrate on the sand and gravel- I can see how PBLS could make this work . [ assuming the OS and float are/were still small]. The oil and gas seems to me to be much too quickly- especially for a company struggling to get their books in order with hopes getting off the pinks. Got a lot of good info from KY about Rome's oil production and will post good bad or indifferent info for all to digest. Thanks again!
I used a service similiar to this to get the lowdown on that subject[ my service is not a public one and I am prohibited from sharing info gathered from it]. Should've just gone to the source - TY for the info MWC!
http://www.usa-people-search.com/order.aspx?id=38861652&record=8&fn=Paul&ln=Alonzo&s...
Lol! Your email is late but on the way- hopefully tommorrow morning. Please give me your thoughts when you get it! Thnx!
Just wanted to mention I'm still out of PBLS but am looking hard for a reason to jump back in in a big way. Someone has mentioned Health South as a company that was thoroughly trashed and was almost left for dead but made a remarkable recovery. I was in that stock at .23 and rode it to 3.50 but before that I made a small fortune on PVN [ credit card lender that was also being slammed with bankruptcy talk- and I made the most money ever on peregrine systems- another stock that was supposedly gonna go belly up- I bought that stock all the way down to .11 The one thing that good dd showed me on all 3 was that even though they had mega problems in the short to mid term they were bringing in big revenue and earnings. So it was logical that with proper management and fiscal restraint those companys would be fine- maybe even better than ever when everything shook out- and those stocks traded very much the same as PBLS as far as non movement on seemingly positive developements. If PBLS has the revenue/earnings that a lot are speculating on - then this is indeed a stock play that I want to be in-- But it is also the most frustrating play because if I were to try I doubt I could write any more vague PRs than PBLS has managed. And when a easy answer is seemingly called for- PBLS neglects to give it. So it makes DD that much harder and also makes me more leery. Anyway sorry for the ramble- I'll try and have some verifiable numbers from the KY wells to crunch- even with limited company input.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0%2C4621%2C300886%2C00.html
Interesting read- PBLS has taken a couple of these steps and is way ahead on some- but the one glaring thing they could/should do - [ especialy if they have the cash]- is hire a real accounting firm and get the numbers out. From the article
"Clean up your act. Unfortunately, there's a stigma attached to reverse mergers. LVA-Vision, a company that owns free-standing centers offering laser refractive eye surgery, founder Jerry Stephens, who used the technique to brilliant effect, said that although it worked for his company, "there's definitely another side to these deals. If it wasn't for my long-standing reputation in the medical community, our deal might have been perceived differently." Largely, the bad rap stems from the fact that reverse mergers are not understood, Stephens says.
Entrepreneurs contemplating such a transaction can and should take steps to elevate the profile of their "new" company. Specifically:
1. Hire a national accounting firm. One of the reasons the Big Four fees are high is because they inspire a lot of comfort among investors, traders, and regulators. If you saved a lot on fees at the front end, this might be worth investing in on the back end.
2. Hire a prestigious law firm. It's almost a certainty that the attorney who initially helps you with your reverse merger transaction--if he or she is an expert in these kinds of deals--will not be with a prestigious downtown law firm. However, after the offering is completed, you should consider retaining one of these firms. Why? When deciding whether to get involved in your offering, many investors and brokers will judge your firm by the company it keeps. An unknown law firm makes a neutral-to-negative impression. But a well-known and powerful law firm sends an unmistakable message.
Start with a clean shell. As was mentioned, many shells are created for the express purpose of merging with a private company. These shells have no predecessor entities and, as a result, little baggage in the way of a business failure or other skeletons in the closets.
Check your greed. "Greed is Good"--the great rallying cry of the 1980s, popularized by the Hollywood oily takeover artist Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street--doesn't apply with a reverse merger. It's possible to structure a reverse merger so that at the end of the day, the public owns 2 percent of the company and the remaining 98 percent is controlled by the owners of the private company that acquired the shell. Unfortunately, there's almost no incentive for any other investors to become involved if the only people who truly benefit are the insiders. The lesson is, if you plan to involve the public with the intention of engaging in a truly symbiotic relationship, you simply must .
Apologies for not having the KY stuff done- ran into a big brick wall on 2 wells- but I think I figured out away to get the info " backdoor".
Will have the Kentucky info ready for the board Friday evening- Kelly you mentioned that my KY DD was only partial- and that you had sources that claimed much bigger production than I had/have found. If you would please link me to your sources . Otherwise I'll be using the geological surveys and a UK geologist to make my case. TIA.
You can see what PBLS aproxiamately paid for the leases in this article.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2005/aug/10/519185183.html
The confluence of $64-a-barrel oil, a discovery of huge amounts
of oil in Utah and claims of untapped potential in the Silver State is getting Nevada pumped over petroleum.
Oil speculators are rushing to buy up leases on the Bureau of Land Management's vast areas throughout the state, already putting money into federal, state and local coffers.
Confirmation of the promise has not yet come, but if it does, the dollars and jobs could come in a flood. That flood would be particularly welcome to economically desperate rural counties such as White Pine County, where state officials have confiscated county credit cards because of a fiscal emergency.
"Nevada may be in some sort of renaissance for oil and gas," said Del Fortner, BLM deputy state director. "2005 looks to be a banner year in that we are getting interest from companies in Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, and internationally as well."
In June a BLM auction netted $3.1 million for leases of 335,000 acres for oil and gas exploration in what was the largest lease sale in Nevada history. Fortner said companies bid up to $95 bonus per acre.
In the two-step oil-lease process, companies bid "bonus" dollars for the right to lease land at $2 an acre. If they find and develop oil reserves, the companies then would pay a 12.5 percent royalty on the sales.
Half the money is split between the state and counties, and half goes to the federal government. The federal portion is again split between funds for environmental reclamation and the federal general fund.
One observer of earlier efforts to develop oil in Nevada said he hopes the interest in the Silver State pays off, but people should be wary of counting the barrels before they are pumped.
"Anything to do with helping our economy here, we're very excited about," said John Chachas, White Pine County Commission chairman. "There's potential right in our backyard here."
He said crews have already begun drilling test wells in the county, including one eight miles south of Ely, the county seat.
That has paid off in immediate economic benefits for the cash-strapped county.
"The motels are full now with roughnecks," he said. "We're enjoying the impacts right now on a small scale."
But Chachas warned that similar excitement in the past has not yielded black gold.
"We've heard this before," he said. "Until they punch through and it comes flying from the ground, we're going to sit back and wait for it to happen. They've stuck a lot of money into these holes. I wish them 100 percent success. The country needs it. White Pine, first of all, needs it more than anyone else."
In the past, local investors have gone broke betting on oil development that never happened, he said.
"We've seen too many attempts go bad. I hope this time it makes a lot of people wealthy."
Some environmental voices urge a bit of caution.
Bob Fulkerson, director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada and a board member of Great Basin Mine Watch, noted the laws protecting the environment in Nevada -- and companies are aware of that when they decide to invest here.
"U.S. oil companies are making record profits," Fulkerson said. "We cannot allow them to walk away with public resources and leave it for us to clean up."
He said ranchers in Nye County's Railroad Valley already see negative impacts from oil production, and Fulkerson is concerned that the rest of the state could feel similar effects.
The state environmental movement has historically focused on residential development, water issues and hard rock mining. If oil production booms in Nevada, environmental and conservation activists will have to work to monitor the effects, he said.
"It's clearly something we need to take a good strong look at," Fulkerson said.
Shaaron Netherton, executive director of Friends of Nevada Wilderness, said she is concerned that land-use plans developed by the BLM don't take the new oil boom into account.
"Oil and gas hysteria has hit the BLM under this administration. They are rushing to lease huge tracts of land all over the West," she said. "It doesn't matter that most of their land-use plans are out of date and their NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) compliance is inadequate.
"Wildlife, wilderness and other nonconsumptive values are overlooked in the rush to lease, lease lease," Netherton said.
One observer of the industry from outside the state also warned of potential impacts. Jennifer Goldman, a Montana-based activist with the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, a group concerned about the environmental and social impacts of oil development, said "a spiderweb" of effects could include disruptions to wild habitat and loss of air and water quality.
"Communities need to be aware of those possible impacts as they face speculative development," Goldman said.
Fortner, with the BLM, said the environmental impact of a Silver State oil boom would be minimal. While "there is always a risk in any industrial situation," the industry knows that damage to the environment will ultimately affect its bottom line, he said.
Oil company executives "have an ethic that most people, I think, would be surprised to see," Fortner said. "There's definitely a commitment to look out for the environment. They don't want leaks, spills or spews."
While the economic impact to an area can be huge, the overall impact on the United States and worldwide thirst for oil would be limited. A billion barrels would satisfy the U.S. oil needs for about 45 days.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which has been at the center of ongoing battles between environmentalists and oil speculators, may contain as much as 10 billion barrels, according to some estimates.
One of the state's biggest oil prospectors is Vancouver, British Columbia-based Eden Energy Corp., which in June took leases for 50,000 acres, bringing the company's total to 260,000 acres, much of it in White Pine County's Diamond Mountain range and in Nye County's Railroad Valley.
"There's lots and lots of potential there," said Paul Mitchell, Eden Energy's investor relations director. "This is an ideal area. It has excellent source rock and structures."
Some geologists have long believed that deep deposits of oil could be found in Nevada. According to the BLM, a test well from about 20 years ago in Clark County actually yielded natural gas, but no oil; Nye County leads the state with about a dozen oil wells.
John Menghini, a BLM petroleum engineer, said there are 11 active oil fields in Nevada today. Since the first discovery of oil in Nevada in 1954, 101 wells have pumped oil, with 58 still producing usually relatively modest amounts of oil, he said.
But Cedar Strat, a Las Vegas-based exploration company, has long predicted that the Great Basin could hold billions in oil, and the company's enthusiasm has been picked up by other companies.
The "structures" that have piqued Eden Energy's interest are folds of underground rock, potentially 10,000 feet or more below the surface of the Earth. The structures are part of a belt that includes the recent Utah find, oil and gas fields in Alberta and ultimately fields in Alaska, Mitchell said.
In Nevada, Eden Energy believes there are six such rocky structures.
"We think each structure is capable of holding a billion barrels," Michell said.
Mitchell said the factors that have made Nevada attractive for oil exploration have included the rise in oil prices and the recently passed federal energy bill, which contained billions in incentives for oil and gas exploration and development.
The biggest push is coming from the Utah find, he said.
"Whenever you get a discovery like this, it sets the whole area on fire ... You've got dozens of companies coming in."
In May, Wolverine Gas and Oil Corp., a Michigan-based company with just 25 employees, bought leasing rights to a half-million acres in central Utah. A year earlier, the company started pumping from a Sigurd, Utah, deposit the company estimated to contain 100 million to 200 million barrels. The company believes the total from two dozen deposits in the surrounding region could be more than a billion barrels.
If those numbers are accurate, the oil reserve could bring Utah more than $5.5 billion in royalties.
Hi MWC- I'm doing good- hope you are too- I actually have some good news from the blue grass state- gonna compile it and I'll send ya the info . I was pleasantly suprised-! Even if I figure one billion shares outstanding I can make a case for a decent near term price- I'm heading out to grab a Christmas tree -- err [ Holiday Tree for anyone offended by the former] .
I guess that's possible- I didn't think of that . Thnx!
BTW I talked to the transfer agent in October- not sure if he's still same one-- and he told me it was by the company's request to gag T/A. I can call again right now and ask- just waiting for my fax from KY.
In business, revenue is the amount of money that a company actually receives from its activities, mostly from sales of products and/or services to customers. To investors, revenue is less important than profit, or income, which is the amount of money the business has earned after deducting all the business's expenses. As you can imagine a commodity like oil and natural gas could generate lots of revenue- profits will be the key here.
A bullion dealer in Tampa Florida has revenue of almost 1 billion dollars but his profit is maybe 2 million dollars.
I have some more stuff for the board to ponder- just waiting for a report from the University of Kentucky.
Believe me I'm looking for a reason to buy back in here . But when I read posts about the SEC is putting pressure on PBLS to jump to another exchange and other posters continuing to say "short squeeze " coming or pull your certs-- makes me more than a tad nervous.
BTW- I will post links to all my info- I won't be quoting "my sources"