Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
What ERHC's neighbor in Block 11B is doing re: seismic, etc.:
Adamantine commits to well and seismic in Gatome basin
By Barry Morgan 12 July 2012 22:59 GMT
They are wasting no time getting the ball rolling in their block. - LT
Peter Thuo's thesis (ERHC's Central/East Africa technical consultant)
Stratigraphic, petrographic and diagenetic evaluation of Cretaceous/Paleogene potential reservoir sandstones of western Turkana, Kenya. Implications on the petroleum potential of northwestern Kenya.
This is quite an exhaustive study, encompassing 138 pages.
As has been noted by a number of other posters, no doubt ERHC will hire a capable, experienced contractor to do the seismic for them.
In fact some seismic work has already been done for the Lotikipi Plain, and has enabled some geophysical modeling to be done: http://www.geosoft.com/resources/goto/AndrewL-online-seminar-2011-09-27
The technical analyst (Andrew Long) who prepared the presentation above made these further comments:
Tryoty, my comments were not about your post, but rather, augmenting your thoughts. My intent was to highlight the ridiculousness of the original poster's assertions.
It seems many are working hard to find any negative angle they can to undermine the accomplishments made by the company.
Sorry if it seemed directed towards you. - Longtimer
Tryoty, from an armchair quarterback's perspective, I agree with you that the placement via Rodman & Renshaw seemed like a deal with the Devil. The terms were certainly not very favorable to current shareholders, at face value. Wonder who was the brainchild of that deal?! But maybe it was necessary to secure some of the things that have happened recently; who knows.
In any case, that placement highlights the advantage of floating a "rights offer" to current stakeholders in the company. They are more likely to invest in a company they already have a vested interest in (and perhaps at better terms for the company--and consequently better for all shareholders, vis-à-vis the R & R deal), especially if there are to be some gratuitous terms (favorable warrants) involved (as was the case with the placement via R & R). How much better to reward current shareholders for upping their investment in the company than some opportunistic, greedy broker/dealer and their client(s).
I surely hope ERHC has this in mind with the proposed increase in authorized shares. I have to believe Offor would not stand for anything less, with his substantial stake in the company. And that makes me think it might be better to save some dry powder if those favorable terms materialize.
But it's anyone's guess at this point. - Longtimer
P.S.: It has been claimed by some that there would be an increase of 3 billion shares; but that is simply not true. The most that could be issued in new shares is 2.25 billion. And I am pretty confident that no where near that number will be issued anytime soon.
Whew! Someone is working overtime trying to throw as negative a slant as possible on a much-sought-after block in Kenya.
Why, from the comments, you would think shooting seismic in such areas had never been done before. Maybe ERHC should contact NASA about getting the plans for the Curiosity Mars rover in order to explore their block.
Someone's true colors are really showing! But it does provide entertainment. LOL - LT
Thanks, manuel, have now turned that feature (sounds) off!
Ah, so that's where that annoying clip kept coming from! It was about to drive me crazy, so I muted my laptop speaker.
I thought it was one of the IHub ads or IHub itself that was playing it.
Please don't do that again. }:^{
Excellent rebuttal, Tryoty. Hard to deny clear logic and facts.
Some suffer from severe myopia when considering where ERHC is now, where it came from, and the huge obstacles that were thrown in its path, which limited its options.
But things are really starting to roll now. Let's hope management is able to keep the momentum up. And with some cash, I think they will. - Longtimer
Yes, farrell90 posted about the pipeline, and maps are here:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=78495388
arnim, vielen dank for posting the article about the joint venure between STP and Bluesky FLNG. The following in the list of objectives caught my eye:
Just catching up on the preliminary 14A filing news and resulting discussion. As an ERHC shareholder of 13+ years, I'd like to share my thoughts:
1. It comes as no big surprise to me (nor should it to any shareholder) that ERHC is laying the groundwork for a possible means of new funding. They operate in a cash-intensive industry. Needing funding is academic.
2. A filing does not necessarily mean the proposal will be executed. It could be a contingency plan in lieu of other funding not materializing or taking longer than expected (e.g., EEZ farm-in money). Better to have a plan in place and actionable than to wait until things get dire.
3. I like the idea of a rights offering, if they must issue new shares to raise cash; it's the best possible option management can offer existing shareholders. (It's sad that some current investors would not be able to participate, but better some dilution of ownership than a cash-starved, non-functional company.) I believe SEO will fully subscribe to any rights offering made; that would guarantee a minimum 43% success rate to the offering.
4. Management has demonstrated that they are serious about enhancing shareholder value, adding the Chad and Kenya blocks recently. (I like the little nugget Homeport posted yesterday here.) And it sounds like they are not stopping at those two blocks. This takes money, but as the saying goes, nothing ventured nothing gained.
5. I don't think they would issue all 2.25 billion shares immediately. For round numbers, let's say they double the number of shares outstanding at 10 cents a share. That would raise about 75 million dollars and would provide a nice cushion of cash. And that would leave 1.5 billion shares issuable at a later time at possibly higher share prices.
6. I would not discount more good news around the corner that might make for an opportune time for issuing new shares.
7. I do not like the idea of creating a preferred class of stock.
8. We haven't been told any details about the company's plans yet, so the rational thing to do would be to wait and see what they have in mind.
Certainly appreciate the balanced comments on this topic in the following posts:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=78422399
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=78425949
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=78425991
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=78429336
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=78429581
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=78440771
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=78440804
- Longtimer
Midtier, please post facts to substantiate your statement below...
Midtier, you say...
Here's an 10/2011 update from Griffiths Energy showing all the prospects and leads in their Borogop & Doseo blocks:
As you can see, there are MANY more leads shown here than in the earlier image of the blocks we had. Makes you wonder what may be just north of these in ERHC's blocks.
Here is an image showing the seismic previously done by Esso:
Notice some of the seismic lines extend north into ERHC's BDS 2008 block.
Here's the complete presentation: http://griffithsenergy.com/i/pdf/ppt/GEI_Presentation.pdf - Longtimer
And then we have the likely West Polaris contract extension:
You say
Hmmm... if that's your point of view, Midtear, then could you tell me why you stay invested in ERHC. You must have some compelling reasons why you're still holding on, in view of your assessment of the JDZ. I'd like to hear them.
TOB (& Julius), that was exactly my point. ERHC looked to be in a really tough situation before the JDZ PSC signings and managed to come up with some really amazing contract terms and funds. The "going concern" qualifier on their financial statements is ancient history now.
As I concluded my post...
"Rather than fret and wring my hands, I am going to wait and see what develops within the next year. I like what ERHC has accomplished this year, and I'm optimistic that they will be able to capitalize once again on the opportunities they have created."
Thanks for making my intent clearer, TOB. - Longtimer
TOB, just an update on OPL 247: Both Total and Chevron have relinquished that block.
Please see http://www.ng.total.com/media/acreage_portfolio/acreage_portfolio_tucn_Jul2012.pdf
But Total still has a huge amount of acreage in the area north of the JDZ. - LT
Midtier, I think the dwindling cash balance is a concern to all of us, and beyond a doubt, ERHC management is keenly aware of it too. After all, it's their jobs that are on the line.
Yet, they keep pressing on with new acquisitions and commitments. So surely they have a plan or see the opportunity to get more funding in the near future.
The alternative is to continue to wait on the JDZ, which we all know, has not yet panned out to expectations and may be years away from producing income, if ever. So they are creating opportunities elsewhere. The alternative is to become paralyzed into inaction.
Don't know if you were around then, but before ERHC got the farm-in money from the JDZ blocks, every financial statement had a "going-concern" statement and things looked very dire. But ERHC was able to negotiate PSC terms (twice over, no less) that were far beyond expectations. I know, because I've been a shareholder for a long time. And yes, Peter was with the company then.
So, rather than fret and wring my hands, I am going to wait and see what develops within the next year. I like what ERHC has accomplished this year, and I'm optimistic that they will be able to capitalize once again on the opportunities they have created. - Longtimer
Maybe not, but that's a very cynical way of looking at things.
I think most board readers want neither extreme, only that the truth be expressed in a realistic way (whether positive or negative).
And it is one thing to express one's opinion about a matter; it's another to constantly barrage a board with the same negative comments over and over again on the same topic. It gets to the point that it is personal spam.
Hi, it would be great if a board member could be ostracized (kicked off a board) like they could in ancient Athens: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostracism
For example, if say over 50% of active board members for the last 30 days voted off a member, then he/she would be automatically banned from the board. (Maybe you would want to have a minimum active member count, e.g. 10 members, before enabling this for a board.) It would be a way for boards to self-police themselves from disruptive posters and stealth bashers. After all, when a board becomes dominated by these types of posters, people start abandoning the board, and your page-view counts go down.
Please give us this capability, and set IHub apart from all the rest of the message boards!
Thanks,
Longtimer
TOB, I heartily agree that a "highly qualified exploration geologist and geochemist" that just recently retired from Kenya's NOC would know much more about the prospectivity of Block 11A in Kenya than a former accountant.
This graphic from the Africa Oil update (thanks redinvest) clearly shows that the Cretaceous Rift System dips well into ERHC's Block 11A, and the Tertiary Rift System is very close by, if not in, the block. And it's nice to see that this same Cretaceous Rift System has yielded 6 BBO in Sudan to-date.
So ERHC's acquisition of Block 11A is really good news. - LT
Blocks 11A & 11B are in Kenya's Tertiary Rift Basin, more specifically the Lokitipi Plain or Basin:
Here's some geological information for the area, as it relates to oil and gas exploration:
http://www.earthexplorer.com/2011-08/Exploring_the_East_African_Rift_System.asp
http://www.epgeology.com/page.php?p=kenya-rift-basin
Exploration as of December 2011
Great followup work, S1!
Looks like we have a definitive answer (if all goes well with ERHC's PSC signing).
I think we are both on the same page as far as ERHC's block in question being the onshore block of 11A, not the offshore L-11A, which is held by Anadarko.
Baz, did you check out the PDF in this post?:
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=77215871
Slide 16 clearly shows Block 11A as CAMAC's on the map, and the text says "Block 11A still pending PSC". The map shows Block L-11A as Anadarko's, which is corroborated by this news release: http://www.total.com/en/about-total/news/news-940500.html&idActu=2820 (see last paragraph)
What is a little confusing is at the top of the slide the block is referred to as L11A, but the footnote attached to it says, "Kenya Block 11A has been provisionally awarded and is pending final execution of Production Sharing Contract between CAK and Kenyan Government." L11A is a typo.
The big question is, has CAMAC lost their award in the meantime (since the June 25th presentation), and has ERHC picked it up? Or has ERHC farmed in? I don't think we can conclusively say at this point, but I'd like to be proven wrong. - LT
Thanks, HP.
I try to keep tabs on the board, but don't always have time to post. Still a shareholder. - LT
Perhaps you're right, 2IRAs. Didn't look at CAMAC's financials. I agree, if ERHC got the whole block, it gives them more options. ERHC doesn't need a cash-poor partner.
As you say, hopefully the details will become clear soon. - LT
2IRAs, according to CAMAC's June 25 GHS 100 Energy Conference presentation, Block 11A was still pending a PSC agreement:
http://www.camacenergy.com/documents/CAMAC_ENERGY_GHS_100_2012_Final-1.pdf (See slide 16.)
So, it seems much more likely to me that ERHC farmed into the block rather than acquiring it.
CAMAC is listed on the NYSE Amex; they seem like a pretty solid company. See slide 4 for its organizational structure. Kind of reminds one of some of the ideas ERHC has floated in the past. - LT
CAMAC is a U.S.-based Nigerian firm, so no doubt that had a bearing on ERHC's apparent entry into Block 11A:
http://newnigerianpolitics.com/2012/02/25/us-based-nigerian-firm-wins-kenyan-oil-blocks/?calendar=2012-05
Could this be barter deal? 15% of Block 11A in exchange for a percentage of ERHC's Chad Block(s) for CAMAC? - LT
Kenya Block 11A
It appears CAMAC is the main licensee of this block. According to this operational update on 5/9/12, the company will be operator of the block with a 75% interest, with the Kenyan government holding 10%, and "the remaining 15% will be held by a local partner."
The company goes on to say, "The award is subject to negotiation and signing of a formal Production Sharing Contract for each block, which is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2012."
You'll notice none of the news reports say that ERHC acquired Block 11A, but rather that it signed a PSC for the block. The timing of the news reports fit the time frame spoken of above, so perhaps the reality is that ERHC farmed in with a 15% interest on Block 11A. This would reduce the outlays required by ERHC for the block, as opposed to an outright acquisition. - Longtimer
TOB, this is a very significant find! Thank you for your research!
Griffiths Energy's Doseo/Borogop Concession directly abuts ERHC's BDS-2008 Block, as can be seen by comparing these two maps:
Noteworthy Details:
1. Both the Maku and Tega discoveries are only about 5 km S of ERHC's BDS-2008 Block.
2. The Kibea discovery looks to be only about 25 km SE from ERHC's BDS-2008 Block.
3. If Griffiths Energy lays the proposed pipeline, ERHC may be able to tie into it for any producing wells developed in the southern part of its BDS-2008 Block, reducing development costs.
(See this larger view of Griffiths' blocks to see just how close these discoveries are to ERHC's block.)
Here is what Griffiths says about these discoveries:
Latest articles regarding Benoy-1
These are the latest articles I could find with comments on OPIC's Benoy-1 well. Doesn't seem as though anything has happened yet to diminish their initial findings.
Nice find, kingpin!
Here's a flyer produced by ERHC from that link that gives some nice details about their Chad interests:
http://www.ezdataroom.com/pdf.php?id=253
Looks like Chari Ouest III will be their first target. Notice the mention of OPIC’s Benoy-1 discovery. - Longtimer