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China in $23bn Nigeria oil deal (Anybody have access)...
2010 03:00 China has agreed to spend up to $23bn (€19bn, £16bn) to build oil refineries and other petroleum infrastructure in Nigeria, potentially strengthening its hand in the country as it seeks to secure 6bn barrels ...
http://www.einnews.com/nigeria/newsfeed-nigeria-oil
Very Good Article That Came Out Today - IMO !!!
http://www.truthout.org/chinas-global-shopping-spree-is-worlds-future-resource-map-tilting-east58220
China's Global Shopping Spree: Is the World's Future Resource Map Tilting East?
Share China's Global Shopping Spree: Is the World's Future Resource Map Tilting East?
Thursday 01 April 2010
by: Michael T. Klare | TomDispatch.com
Think of it as a tale of two countries. When it comes to procuring the resources that make industrial societies run, China is now the shopaholic of planet Earth, while the United States is staying at home. Hard-hit by the global recession, the United States has experienced a marked decline in the consumption of oil and other key industrial materials. Not so China. With the recession's crippling effects expected to linger in the U.S. for many years, analysts foresee a slow recovery when it comes to resource consumption. Not so China.
In fact, the Chinese are already experiencing a sharp increase in the use of oil and other commodities. More than that, anticipating the kind of voracious resource consumption that goes with anticipated future growth, and worried about the availability of adequate supplies, giant Chinese energy and manufacturing firms -- many of them state-owned -- have been on a veritable spending binge when it comes to locking down resource supplies for the twenty-first century. They have acquired oil fields, natural gas reserves, mines, pipelines, refineries, and other resource assets in a global buying spree of almost unprecedented proportions.
Like most other countries, China suffered some ill effects from the Great Recession of 2008. Its exports declined and previously explosive economic growth slowed from record levels. Thanks to a well-crafted $586 billion stimulus package, however, the worst effects proved remarkably short-lived and growth soon returned to its previous high-octane pace. Since the beginning of 2009, China has experienced significant jumps in car ownership and home construction -- along with worries about the creation of a housing bubble -- among signs of returning prosperity. This, in turn, has generated a rising demand for oil, steel, copper, and other primary materials.
Take oil. In the United States, oil consumption actually declined by 9% over the past two years, from 20.7 million barrels per day in 2007 to 18.8 million in 2009. In contrast, China's oil consumption has risen in this same period, from 7.6 to 8.5 million barrels per day. According to the most recent projections from the U.S. Department of Energy, this is no fluke. The Chinese demand for oil is expected to continue climbing throughout the rest of this year and 2011, even as American consumption remains nearly flat.
Like the United States, China obtains a certain amount of oil from domestic wells, but must acquire a growing share from overseas suppliers. In 2007, the country produced 3.9 million barrels per day and imported 3.7 million barrels, but that proportion is changing rapidly. By 2020, it is projected to produce only 3.3 million barrels, while importing 9.1 million barrels. This situation has "strategic vulnerability" written all over it, and so leaves Chinese leaders exceedingly uneasy. In response, like American officials in decades past, they have moved to gain control over foreign sources of energy -- and similarly many other vital materials, including natural gas, iron, copper, and uranium.
China Binging on Energy
Chinese energy companies initially started buying up foreign firms and drilling ventures (or, at least, shares in them) as the twenty-first century began. Three large state-owned oil companies -- the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), and the China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) -- took the lead. These firms, or their partially privatized subsidiaries – PetroChina in the case of CNPC, and CNOOC International Ltd. in the case of CNOOC -- began gobbling up foreign energy assets in Angola, Iran, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Sudan, and Venezuela. On the whole, these acquisitions were still dwarfed by those being made by giant Western firms like ExxonMobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, and BP. Nonetheless, they represented something new: a growing Chinese presence in a universe once dominated by the Western "majors."
Then along came the Great Recession. Since 2008, Western firms have, for the most part, been reluctant to make major investments in foreign oil ventures, fearing a prolonged downturn in global sales. The Chinese companies, however, only accelerated their buying efforts. They were urged on by senior government officials, who saw the moment as perfect for acquiring crucial valuable resources for a potentially energy-starved future at bargain-basement prices.
"The international financial crisis… is equally a challenge and an opportunity," insisted Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, at the beginning of 2009. "The slowdown… has reduced the price of international energy resources and assets and favors our search for overseas resources."
As a policy matter, the Chinese government has worked hard to facilitate the accelerating rush to control foreign energy resources. Among other things, it has provided low-interest, long-term loans to major Chinese resource firms in the hunt for foreign properties, as well as to foreign governments willing to allow Chinese companies to participate in the exploitation of their natural resources. In 2009, for example, the China Development Bank (CDB) agreed to lend CNPC $30 billion over a five-year period to support its efforts to acquire assets abroad. Similarly, CBD has loaned $10 billion to Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, to develop deep offshore fields in return for a promise to supply China with up to 160,000 barrels of Brazilian crude per day.
Prodded in this fashion and backed with endless streams of cash, CNPC and the other giant Chinese firms have gone on a global binge, acquiring resource assets of every imaginable type in staggering profusion in Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. A very partial list of some of the more important recent deals would include:
•In April 2009, CNPC formed a joint venture with Kazmunaigas, the state oil company of the energy-rich Central Asian state of Kazakhistan, to purchase a Kazakh energy firm, JSC Mangistaumunaigas (MMG), for $3.3 billion. This was just the latest of a series of deals giving China control over about one-quarter of Kazakhstan's growing oil output. A $5 billion loan-for-oil offer from China's Export-Import Bank made this latest deal possible.•In October 2009, a consortium led by CNPC and the oil heavyweight BP won a contract to develop the Rumaila oil field in Iraq, potentially one of the world's biggest oil reservoirs in a country with the third largest reserves on the planet. Under this agreement, the consortium will invest $15 billion to boost Rumaila's daily yield from 1.1 to 2.8 million barrels, doubling Iraq's net output. CNPC holds a 37% share in the consortium; BP, 38%; and the Iraqi government, the remaining 25%. If the consortium succeeds, China will have access to one of the world's most-promising future sources of petroleum and a base for further participation in Iraq's underdeveloped oil industry.•In November 2009, Sinopec teamed up with Ecuador's state-owned Petroecuador in a 40:60 joint venture (with Petroecuador holding the larger share) to develop two oil fields in Ecuador's eastern Pastaza Province. Sinopec is already a major producer in Ecuador, having joined with CNPC to acquire the Ecuadorian energy assets of Canada's EnCana Corp. in 2005 for $1.4 billion.•In December 2009, CNPC acquired a share of the Boyaca 3 oil block in the Orinoco Belt, a large deposit of extra-heavy oil in eastern Venezuela. In that month, CNOOC formed a joint venture with the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. to develop the Junin 8 block in the same region. These moves are seen as part of a strategic effort by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to increase his country's oil exports to China and reduce its reliance on sales to the U.S. market.•That same December, CNPC signed an agreement with the government of Myanmar (Burma) to build and operate an oil pipeline that will run from Maday Island in the western part of that country to Ruili, in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan. The 460-mile pipeline will permit China-bound tankers from Africa and the Middle East to unload their cargo in Myanmar on the Indian Ocean, thereby avoiding the long voyage to China's eastern coast via the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea, areas significantly dominated by the U.S. Navy.•In March 2010, CNOOC International announced plans to buy 50% of Bridas Corp., a private Argentinean energy firm with oil and gas operations in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. CNOOC will pay $3.1 billion for its share of Bridas, which is owned by the family of Argentinean magnate Carlos Bulgheroni.•In March, PetroChina joined oil major Shell to acquire Arrow Energy, a major Australian supplier of natural gas derived from coal-bed methane. The two companies are paying about $1.6 billion each and will form a 50:50 joint venture to operate Arrow's holdings.
And that's only in the energy field. Chinese mining and metals firms have been scouring the world for promising reserves of iron, copper, bauxite, and other key industrial minerals. In March, for example, Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chinalco, acquired a 44.65% stake in the Simandou iron-ore project in the African country of Guinea. Chinalco will pay Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd. $1.35 billion for this share. Keep in mind that Chinalco already owns a 9.3% stake in Rio Tinto, and has been prevented from acquiring a larger share mainly thanks to Australian fears that China is absorbing too much of the country's energy and minerals industries.
Shifting the World's Resource Balance
Chinese companies like CNPC, Sinopec, and Chinalco are hardly alone in seeking control of valuable foreign resource assets. Major Western firms as well as state-owned companies in India, Russia, Brazil, and other countries have also been shopping for such properties. Few, however, have been as determined or single-minded as Chinese firms in taking advantage of the relatively low prices that followed the global recession, and few have the sort of deep pockets available to such companies, thanks to the willingness of the China Development Bank and other government agencies to offer munificent financial backing.
When the United States and other Western nations finally recover from the Great Recession, therefore, they will discover that the global resource chessboard has been tilted strongly in China's favor. Energy and mineral producers that once directed their production -- and often their political allegiance -- to the U.S., Japan, and Western Europe now view China as a major customer and patron. In one eye-catching sign of this shift, Saudi Arabia announced recently that it had sold more oil to China last year than to the United States, previously its largest and most pampered customer. "We believe this is a long-term transition," said Khalid A. al-Falih, president and chief executive of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant. "Demographic and economic trends are making it clear -- the writing is on the wall. China is the growth market for petroleum."
For now, Chinese leaders are avoiding any hint that their recent foreign resource acquisitions entail political or military commitments that could produce friction with the United States or other Western powers. These are just commercial transactions, they insist. There is, however, no escaping the fact that growing Chinese resource ties with countries like Angola, Australia, Brazil, Iran, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Venezuela have geopolitical implications that are unlikely to be ignored in Washington, London, Paris, and Tokyo. Perhaps more than any other recent developments, China's global shopping spree reveals how the world's balance of power is shifting from West to East.
AFREN PLC Report - 29 March 2010
http://www.hemscott.com/news/rna/detached.do?id=98172219381558
From the article:
JDZ Block 1 (Nigeria - São Tomé & Príncipe JDZ)
The Block 1 participants have agreed to enter the next exploration period. A commitment well on the block will be drilled by end 2014. Sinopec has recently completed a multi-well drilling programme on neighbouring blocks in the JDZ. The results of this drilling campaign, once available, will assist in deciding the next steps in this area.
Interesting Article - Sinopec gets upstream foothold with $2.5 billion deal
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62R0M920100328
(Reuters) - Sinopec (0386.HK), Asia's top oil refiner, will buy a stake in upstream assets in Angola for $2.46 billion and said it wanted more such deals, which could shield it from high oil prices that hit margins in the fourth quarter.
Deals
Sinopec, China's No.2 oil and gas producer after PetroChina (0857.HK) (PTR.N) (601857.SS), said its unit in Hong Kong would buy 55 percent of Sonangol Sinopec International Ltd, which has deepwater assets in Angola, from its parent China Petrochemical Corp, its first acquisition of overseas upstream assets.
Analysts say upstream acquisitions by China's biggest refiner are necessary because it will continue to struggle in the first half of 2010, as Beijing procrastinates on raising state-set fuel prices for fear of stoking inflation.
"This is a long-term positive," said Gordon Kwan, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities. "They need the upstream assets to compete with PetroChina and CNOOC. They are the most vulnerable, without guaranteed domestic prices to secure a margin. ... They would get more upstream assets to minimize their vulnerability."
Besides buying more upstream assets from its parent, Sinopec could hunt for assets in North Africa, the Caspian Sea and Latin America, Kwan said.
With the Angola transaction, Sinopec's remaining proven reserves of crude oil will increase 3.6 percent and its daily crude oil production will rise 8.8 percent, the firm said.
"This acquisition, of one of its parent's highest quality assets, marks the entry of Sinopec into the overseas upstream E&P (exploration and production) business, and forms the basis for the company to acquire future new oil and gas assets," the firm said in a statement.
Sinopec said in a separate statement that its board had proposed to issue A-share convertible bonds that could total up to 23 billion yuan ($3.37 billion) for an ethylene project in Wuhan, and for some of its refining and pipeline projects. ID:nHKV002305].
HIGHER CRUDE
Sinopec forecast higher crude prices in 2010 and warned that more refining capacity in China could stiffen competition.
Although Sinopec's fourth-quarter profit beat expectations, its results echoed a dismal theme across the sector, dragged down by higher crude prices and low state-capped fuel prices.
Rival PetroChina (0857.HK) said Beijing could delay fuel-price hikes as it posted a lower-than-forecast 12 percent gain in quarterly profit.
"Following the recovery in the global economy, international oil market demand has recovered. It is expected that in 2010, the level of crude prices may be higher than in 2009," Sinopec said in a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange.
Sinopec said that with new capacity from refining and petrochemical businesses coming on stream, market competition would remain keen.
In 2010, Sinopec is targeting domestic crude oil production of 44.52 million tons. It aims to process crude oil of 203 million tons and to have total domestic sales of refined products of 129 million tons.
Total capital expenditure will amount to 112 billion yuan, with about half going to exploration and production.
Crude oil prices climbed nearly 30 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. While that boosted profits at Sinopec's (600028.SS)(SNP.N) exploration unit, China's second-largest, it sliced the firm's refining margins as Sinopec buys more than 70 percent of its crude on the global market.
Besides more fuel price hikes, Sinopec will be banking on a faster rise of the yuan in 2010, which would reduce the cost of imported crude.
For Sinopec investors, the fourth-quarter results are depressingly familiar: the firm was crippled with refining losses in 2008 due to rising crude prices and low state-set fuel prices.
Sinopec's (600028.SS)(SNP.N) net profit attributable to shareholders totaled 11.96 billion yuan for October-December, compared with a restated 13.46 billion yuan last year, according to a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, using international accounting standards.
Analysts had expected a profit of 10.4 billion yuan, according to estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
But for most of 2009, Sinopec, led by Chairman Su Shulin, benefited from lower crude prices and from Beijing raising retail fuel prices five times. The government last raised gasoline and diesel prices by 7 percent in November.
Shares in Sinopec have fallen about 7.8 percent this year. PetroChina (601857.SS) (PTR.N) has lost about 6.1 percent, while CNOOC (CEO.N), which reports on March 31, has risen 3.3 percent.
(Editing by Valerie Lee and Will Waterman)
Red, 100%. And yet another article today that reinforces why SINOPEC needs ERHE!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704841304575137621977693714.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
China Oil Firms Find Partners Ease Deals
By SHAI OSTER
BEIJING—China's oil companies are increasingly finding the value of partnering with foreign firms in their push abroad, especially in areas where they've run into trouble trying to go it alone.
The most recent example of the strategy's success came Monday, when Australian energy company Arrow Energy Ltd. said it had agreed to a $3.15 billion offer from Royal Dutch Shell PLC and PetroChina Co. The deal, if approved by regulators, would give PetroChina access to supplies of coal seam gas to feed China's growing hunger for the fuel as well as exposure to a technology of tapping gas trapped in coal that could increase China's own domestic natural gas supplies.
Several recent deals signal that the shift toward joining forces with foreign firms is panning out, for a variety of reasons: Securing China's energy needs often goes smoother with a partner, helping Chinese firms avoid the kind of nationalist backlash that famously torpedoed Cnooc Ltd.'s 2005 bid for California-based Unocal Corp.
The alliances also make China and international oil companies more codependent on each other's success, tying together China's energy security with the security of global energy supplies.
The benefits work the other way too: Chinese oil giants have themselves become more attractive, with their own direct line to ample state funds and credit and a growing reputation for being able to operate in areas where others won't, such as Iraq.
"In recent years, Chinese oil companies' overseas mergers and acquisitions were not very smooth for many reasons. We think we found a more reliable way to reach success, partnering with Western or other strong oil companies," said Mao Zefeng, spokesman for PetroChina, the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp. "This is a change in thinking. It's a business, not a political behavior."
China has a mixed track record in resource-rich Australia, where some are afraid of dominance by Chinese companies. Domestic backlash contributed to the failure of metals company Aluminum Corp. of China's audacious bid for a bigger share of Rio Tinto PLC. Partnering with a big foreign company can make a bid appear more like a regular business decision, rather than resource grabbing by a state-backed entity.
Another example of the shift came March 14 when Cnooc announced it would buy half of Argentinean oil and gas company Bridas Corp. for $3.1 billion. Part of Bridas's operations is a joint venture that is 60% held by the British energy giant BP PLC.
"Cnooc Ltd. believes that forming a joint venture with a local partner is critical for its success in overseas expansions," the company said in a statement.
Even as Cnooc has been able to get into Argentina through a joint venture, efforts by Cnooc and other Chinese companies to take over the Argentinean part of a Spanish-owned oil company have stalled, sources familiar with the situation say. Both Cnooc and CNPC have been looking to buy the Argentinean part of Repsol YPF SA since at least August, bankers and analysts say.
In Iraq, China's track record of operating in harsh conditions and unstable regimes made it an attractive partner for international oil majors looking to invest in that country's recovering oil industry. In November, PetroChina's parent company, CNPC, joined with BP for the rights to operate the Rumaila oilfield, one of the largest producers in the world. Some investors criticized the investment as low-margin, but BP said it would benefit by being able to tap into CNPC's lower labor and equipment costs.
In December, PetroChina joined with France's Total SA, and Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd., or Petronas, for the giant Halfaya oil field. The contracts don't give key ownership of the reserves underground, but are like oil service contracts that generate revenue that can be paid in oil.
Analysts and industry executives say the partnerships make sense for many reasons. Chinese oil companies are strong on reviving aging old fields, and are good at building large engineering projects. Since the financial crisis, Chinese companies are increasingly attractive because of their access to ample credit. In countries such as Iraq, for many commercial independent firms, partnering with a state-backed company can reduce some of the risks. With more of the world's oil locked up in politically less stable regions, Chinese partners will be more appealing.
"The Chinese are willing to invest and put a lot of money on risky projects," said Samuel Ciszuk, an analyst with IHS Global Insight. "They're good partners, from that point of view."
Western oil executives say one effect of these partnerships is to make Iraq's stability a common goal for the U.S. and China.
For Chinese companies, working with more internationally savvy oil companies gets them access to better oil and gas exploration and complex project management skills that they still lack.
Total of France and Cnooc are shortly expected to conclude a deal to buy a third of Tullow Oil PLC's oil assets in Uganda, a region that has just opened up for major new oil fields. That is in contrast to Cnooc's solo efforts in Kenya, where its wells are coming up dry.
Meanwhile, the joint bid with PetroChina is just one aspect of Shell's cooperation with the state-owned Chinese company. Shell said last week it is in talks with both PetroChina and Cnooc to jointly build and operate new refining capacity, in a bid to increase its exposure to Chinese markets. This push comes with demand for petroleum products declining in mature markets like the U.S. and Europe, while China's thirst for transportation fuels continues to grow.
Shell says it hopes the Arrow deal will cement its relationship with PetroChina. "The bid for Arrow is part of building on our relationships with PetroChina to develop a gas business which will, in time we hope, deliver more gas back into China and show we can work together," Shell's CFO Simon Henry told reporters last week at Shell's 2010 strategy update. "In five to ten years time we expect to be a major player in the downstream, gas marketing, and potentially, upstream gas production in China itself," Mr. Henry said.
To be sure, Chinese companies are still pursing many overseas projects independently, especially in Central Asia. The biggest takeover by any Chinese company was Sinopec Group's $7.2 billion takeover last year of Addax Petroleum Corp., based in Switzerland and listed in London and Toronto. It is one of the largest independent oil producers in West Africa and the Middle East by volume.
Addax also owns oil fields in Kurdistan. Baghdad has declared as illegal contracts negotiated with the Kurds, and in retaliation, froze out Sinopec from last year's bidding rounds. Sinopec officials are still trying to get the ban lifted.
That points to another weakness: inexperience in dealing with complex geopolitics that can sink a deal. "They need a bit of tact," said one industry observer. "Go partner with someone like BP, be quiet, get a pen and listen."
Just another reason why China (SINOPEC) needs additional reserves!
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/platts-report-chinese-oil-demand-soars-to-record-high-85-mil-bd-in-february-88812487.html
Platts Report: Chinese Oil Demand Soars to Record High 8.5 mil b/d in February
HONG KONG, March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Platts – China's apparent* oil demand in February jumped 16.6% from a year ago to a historic high of around 8.5 million barrels per day (b/d) or about 33.28 million tonnes, according to a Platts analysis of official data just released.
February marked the sixth straight month the world's second largest oil consumer posted double-digit annual growth in oil demand.
Meanwhile, China's apparent oil demand in January was lower at an average 7.75 million b/d, but still 17.6% higher than a year ago.
Average demand for the first two months of the year at 8.1 million b/d was 17.8% above the corresponding period of 2009.
China releases official oil trade and domestic crude production and crude throughput data for January and February together in March because of the long Lunar New Year holiday break, which typically falls in the first or second month of the year.
Crude throughput at Chinese refineries in January and February was up around 23% from a year ago, official data showed.
"Chinese refineries are running full steam, but the country, which also boosted its refining capacity through 2009, appears to be producing far more fuel than what the domestic market is absorbing," said Vandana Hari, Asia news director at Platts. The surplus has to either go into storage or show up as export barrels, she explained.
"News that state giant Sinopec began subsidizing exports by its refineries in February signals an urgency to get rid of stocks, especially if the company didn't want to reduce crude processing rates," said Hari. "It appears that going forward, we could see a continuing strong climb in China's crude imports and a waning appetite for product imports," Hari added.
A revised domestic oil products pricing mechanism adopted by the Chinese government at the beginning of 2009 encourages higher processing rates because it not only guarantees an estimated 5% margin for the refiners, but also factors in crude processing costs. The formula, which tracks international crude prices, prompted five price hikes and three cuts in 2009, but also led to speculative stockpiling of fuel ahead of anticipated increases. It might be tweaked this year, in a bid to make price changes unpredictable, according to news reports.
As refiners lifted their product exports by nearly 54% from a year ago in the first two months of 2010 and China's imports simultaneously dropped 12.5%, net inflow of fuel into the country was down by almost 65% from a year ago.
MONTHLY TRADE DATA IN MILLION METRIC TONS:
Feb'10 Feb'09 % Chg Jan'10 Dec'09 Nov'09 Oct'09 Sep'09
Net crude
imports 18.29 11.12 +64.5 16.98 20.90 16.70 18.97 16.83
Crude
production 15.11 14.29 +5.8 16.87 16.07 15.67 16.26 15.72
Apparent
demand* 33.28 28.55 +16.6 33.64 34.52 33.67 33.89 33.80
*Platts calculates China's apparent or implied oil demand on the basis of crude throughput volumes at the domestic refineries and net oil product imports, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics and Chinese customs.
The government releases data on imports, exports, domestic crude production and refinery throughput data, but does not give official data on the country's actual oil consumption figure and oil stockpiles. Official statistics on oil storage are released intermittently.
No, i do not think so looking at the names of the blocks being drilled.
Afren plc (AFR LN)
Rig contract
London, 17 March 2010 - Afren plc ("Afren" or the "Company") and its partners Oriental Energy Resources and Amni International Petroleum Development Company, announce the signing ofan additional drilling contract with Transocean for the GSF High Island Vll jack-up rig, to carry out planned drilling on their assets located offshore South East Nigeria. Highlights:
u Contract duration up to 210 days
u Day rate of US$84,000
u Expected to mobilise on 24 March 2010 with an estimated five days to tow and
jack-up on location
u Necessary drilling resources in place to undertake planned development,
appraisal and exploration drilling around Ebok / Okwok / OML 115 and infill
drilling at Okoro
u The first well, Ebok Deep, to spud end March 2010
A rig contract has been signed with Transocean, commencing in March 2010, to
carry out planned drilling at the Ebok / Okwok / OML 115 complex and Okoro field
offshore south east Nigeria. The contract will run for a period of up to 210
days, and has been secured at an operating rate of US$84,000 per day. The GSF
High Island Vll rig is expected to mobilise from its current location in
Cameroon on 24 March 2010.
With the Transocean Adriatic lX rig already under contract and drilling ahead at
Ebok under the Phase 1 development plan, the introduction of a second rig
provides the necessary resources and flexibility to complete Afren and its
partners planned 2010 work programme that incorporates:
o The drilling of one exploration well to test the Ebok Deep intervals
o One appraisal well to define the size and extent of the Okwok field and its
development requirements
o One exploration well to test the prospectivity that has been identified on
the surrounding OML 115 acreage
o Six wells under development Phase 2 at the Ebok West Fault Block
o Two infill production wells at the producing Okoro field
Osman Shahenshah, Chief Executive of Afren, commented:
"The second rig, secured at competitive rates, gives Afren and our indigenous
partners the flexibility and resources to complete the ambitious 18 well
drilling programme in 2010. We are also pleased to extend our relationship with
Transocean, who provided the drilling units for the successful Okoro development
and Ebok appraisal wells, and with whom we also have the Adriatic lX currently
under contract and drilling ahead with the Ebok Phase 1 development. The
signing of this contract is an important milestone for our 2010 drilling
campaign, the most active period of drilling in the Company's history."
Was this ever posted???
http://thenationonlineng.net/web2/articles/39621/1/-Energy-firm-plans-listing-on-London-Johannesburg-stock-exchanges/Page1.html
Energy firm plans listing on London, Johannesburg stock exchanges
By Emeka UgwuanyiPublished TodayBusinessRating: Unrated
The Environmental Remediation Holding Corporation (ERHC) Energy, an American oil and gas investment company formerly chaired by Nigeria’s billionaire businessman, Chief Emeka Offor, is planning to be listed on both the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.
Although an American company, a Nigerian company – Chrome Group, has the largest single equity shareholding of about 43 per cent in it.
The Chief Operating Officer of the company Mr. Peter Ntephe, who spoke with our correspondent during the just concluded Nigeria Oil and Gas conference in Abuja, however, said that ERHC currently doesn’t have plans to come to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). He noted that when they successfully list on the two Exchanges, they may consider NSE.
Ntephe noted that the kind of business they do is run in hard currency and besides, domestic economy engages in short term bonds while oil and gas business, which they do, require long term investment.
He also cleared speculations on whether the company has plans to transform into an exploration and production (E&P) company, noting that the business model they run didn’t factor in the plans for it to become an operator company.
He said the company would continue to invest in areas they believe there are opportunities as they are currently doing in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ), especially in the Sao Tome and Principe where it has substantial stakes in some assets. Although such assets have not began to produce, Ntephe expressed high optimism that they do have commercial hydrocarbon reserves having been in the same province where fields with very substantial reserves have been found and currently producing.
He said that the company currently has a capital of $400 million and perhaps because of the company intention to explore opportunities in Nigeria including the marginal fields, that is additional reasons it wants quoted on London Johannesburg Stock Exchanges to access funds to finance the numerous projects, those in operation and those it intends to embark upon in the future.
He said: "Our business model as we continue to regenerate is the non-operator model. We are an energy investment company; we are not an Exploration and Production (E& P) company."
Thursday, March 11, 2010
ERHC Energy Inc. to Hold Annual Shareholders Meeting on April 27, 2010
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/energy/erhc-energy-hold-annual-shareholders-meeting-april/
HOUSTON, TX, Mar 11, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) ----ERHC Energy Inc. (OTCBB: ERHE), a publicly traded American company with oil and gas assets in the highly prospective Gulf of Guinea off the coast of West Africa, today announced that its Annual Shareholders Meeting will be held at 3:00 p.m. Central Time on April 27, 2010. The meeting will be held at The Renaissance Houston Hotel, 6 Greenway Plaza East in Houston, Texas.
The Board of Directors fixed the close of business on March 10, 2010, as the record date for the determination of the stockholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the meeting. ERHC has issued its proxy materials (Proxy Statement, Annual Report in the form of the Company's 10-K filing and voting materials) online at www.erhc.com/secfilings. The Proxy Statement and voting materials will be mailed to shareholders of record as of March 10, 2010.
"In recent months we have made significant strides toward achieving major milestones in our business strategy and we look forward to meeting with shareholders again," said ERHC Chief Operating Officer Peter Ntephe. "Please note that to provide more time to complete preparations for the meeting, the date for the Annual Shareholders Meeting has been changed to April 27, 2010, instead of April 20, 2010, as earlier intended."
About ERHC Energy ERHC Energy Inc. is a Houston-based independent oil and gas company focused on growth through high impact exploration in the highly prospective Gulf of Guinea and the development of undeveloped and marginal oil and gas fields. ERHC is committed to creating and delivering significant value for its shareholders, investors and employees, and to sustainable and profitable growth through risk balanced smart exploration, cost efficient development and high margin production. For more information, visit www.erhc.com.
Cautionary Statement This press release contains statements concerning ERHC Energy Inc.'s future operating milestones, future drilling operations, the planned exploration and appraisal program, future prospects, future investment opportunities and financing plans, future shareholders' meetings, and related proceedings, as well as other matters that are not historical facts or information. Such statements are inherently subject to a variety of risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, projected, expressed or implied. A discussion of the risk factors that could impact these areas and the Company's overall business and financial performance can be found in the Company's reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors include, among others, those relating to the Company's ability to exploit its commercial interests in the JDZ and the Exclusive Economic Zone of Sao Tome and Principe, general economic and business conditions, changes in foreign and domestic oil and gas exploration and production activity, competition, changes in foreign, political, social and economic conditions, regulatory initiatives and compliance with governmental regulations and various other matters, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Given these concerns, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on these statements. Each of the above statements speaks only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any of the above statements is based.
Contact: Dan Keeney, APR
DPK Public Relations
832-467-2904
Email Contact
Wouldn't this be nice for ERHE!
UPDATE: Arrow Energy Receives A$3.3 Billion Bid From Shell, PetroChina
By Cynthia Koons and David Winning
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SYDNEY -(Dow Jones)- Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) and PetroChina Co. (PTR) are offering to pay around A$3.26 billion cash for Arrow Energy (AOE.AU), the Australian energy producer said Monday, in an effort to secure a bigger foothold in the booming coal seam gas industry in Queensland state.
Shareholders are being offered A$4.45 a share, representing a 28% premium from Arrow's last traded price Friday of A$3.48 but below a January high of A$4.58. The pair are also offering one share in a new entity that would comprise Arrow's international business for each existing Arrow share.
Shares in Arrow soared early Monday after the offer was announced. At 0000 GMT, Arrow was up 41% at A$4.92.
The involvement of PetroChina--China's largest-listed oil company by capacity--could create a political hurdle for the bid considering the Australian government has taken a cautious stance on the issue of Chinese entities buying Australian resource producers. Thus far, Arrow's board has recommended shareholders take no action on the offer. It is unclear how large a role PetroChina is playing in the joint bid.
This is the second attempt by Shell to gain control of Arrow with Shell's initial offer, never confirmed by either party, made last year.
A successful bid could give Shell's plans to build a standalone terminal at Gladstone port in Queensland a shot in the arm. The proposed plant would produce 16 million metric tons a year of LNG, with first gas targeted in 2014 or 2015, but the Anglo-Dutch major doesn't have enough gas under its control at present.
Coal seam gas--trapped stores of methane hundreds of meters below the Earth's surface--is one of the world's hottest energy plays. More than A$20 billion was spent in 2008 on deals in Australia alone by companies including Shell, U.S. producer ConocoPhillips (COP) and BG Group PLC (BG.LN) of the U.K.
This activity reflects shrinking access that Western companies have to conventional natural gas reserves elsewhere in the world, as major gas producers such as Russia and Qatar favor production by local state-owned firms.
Environmental benefits are also playing a part in fueling investment as coal seam gas doesn't produce any sulfur dioxide or particulates, and emits only 50% of the carbon dioxide emitted when coal is burnt.
Arrow has already announced its intention to publicly float its international business. It is unclear whether the IPO would proceed if Arrow's shareholders accepted the offer from Shell and PetroChina.
PetroChina spokesman Mao Zefeng wasn't available for comment. Shell declined to comment immediately.
Arrow has done business with Shell in the past, selling 30% of its coal seam gas acreage to the Anglo-Dutch major in 2008.
In February, Arrow said it would take full control of the proposed A$2 billion-plus Fisherman's Landing liquefied natural project in Queensland state, potentially increasing its exposure to fast-growing Asian energy markets but placing further pressure on the group's balance sheet.
In a complex deal, Arrow said it would buy out smaller company Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd.'s (LNG.AU) interest in the project with a combination of cash, milestone payments, royalties and options over Arrow shares.
Arrow has appointed UBS and Citigroup as advisers on the bid from Shell and PetroChina. The offer is currently non-binding and conditional.
-By Cynthia Koons and David Winning; Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4691; cynthia.koons@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Homeport likewise. I think the news on the JDZ results has to be good, it's just a matter of how good. I'll keeping "patrolling" the news wire for articles daily and will post whatever I find. Fingers crossed as well and I think that if the news is good and we get approval for an eventual move to the AIM (and with no "buyout"), our share price will see it's "true" value. I just do not trust the OTCBB as the share price (historically speaking)is prone to manipulation. Seen it entirely too much over the past 6-7 years. Watching and waiting...tick tock! Take care.
More confirmation that news should be out this week!
http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Equator_Exploration_Provides_Update_on_West_Africa_Operations/42d0252bf.aspx
Equator Exploration Provides Update on West Africa Operations
06 March 2010
Equator Exploration Limited provides the following updates on its operational activities:
Exclusive Economic Zone ('EEZ') of São Tomé and Príncipe ('STP')
Equator was invited by the government of STP, prior to the recently announced EEZ Licensing Round, to make its first choice of two blocks in the EEZ as per the Exploration and Production Option Agreement Equator has with the government. Following Equator exercising its option, Equator received from the government of STP a letter of allocation of the rights to two blocks in the EEZ. The government informed Equator that it will soon be able to begin negotiation of Production Sharing Contracts.
OPL 323 / OPL 321
The award of OPL 323 and OPL 321 to the Korean National Oil Corporation ('KNOC'), the operator, was voided by the Federal Government of Nigeria in January 2009. In August 2009, judgement was given in favour of KNOC in a lawsuit that they had brought against the government parties in the Federal High Court in Abuja. Although the government has appealed the judgement, we believe that the government and KNOC are in talks to resolve the situation. We await news of a resolution.
JDZ Bomu-1 Well
Sinopec, the operator, is completing the technical evaluation of the Bomu-1 discovery. In mid-March, the Company and the other participants are required to commit to a second well or to drop the block.
Sure...
I just research (and lurk) and try to supply the board with new articles as they are released. My mind was made up some 7 years ago and we are on the verge of VALIDATION (finally). I, for one, connected the dots a long time ago. Results are close and I, based on all of my research on what's going on in and around the region, feel that we are in a "win win" situation. Grant it, some will "spin" the drilling results announcement in an attempt to sway those investors who have not followed the stock as long as some of us. But validation is coming and I for one look forward to the next phases of the ERHE's growth. Those who "don't know" will be left behind and we can then expect a new breed of investors at a much higher level. All IMO of course and good luck to all no matter what your trading patterns may be.
ERHC targets 2015 for JDZ fields’ start up
http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201003041345746
ERHC Energy, an American oil company with Nigerians holding controlling interest, is looking forward to between 2015 and 2020 for production to begin at its deepwater fields in the Joint Development Zone of Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe.
The company’s Vice-President Corporate Development, Mr. David Bovell, who disclosed this, on the sidelines of the Nigeria Oil and Gas 2010 Conference in Abuja, said ERHC was planning to expand its operations substantially in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Also, a member of the board of the company and former United States’ Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Howard Jetter, said he joined the board of the company because he was impressed with the company’s goals.
He said, “I actually retired from the United States government shortly after leaving Nigeria in 2003. So, I am now a private person with other interests. When I was asked to join the board of ERHC, I did my due diligence and I was impressed by what they were doing and what they have done. You know, it is a company exploring opportunities in the oil and gas industry.”
The former diplomat stressed that ERHC Energy also supported local content. “I have been on the board for almost four years. The company has a vision. As you know, it has very significant interests in the JDZ.
ERHC got involved in the JDZ when others would not do it. This shows what local companies that believe in a country where they are can do. But ERHC is an American company. It is incorporated in Colorado, it is a public company,” he added.
Jeter noted that the company had done a very good job in terms of its involvement in the JDZ.
“Now, the next phase of development is essentially to look for other opportunities in the West African sub-region, particularly here in Nigeria,” he said.
He said the company’s vision was to “maximise shareholders’ value through exploitation of its rights and working interest in exploration acreage offshore central West Africa” while its mission was “sustainable and profitable growth through risk-balanced exploration, cost efficient development and high margin production.”
The company’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Peter Ntepehe, stated that ERHC Energy, which he described as “an American company with Nigerian face” was not an exploration and production company but an energy investment company.
“Our business model is non-operator model. We are an energy investment company. Our policy is to develop opportunities and bring in financial expertise to harness these opportunities. We go into Greenfield areas that have never been touched and explore opportunities for E & P companies to come in,” he said
Ntephe disclosed that opportunities abound in Nigeria for E&P companies but access to international capital was a major challenge.
“We are publicly listed. So, we can raise funds; the operators can also carry our costs and recover it from production like in the JDZ,” he said.
He disclosed that the company had not considered the possibility of listing in the Nigerian Stock Exchang adding that as soon as it concluded the process of listing in the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange, the next target was the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
“We are publicly listed in the United States. We now want to get into London. After London, what is on the pipeline is Johannesburg. As soon as we finish with London, the next target is Johannesburg. South Africa is a little bit more advanced than Nigeria,” he added.
Ntephe disclosed that the company was“currently focused on exploiting its assets- rights to working interests in oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Guinea offshore central West Africa.”
According to him, during the past two years, ERHC has formed strong alliances with Addax Petroleum and Sinopec Corporation, both of which are experienced exploration and production companies.
“In August 2009, Addax and Sinopec began a coordinated exploratory drilling campaign encompassing JDZ Blocks 2, 3 and 4. A total of five wells are being drilled in the intitiative,” he said.
“Additionally, in Sao Tome & Principe’s Exclusive Economic Zone , ERHC’s rights to participate in exploration and production activities include the right to receive up to two blocks of ERHC’s choice and the option to acquire up to a 15 per cent paid working interest in another two blocks of ERHC’s choice. The company would be responsible for its proportionate share of exploration and exploitation costs in the EEZ blocks,’ Ntephe added.
He said the company was also “working to diversify its holdings and build upon its assets in the Gulf of Guinea through a carefully executed acquisition strategy aimed at viable revenue producing properties.”
On insinuations that the results of the exploratory drilling in the JDZ have not been encouraging, the COO argued that it was premature to arrive at such conclusion.
China Battles Exxon In Ghana Oil Deal - 2 Mar 2010
http://blogs.forbes.com/energysource/2010/03/02/china-blocks-exxon-in-ghana-oil-deal/
*** Just need confirmation of significant discoveries in the JDZ and we follow suit ***
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The rumors have been swirling in recent weeks over the fate of ExxonMobil's $4 billion deal to buy Dallas-based Kosmos Energy for its oil and gas finds off the coast of Ghana. "Exxon really, really wants it," says a source with knowledge of negotiations between the Texas oil giant and Ghanian officials.
The trouble is, Ghana is now being lobbied hard to force the sale of Kosmos to China's state-controlled international oil company Cnooc. According to several sources, Cnooc has hired Neil Bush, brother of President George W. Bush, to work on its behalf.
As you recall, Kosmos, with partners Anadarko Petroleum and U.K.-based Tullow Oil, pioneered a rash of big oil and gas discoveries of the coast of Ghana in the past year--including Jubilee and Tweneboa--proving out the region as a world-class hydrocarbons basin.
Ghana's government, however, feeling flush and regretting the kingly terms granted to the explorers, has blocked Exxon's entry, claimed for the government all natural gas found in certain fields, and now intends, according to a source close to the government, to form a new Ghanian national oil company. This is the government's perogative; it is common for countries to renegotiate what started as sweetheart contract terms once big reserves are discovered.
China has, of course, been aggressively pursuing oil assets in Africa, with strong positions in Angola, Sudan, and in Nigeria (where Sinopec bought out Addax Petroleum for $7.2 billion last year). Along with money, China brings to Ghana a willingness to invest in more than just oil and gas. Following the model that's worked in other African countries, Chinese contractors are busy with infrastructure projects. A source who has worked in Ghana says that a highway project there funded by the U.S. government-backed Millenium Challenge Corp. is actually being built by Chinese subcontractors. No word on when Exxon might fold its hand and call off the deal.
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1 Mar 2010 - "Reports of $20 billion Total investment brighten Nigerian oil outlook"
Reports that French oil giant Total is ready to invest $20 billion in Nigerian oil and gas development spread through energy markets in an unlikely bit of positive news for the beleaguered African producer.
Total, Europe’s third-largest oil company and largest refiner, has its hands full trying to resolve a strike that has paralyzed its refining capacity in France and dampened global oil prices.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, is still getting to know an acting president appointed only two weeks ago, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. It was Jonathan who put the $20 billion figure on Total’s planned investment after a meeting with the French company’s head of exploration and development.
The company itself would only confirm investments of $7 billion, according to news agency reports, saying that the remaining portion would be from partners, who remained unnamed.
Nonetheless, the report was positive for Nigeria, which has been plagued by militant attacks in the Niger Delta that had cut production to nearly one-third. A recent amnesty program has pacified the situation to the extent that production has partially recovered.
It was Jonathan, who is from the southern Nigerian region that is seeking more equitable distribution of oil revenues in the militant actions, who spearheaded government efforts to resolve the situation as vice president.
Jonathan was named acting president by parliament due to President Umaru Yar’Adua’s long illness, which kept him virtually incommunicado in treatment in Saudi Arabia for months. Reports that Yar’Adua returned to Nigeria Wednesday added further piquancy to the situation, though there is reportedly no prospect of him resuming power immediately.
Two of the projects that will receive Total’s investment have been previously announced – the Usan deepwater offshore field, scheduled to go into production in 2012, and exploration in an oil block in the Niger Delta. Two more areas are being studied, according to reports citing a Total spokesman. Total produced 230,000 barrels of oil a day in Nigeria last year, and will increase that volume this year, company officials said.
The Nigerian statement hailed the planned investment as a sign that international companies were regaining confidence in Nigeria, and Total officials did not dispute that. Nigeria is also trying to reorganize its oil industry to make it more profitable, causing concern among foreign partners that the government might seek a larger portion of oil revenues.
Hoping for this type of news release!
Vanco makes 'significant' gas-condensate discovery with Dzata-1 offshore Ghana
26 Feb 2010
http://www.pennenergy.com/index/petroleum/display/8589170721/articles/pennenergy/petroleum/offshore/2010/02/vanco_-lukoil_make.html
AP Article from Feb 22, 2010 - "More deals likely among energy companies"
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http://www.omaha.com/article/20100222/MONEY/702229948
Energy companies are on the prowl again.
After a two-year slowdown in mergers and acquisitions in the industry, companies are once again looking for ways to use their checkbooks to expand their reserves, buy new technology or snap up promising oil and gas fields.
Unlike the round of mergers that created today's behemoths in the late 1990s, the current round is not expected to form new giant companies such as Exxon Mobil or ConocoPhillips.
This time, companies are focused on buying fast-growing small companies or on acquisitions that expand their reserves in an era when it is hard for them to find new places to drill....
...“In this industry, where you're in the business of increasing your reserves, there are two ways to do so — to drill or to acquire,” said Christopher Sheehan, director for mergers and acquisitions research at IHS Herold. “There is an intense competition for access to resources through mergers.”
This latest wave of consolidation comes amid fresh enthusiasm for natural gas production, especially in the United States, where new technology has significantly expanded the nation's reserves.
The huge potential of new gas fields has driven most mergers in the North American energy sector in recent months, with more to come this year, according to bankers and analysts.
Buying interest is particularly strong among the international oil majors, which sold off many of their onshore assets in the United States over the last decade and are now eager to come back.
Anthony Hayward, the chief executive of BP, said last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the gas being extracted from beds of shale was “a complete game-changer. It probably transforms the U.S. energy outlook for the next 100 years.”
The biggest deal in that sector was announced in December, when Exxon Mobil said it would buy XTO Energy for $31 billion. Shortly after, Total of France said it would pay $800 million for a minority share in Chesapeake Energy's Barnett shale gas portfolio. Chesapeake has raised about $11 billion from joint ventures for its shale gas assets in the last two years; BP and Royal Dutch Shell have struck similar agreements in recent months.
In a humorous note to investors, Bernstein Research analysts said recently: “Frankly, you can virtually plan your gym sessions around these deals, they are becoming so regular. Thinking about it, isn't it about time for another Statoil deal?”
Statoil, the Norwegian national oil company, recently struck a deal with ConocoPhillips to trade some of its assets in the Gulf of Mexico for acreage that Conoco holds in the Chukchi Sea of Alaska; in November, Statoil agreed to pay $3.4 billion for a 32.5 percent stake in Chesapeake's assets in the Marcellus shale formation in the Appalachian region.
“The growth opportunities from shale gas are something we haven't seen in the United States for decades,” said Roger Read, managing director and senior energy analyst at Natixis Bleichroeder in Houston. “The United States, which had been a static market, now has the chance to grow its production.”
Bankers and energy consultants expect deals to pick up this year after a two-year lull. There were 244 deals in the global oil and gas industry last year, down from 285 in 2008, and 336 at the peak in 2007, according to data from IHS Herold, a consulting and advisory firm...
...Analysts point to a wide range of companies that are potentially on the market, including EOG Resources, Southwestern Energy, PetroHawk Energy, the Encana Corp., Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy and Anadarko Petroleum.
“There will be a shakeout there. It will be eat, or be eaten,” said James Bogues, who leads Accenture's North America energy mergers and acquisition unit. “Given Exxon's reputation as a very deliberate, cautious company, the fact they made such a bold move with XTO will no doubt inspire others that a price has been set for shale gas assets and technology.”
Outside of the United States, the pace of mergers has also picked up. Suncor Energy of Canada bought Petro-Canada in a deal valued at $18 billion to form a national giant and stave off possible bids from foreign buyers, particularly Chinese companies.
In West Africa, Exxon has offered $4 billion for a stake in an offshore field in Ghana, though that deal could fall through given the government's threat to block the transaction; international firms, including Eni of Italy, are battling over some prospective fields in Uganda.
Chinese companies have also been particularly active. In August, Sinopec, one of China's biggest oil companies, closed a $9 billion acquisition, buying Addax Petroleum, a Geneva-based oil explorer that is most active in Nigeria, Gabon and the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
Sinopec, formally known as the China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., said the deal “represents the largest successful acquisition of overseas oil and gas assets by a Chinese company.”
The interest of national oil companies, such as Sinopec, could prove a powerful and lasting driver for mergers.
“The mandate of national oil companies is to go and find reserves around the world,” said Jon McCarter, the oil and gas transactions leader for the Americas at Ernst & Young. “They have been very active and very aggressive.”
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Again, we have all been very patient and the payoff will eventually come. We are closer than ever!!!
Moe Diggity
Remember What China Stated Back in November 2009:
"China’s Growing Thirst For African Oil"
http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=2546&idli=3
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"China has dangled a near open cheque book to Africa's major oil producers in a bid to guarantee supplies for decades to come.
It has offered 30 billion dollars to Nigeria and is negotiating for stakes in oil fields in Ghana and Angola and companies that exploit the fields throughout Africa...
...Industry sources say the companies are looking at investing around 23 billion dollars (15.6 billion euros) in Nigeria over the next five years.
But through its state-run China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Beijing is dangling the prospect of 30 billion dollars for a guaranteed six billion barrels of Nigerian oil....
Chinese firm SINOPEC recently bought the Canadian oil firm Addax which operates in Nigeria and west Africa, for a mere five billion euros.
CNOOC and Sinopec said in July they have agreed to buy a 20 percent stake in an offshore oil block in Angola from US oil company Marathon Oil Corp.
"The strength of the Chinese is that they are ready to put lots of cash on the table," said a senior executive in Africa with one international oil firm on condition of anonymity.
"So they want to come and work here, there is no problem, there is room for everyone, but not on blocks that are not free," said the oil chief.
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We've waited this long and, finally, appear to be on the cusp of realizing REAL value.
"If you build it, they will come"
Moe Diggity