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.
Who would have thought we would be 7 for 7 and STILL at 9 bucks? Especially when we went to $11 in 2012 after the first discovery,,,not complaining, its actually gone very well but it looks like we will always be trading with an African discount to real value,,.
Interesting, sounds familiar! There were rumbling's a while back in Ethiopia as well, looks like this kind of thing will be par for the course in Africa. I expect they will resolve this in due course.
Up and coming news based on the most recent NR.
El Kuran-3 well,,,,,,1978 meters, drilling deeper results pending.
The Ewoi prospect,,,,,is expected to spud by the end of the year.
The Amosing ,,,,,,,,,,,,completed by the end of January.
Etuko and Ekales,,,,,,,,test results early in the first quarter of 2014.
The news dampens the high expectations for December however there is still plenty of life in this play. Good job for the success in the Lokichar basin to start with, they would have had trouble raising the funds that they have managed if they would have started with these wells first.
"There, says Chandler Group also that the company has been significant shareholders sometimes others Gazprom , Cairn Energy and BP. Chandler invests in both private and listed companies, always with a long term perspective , by his own admission ."
An interesting article on Chandler. This should add stability to the share price. Its Good to see he has a long term perspective on his investments, he could really do some damage to the share price if he decided to unload all or even some of his 10.8%.
Ya,,,RBC might be reacting to some earlier completion forecasts. AOI's forecast on the recent Agete 1 announcement were not this aggressive on the completion dates. They seem to be targeting the end of Dec for all three wells rather then the end of Nov for Bahasi-1 & Kuran-3. We should hear news on the spud of Amosing-1.
"Elsewhere in Kenya, exploration drilling activities continue to accelerate with the Amosing-1 well in Block 10BB, expected to commence drilling before the end of November with the Weatherford 804 rig. The Etuko-1 well test in Block 10BB is also scheduled to commence this month with the PR Marriott 46 rig which recently arrived in country and the Ekales-1 well test is scheduled to commence in early December with the recently mobilized SMP-5 completion unit. The Africa Oil operated Bahasi-1 well in the Block 9 is currently drilling as planned with results expected by the end of December.
An additional two wells are currently drilling in Ethiopia, the Tutule-1 well in the South Omo block, and the El Kuran-3 well in Block 8, with results also expected before the end of the year."
Great news, what an amazingly bullish report this is from SEB. Even if they drill the Lokichar at the standard Tullow 80% success rate we are looking at an incredible valuations on this one basin alone. Coincidently this is pretty close to the pre dilution 20 dollars per share that KH has been throwing around for some time now. Hopefully the rest of his positive prophesies come through as well!!
Spectacular news Sweden,,,,,five for five is not to bad at all on a wildcat play,,,that's got to make the odds pretty high for further success,,.
Its great to see the publicity however a lot of the articles particularly some of the African news sources tend to be off on there facts, details and dates a fair bit, and all sources need to be taken for what they are. Really the only reliable source of information are those published releases from Tullow and African Oil and even some of those can be misleading. What caught my eye in the Business Daily article is the upbeat theme,,,,,,,they are back to talking about results,spuds and positive developments which is a considerable change from just a couple of weeks back.
Cheers
Ninja
Yes TamTam looks like a bit of a misprint in the article,,,should read spud on the Amosing and test the Etuko-1 well, later this month.
Wednesday, the firm said its operations at the Agete well were on top gear, with results expected at the end of this month.
Excerpt from Business Daily
(Full Storey)
Tullow Oil Plc has stepped up its exploration drive in northern Kenya just days after it struck a deal with community leaders to end days of protests that halted its operations in Turkana.
In its market update released Wednesday, the British firm said it was on course to extend the ongoing the Agete exploration well northwards after recent oil discovery at Twiga 1.
“Operations resumed on November 8, 2013 after successful discussions relating to the operating environment with central and regional government and local community leaders,” the firm said in a statement.
Under the deal brokered by government officials to end the two-week standoff, the British firm offered to double its social budget, train locals and open up its tenders to women and youth from areas in which it operates.
READ: Tullow Oil strikes deal to resume work in Turkana
It pledged, in a MOU signed with community leaders, to immediately double its social investments to Sh340 million annually and offer more training scholarships to enable locals take up high-cadre jobs.
Wednesday, the firm said its operations at the Agete well were on top gear, with results expected at the end of this month.
Tests on the Amosing exploration well (south of Ngamia-1) and the Etuko-1 well, the statement added, would start later this month.
Similarly, the test results of Tultule-1 well, which is being drilled in the Omo basin of Ethiopia, are expected by the end of November.
In Uganda’s Lake Albert Rift Basin, the British firm said it was running a busy work programme, with 12 appraisal wells and three flow tests successfully completed so far.
http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Tullow-steps-up-oil-search-after-ending-stand-off/-/539546/2072174/-/6kgggwz/-/index.html
No news is good news,,,haven't heard or seen anything on the Lokichar or Turkana since resumption so all indication is that things have settled in real well,,. Congratulations to Tullow & Africa Oil's management for there professional expertise in navigating these challenging political environments!!
AOI may have been shopping around a Lokichar deal however it doesn't seem to likely that this was ever on the table,. Why would they give away an 18% equity interest in the entire company for $450 Million when they could have gotten $700 for just 10% of one basin!
Great news, the share price seems to be responding quite well on this upbeat communication of a positive resolution, Makes you wonder how accurate previous reports on the demand for Management positions, refineries, and moving the operations center to Turkana were,,.
Here's another from the same News Agency.
While its encouraging to see this communication at all levels it doesn't appear that this Kenyatta is exactly seeing this from Tullows Perspective! Seems like they are laying a lot of this at Tullows feet
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000096840&story_title=president-uhuru-kenyatta-summons-leaders-over-conflict&pageNo=1
Excerpts from Standard Digital News;
President Uhuru Kenyatta summons leaders over conflict
1)The MP told The Standard that at the meeting, President Kenyatta ordered the Turkana leadership and Tullow to resolve their concerns expeditiously through dialogue.
2)While vouching for the investors, Kenyatta, however assured that he would see to it that the Turkana people were given priority in tender and employment opportunities offered by Tullow Oil.
3)He affirmed that the community had learned people who were capable of offering the services required by Tullow and other investors who want to cash in on the oil exploration.
4)Lomenen claimed that Tullow’s suspension of services was a gimmick to seek public and government sympathy as none of the lives of its staff had been threatened as claimed.
Interesting Post on Stock House from EStreet on this subject?
Article references earlier failed negotiation's
I'm not sure that these talks with the locals in Turkana are going to be all that straight forward,,. According to the linked story there was an earlier failed attempt to resolve these issues,,. It seems to have taken the GOK a long time to engage these folks as there is indication that they have not meet as recently as Friday and both of these Minsters have mentioned possible charges and established Mon or Tues for the resumption of drilling,,. Tullow Oil has tried to defuse the situation by shutting operations down and removing staff and these guys are setting a resumption time line with out having conducted any formal meeting,,. Even the overly optimistic Keith Hill was talking resumption in weeks rather then days in a recent interview,,. I certainly hope that they are able to come to a mutually acceptable understanding with regard these grievance's,,. It seems this thing has the potential to evolve into something worse then it all ready is if not handled properly,,.
excerpt
"Earlier this year, a leaders’ forum held in Lodwar and attended by Interior Minister Joseph ole Lenku and his Energy counterpart Davis Chirchir, Tullow Oil officials and Turkana leaders failed to resolve the stalemate surrounding the conflicts."
Link to Full Story
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000096718&story_title=we-have-lost-hope-in-tullow-oil-turkana-residents-say
Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/companies/bullboard/v.aoi/africa-oil-corp?postid=21872261#fu0lH6Gw8siB5j8G.99
Interesting take away from Davis Chirchir comments in this article is that as recently as Friday Nov 1st they were still planning to have these talks with the leaders in the Turkana region. That's a week without addressing these issues directly with the people involved in the protest? Doesn't sound to good to me!!
"Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said the government will hold talks with protesters."
Chirchir said that he had already met with the management of Tullow and would meet with the leaders from the Turkana region to discuss the issues that led to the protests. “So we will be talking through those issues, we would like as early as Monday, Tuesday for operations to be resumed, ” he told reporters on the sidelines of a regional east African oil and gas conference.
As far as has been reported the only Well in operation that's been effected by the stoppage is Agete-1 and perhaps any other operations, testing & set up that might have been happening in Turkana region.
KH has indicating in a recent interview a longer time line (weeks instead of days)for the resumption of drilling.
“It would take us a week or two to get back once we have come to agreement. It’s really how long does it take us to basically sit down with all of the interested parties,” says Hill. “The people in Turkana want to go back to work, we want to go back to work and the government wants to see the oil process put forward. So, our goals are all the same.”
Hi Artie,,,cant seem to open the link on the Kenyan post. Im trying to confirm that they are in hiding. The translation of your other post gives an interesting insight into some of the obstacles facing a resolution. Thanks for posting.
English translation;
When I was in Addis Ababa last week , I met some of Tullow Oil's employees at their office there. I asked, including how it went with drilling in northern Kenya, the area called Turkana . Tullow Oil cooperates with Lundin company Africa Oil and manages the actual drilling .
They sighed deeply when I asked the question . They explained that the locals put into huge problems. Every day, sat there a group of people - mostly men - and blocked the area where the drilling rig stands . I asked understood why.
They want the job , I was told . The majority of them can not read or write. They can not drive, do not operate your equipment , do not do any work that requires some form of training or education.
This reflects the situation they are in. Turkana is Kenya's perhaps most backward province in all respects. It 's dry , it's hot and the only thing that can survive there without modern conveniences are Turkana people. I became acquainted with them when I spent three weeks in Turkana in 2001 and made ??a film for SVT.
Turkana people are experts in survival, and to manage goats and camels. But unfortunately lacks virtually all the qualifications needed to work with oil exploration.
My informants at Tullow told that many of Turkana men were armed with spears and hand weapons. The geologist I spoke to said that it was only a matter of time before something serious happens.
On Saturday, October 26 , it happened . Around 2000 turkanamän invaded the drill site , destroyed the machinery and threatened Tullow's employees to life. The attackers were led by two Kenyan MPs from the region who probably saw a chance of scoring points in local people's eyes . " We support their struggle for the job ... "
Of the approximately 1,700 employees who worked there were nearly 900 local employees , employees with very basic operations , and in most cases as a pure gesture of goodwill towards them. But it was not enough for turkana activists . They demanded that all on-site would be from the district. All , all the way up to the highest responsible engineer .
Tullow has now suspended its exploration which obviously delays the Kenyan project by becoming an oil nation .
See this as a cautionary tale serves to balance the general demonization of oil companies in Africa.
Its a touchy situation and needs to be handled in a way that brings the Kenyans from all sides together on the plan forward for their mutual benefit at the same time the national government needs to exert its authority to protect the obligations it committed to when foreign firms and investors agreed to work there.
Look at some of the Local comments on the Daily Nation Article.
Frank Wanyama
• a day ago ? ?
The more I read Mr ole Lenku's pronouncements, the more am convinced he is the wrong man for the Internal Security docket. I get the impression he excitedly jumps into issues without the requisite patience and sobriety that should be second nature to his persona. Strong-arm tactics and threats on an issue as sensitive as this, could easily turn this dream come true, into a nightmare worse than Nigeria's. Sadly, the man learnt no lessons from the Westgate Mall terror atrocity that he badly handled.
Avatar
Frank Wanyama
• a day ago ? ?
Sobriety that seeks justice for much maligned and down trodden people of Turkana, should be the course Cabinet Secretary ole Lenku and his colleagues in Government should be apply to resolve the dispute. Strong arm tactics borrowed from the Stone Age, will only aggravate matters. Oil rich south-eastern Nigeria is a good example. The Cabinet Secretary who failed miserably in the handling of the Westgate terror incident, should by now have learnt the consequences of rushed pronouncements.
Avatar
Thankless
• a day ago ? ?
Useless MPig, ought to be arrested and prosecuted for incitement
Avatar
Duncan Muchina
• a day ago ? ?
The government should should come in strong and set the agenda on matters benefiting the whole Republic of Kenya. Not the County government. Read the Riot Act to him and his equally thinking self-styled "militiamen". Kenya is a sovereign unitary state!
Avatar
jham
• a day ago ? ?
-
Now that there's oil in turkana area , the goverment will establish police stations in the area. When for years these guys have been fighting over csttle and water . Where was the goverment then.
They had better be careful how they handle this situation, I don't know if going in there and arresting the political leaders will bring about a amicable solution to their grievance's or an end to the problem. This Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku seems to have taken a strong opinion on this Turkana South MP without having had any direct discussions with him. Also Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has made the statement that he expects to see the drilling up and running by Tuesday and again they haven't even visited Turkana yet,,. Makes you wonder what it is they are so busy doing that it takes 5 days to get Turkana? These are probable the guys that should have been out there prior to the conflict!!
Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku Wednesday said that initial investigations have established that the MP led a group of about 400 people who stormed Twiga I oil drilling camp in Turkana County and caused wanton destruction of property and looting.
“The government is also investigating allegations that the Turkana South MP has vested interest in tenders coming from Tullow Oil Company,” Mr Lenku said in a press statement.
“If this is found to be true, he will be charged in accordance with Chapter Six of the Constitution dealing with leadership and integrity and which prohibits leaders from misusing their communities to push for personal business agenda,” he added.
Turkana MP under probe over riots against Tullow oil firm
The government is investigating Turkana South MP James Lomenen for incitement over demonstrations against Tullow Oil Company.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku Wednesday said that initial investigations have established that the MP led a group of about 400 people who stormed Twiga I oil drilling camp in Turkana County and caused wanton destruction of property and looting.
“The government is also investigating allegations that the Turkana South MP has vested interest in tenders coming from Tullow Oil Company,” Mr Lenku said in a press statement.
“If this is found to be true, he will be charged in accordance with Chapter Six of the Constitution dealing with leadership and integrity and which prohibits leaders from misusing their communities to push for personal business agenda,” he added.
But Mr Lomenen has since distanced himself with the accusations and blamed the minister for having only “listened to one side of the story’.
“I think Mr Lenku has only heard the story from Tullow Oil Company’s perspective alone and am sure they have lied to him,” said the MP.
The first-term lawmaker over the weekend led locals in demonstrations against the Oil Company claiming that the residents have been denied priority when it comes to jobs and tenders from the company.
The protests led to the closure of operations under the management of Tullow Oil Company. Mr Lenku has since termed the incident unfortunate and assured investors of the government’s commitment to their safety.
“The government wishes to re-assure all investors that it will do everything in its power to provide a safe and secure atmosphere in the country,” Mr Lenku said.
He dismissed the MPs claims that the oil company has discriminated against locals in awarding tenders and offering job opportunities saying statistics available are contrary to those claims.
“Statistics show that Tullow Oil has a workforce of about 1400 people and out of these, 800 employees translating to 57 percent are from Turkana County. Accusations of discrimination are not evident from these facts,” stated the minister.
But in a quick rejoinder, the MP insisted that the locals have been short-changed.
“In terms of semi-skilled manpower, it was agreed that the locals will take up to 70 percent of the opportunities available. That is not the case on the ground,” he said.
He exonerated himself from blame and instead accused Tullow Oil Company officials for provoking the wrath of the locals.
“The residents had begged for audience for over six hours before they stormed the camp. The company officials used abusive terms at them and were it not for my intervention, the altercation could have been disastrous,” he told the Nation on phone.
Mr Lenku said the National Police Service has meanwhile beefed up security in the area and will be establishing additional permanent police posts in selected areas of Turkana County.
http://www.nation.co.ke/news/MP-under-probe-over-Turkana-riots/-/1056/2053848/-/3rffmsz/-/index.html
"Of 1400 workers there are 860 Kenyans, that is very good. Better then anyone can demands."
That's a remarkable high percentage, far higher then I would have guessed and I agree that they could higher more locals for training and unskilled jobs for a minimal expense however the responsibility for this unrest lies with the Kenyan Government,,. Last week it was El Shabob,,this week its this and next week its a land dispute, the Kenyan government needs to provide a secure environment for these guys to do there job,,. Ill bet Tullow did a temporary work curtailment to send a message to the Government that as a partner to this they will need to keep there own citizens' under control,,. They will be back running by tomorrow!!
Great,,,,just when everything has nicely fallen into place these guys show up. Sounds like a pretty significant protest if they have stopped work. If only these people would step back and let the oil companies do there thing for a year or two they will all have a whole lot more to fight over. Hopefully the Kenyan government can sort this out in short order without a civil war.
More eyes and more dollars, with the bad wrap and poor performance of 98% of the Venture listed stocks this past two years a move up to the bigger board is bound to flush out many investors that would not consider paying $9.50 a share for a venture listed stock that's up 750% in the past couple of years.
Sweden1,,,that would be great news to have this move up to the bigger exchanges. I had recently asked AOI IR if this was in their plans and they indicated that it was not and that they were satisfied with the exposure they were receiving on the current exchanges however it does seem a likely transition for up & coming resource rich company like African Oil. I look forward to hearing more on this.
Surprised that they chose the least desirable option so soon after saying other wise,,,,,,,,,, "A private placement, we can always do , but it's like I said our least desirable option. course we remember what happened at last year 's private placement," says Keith Hill
Agreed, Another great day and a great stretch for AOI longs, were up $2.30 or 35% from where we were just five weeks ago and profit taking has been met with some pretty good volumes on both sides of the pond. One has to suspect that the sixty person tour with representatives from all but one of the ten largest financial institutions in the world has got plenty to do with this weeks action. Its good to see the pendulum has swung to the positive going into this expanded exploration program.
Roundandroundshegoes We should get one result and 3 spuds as per Keith Hill and last weeks Presentation.
"Drilling Results on the Ekales by the end of next week."
"Both Agete in Kenya and Tultule in Ethiopia have already begun to be drilled, according to CEO." (not officially announced yet)
"The drilling of Bahasi should commence early next week, Monday or Tuesday informed Keith Hill."
"The El-Kuran is expected to begin drilling in the first half of October."
Regards
Ninja11
Korpin, didn't hear a peep on horn!!
That's correct Artie,,,KH said 1 billion barrels net to AOI at $5 to $10 ea(based on ind. std.)divided by the Outstanding shares gives $20 to $40 just for the Lokichar and if they don't find another thing it will be by far the greatest accomplishment of his life,,. Perhaps mine as well!!
Cheers!!
Thanks for posting Artie1966!!!!!!!!
Bloomberg News
Kenya-Uganda Rail Company Plans Upgrade of Track in Oil Region
By Fred Ojambo September 11, 2013
Rift Valley Railways Ltd., operator of the Kenya-Uganda line, plans to invest $15 million to increase freight capacity on part of the network near Uganda’s oil fields that may ship crude exports.
RVR has already invested $2 million to restore a 311-mile stretch of track from Tororo, near the Kenyan border, to Pakwach at Lake Albert, which was idle for two decades, Sammy Gachuhi, concessional general manager, said today.
Most of that section of the track reopened at the weekend and the Ugandan government may decide on a proposal to further improve the Tororo-Pakwach segment and boost volumes in about three weeks, Gachuhi told reporters in the capital, Kampala.
STORY: Libya's Oil Industry Is in Trouble
“We are one of the major stakeholders in terms of exporting oil,” he said. “Once that plan is approved we are home and dry.”
Development of Uganda’s oil resources, discovered in 2006, has been slowed by differences between London-based Tullow Oil Plc, Total SA (FP), Cnooc Ltd. and the government over the terms of a planned refinery and export pipeline. The companies are jointly developing Uganda’s oil finds of an estimated 3.5 billion barrels in the Albertine region and the government says production may start by 2018.
Uganda President Yoweri Museveni and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta said in June the two nations are planning to lay down a pipeline for crude from the Albertine region to the Kenyan port of Lamu, which is being built.
STORY: Risk Ahoy: Maersk, Daewoo Build the World's Biggest Boat
Turnaround Plan
Investment in the Tororo-Pakwach route is part of the company’s $287 million, five-year “turnaround” plan for the RVR that began in 2011, Cosma Gatere, director external affairs, said at the same event today.
Two years ago, it agreed a $164 million loan from a group of six lenders that includes the African Development Bank, International Finance Corp. and Equity Bank Ltd., based in Kenya.
Citadel Capital SAE, an Egyptian private-equity company that owns 51 percent of RVR, Kenya’s TransCentury Ltd. with a 34 percent stake and Uganda’s Bomi Holdings with 15 percent interest have agreed to raise $82 million, Gatere said.
STORY: Why Is Vladimir Putin Acting So Crazy?
The company aims to increase cargo volumes on the 2,000-kilometer railway that connects to East Africa’s busiest port, in Kenya’s Mombasa city, to 5 million metric tons a year by 2015 from 1.61 million tons in the year through June 2011.
Sounds like we are both talking about the TSXV Toronto Stock Exchange Venture, thought there might be some confusion with the old VSE Vancouver Stock Exchange which was in Vancouver and is no longer around.
The V is for Venture,,,,Its actually the Toronto Stock Exchange Venture index the Vancouver exchange has not been around for many years now.
S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index
http://tmx.quotemedia.com/quote.php?qm_page=8075&qm_symbol=^JX&locale=EN
One of the Locals that just might have an Eye Out for what AOI & Tullow are up too. This guy sounds like a tuff customer but you can bet he wouldn't mind hooking up with the first commercial oil discovered in his native Ethiopia?
Mohammed Al Amoudi: Ethiopia’s Richest Man Spots Opportunities At Home
VENTURES AFRICA – Born in Ethiopia to an Ethiopian mother and Yemeni father, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi’s life has always straddled East Africa and the Middle East. A Saudi Arabian citizen since 1965, he has never lost touch with his African roots, investing billions of dollars in projects as diverse as agriculture, construction, oil and media, all the while becoming one of the world’s richest men.
According to recent figures, Al Amoudi is now worth more than $13 billion, which makes him the richest person of Ethiopian descent. He is also Ethiopia’s leading investor and, unusually, the largest foreign investor in Sweden, thanks to his significant oil interests.
Originally working in construction and real estate investment in Saudi Arabia, Al Amoudi acquired Sweden’s largest oil company, OK Petroleum, for $750 million in 1994, at a time when the Swedish economy was having severe difficulties. Because of his strong Saudi links, Al Amoudi was able to connect Swedish and Middle Eastern oil interests to their mutual benefit. For Al Amoudi, the acquisition was an opportunity to enter the growing markets of Eastern Europe, such as Poland, with its 40 million population. For OK Petroleum it meant access to Saudi Oil, which was cheaper and less dangerous to produce than its traditional sources of oil from the North Sea.
Al Amoudi changed the company name to Preem Petroleum and invested in its refinery capacity, its chain of gas stations and its exploration facilities. The latter included Svenska Petroleum Exploration, which has drilled for oil in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden as well as in African waters, off the Ivory Coast. He put further investment into civil and industrial contracting in Sweden and other engineering assets. Although Al Amoudi put Svenska Petroleum up for sale in 2012, with a reported price tag in the region of $2 billion, no sale has yet taken place.
Another oil-based investment followed, this one in a country that couldn’t be more different to Sweden: Morocco. Al Amoudi established Samir Sami in Morocco, expanding its operations through the years to the point that it now boasts profits of $57 million per year.
Both the Swedish and Moroccan oil interests are controlled by Al Amoudi’s company, Corral Petroleum Holdings, one of several companies through which the billionaire runs operations in countries all over Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Al Amoudi also owns and operates Mohammed International Development Research and Organisation Companies (MIDROC). MIDROC has extensive interests in Ethiopia, covering mining, agriculture, hotels, hospital, finance and engineering.
Al Amoudi first took an active interest in investing in Ethiopia in the mid-1980s, founding MIDROC in 1994. He has consistently stressed that his main ambition for the country is to increase the standard of living of its people, to build infrastructure and to create jobs. Nevertheless, he has come under frequent criticism for what some see as his using his contacts in government to acquire assets at discounted prices and further enrich himself. Al Amoudi counters that he has donated many millions of dollars to good causes in Ethiopia, funding a 140-bed healthcare facility, sponsoring sporting events such as the Council of East and Central African Football Associations (CECAFA) cup tournament (the oldest football competition in Africa), and bringing prosperity to many parts of a country, known in recent years for natural disasters and impoverished people.
Among Al Amoudi’s Ethiopian investments is a gold mining business, which produces around five tons of gold each year. In 2007, his company, National Mining Corporation, bought from the Ethiopian government in 1997 for $172 million, announced that it had found a massive discovery of gold in the southern Oromia region of the country, with a possible valuation of up to $1 billion. The company is also prospecting for silver deposits in the Northern Amhara and Tigray regions.
Ever versatile, Al Amoudi decided in 2004 to move into the private airline business, forming Trans Nation Airways to provide both domestic and international passenger and air cargo services. The airline also covers the industrial needs of farmers, medical professionals and exporters through activities like crop spraying, emergency evacuations, geological surveys and search and rescue operations, among others.
The extent and range of Al Amoudi’s business empire has continued to expand through the years. In 2008, he signed an agreement with Tigray State administrators in Ethiopia to launch new investment projects, spanning mining, leather products, glass goods, sugar and soft drinks manufacturing factories. In late 2012, he announced the development of a massive steel mill in Toussa, Ethiopia, with a production capacity of 1.3 million tons per year.
MIDROC’s agricultural interests have also grown in the last few years. In 2008, the company announced that it would invest 250 million Birr ($15 million) to develop 250,000 hectares of land in three different areas of Ethiopia. Ethiopia Horizon Plantation will develop palm tree, rubber tree, Jatropha and tea plantations in the Mezenger, Metekal and Bench-Kaji areas of the Gambella, Benishangul-Gamuz and South Ethiopian Peoples’ States respectively. This was expected to create up to 50,000 jobs for local people, in addition to residential units, schools and other infrastructure projects. In 2011, Al Amoudi announced a plan to develop a $2.5 billion rice farming project in Ethiopia, leasing tens of thousands of hectares in preparation. This and other projects may now need Al Amoudi’s political skill to complete. This may no longer be easy.
Previously, Ethiopia’s leaders appeared keen to offer assistance to Al Amoudi, granting him 3,000 square metres of land to construct a residence, naming a street in the town of Mekele after him and erecting a large picture of him in the town centre. The state also presented Al Amoudi with the Highest Martyr’s Medal for his contribution to increasing trade and investment in the area. But his relations with Ethiopia’s ruling elite suffered a hitch in August 2012 when his long-standing ally, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, died. Al Amoudi’s relations with his fellow Ethiopians have not always been smooth. During the disputed 2005 elections in Ethiopia, he was spotted wearing a T-shirt supportive of the ruling party, the EPRDF, which was accused of intimidation and violence in the run-up to the election. As a result, Al Amoudi found himself facing severe criticism in the press, since many people felt that he was endorsing and assisting a repressive government.
Al Amoudi was deeply shocked by this reaction and went to great lengths to reverse this tide of hostility. Most dramatically, he wrote an emotional plea to his fellow Ethiopians both at home and in the United States, begging them to judge him on his actions as an investor and philanthropist, rather than as a political supporter. “You will recall that as a result of my exercising my democratic right during the recent elections in Ethiopia, there have been campaigns of hate and vilification against me, both in Ethiopia and abroad,” he wrote. “These attacks were maliciously designed to force me to leave my country and people to whom I am deeply attached and to abandon the many investments in Ethiopia and the large number of employees and their families who are dependent for their livelihood on these investments.”
Al Amoudi stressed that he would love nothing more than to see true multi-party democracy take root in Ethiopia. While some Ethiopians praise Al Amoudi’s investment and philanthropy in their country, others point out that a free press should be able to make criticisms. Much of his difficulties with the press stem from his decision, in 1998, to give financial support to an organisation called the Islamic Assembly of North America, not realising that it supported a jihadist ideology. This caused him embarrassment in Time magazine and elsewhere. Al Amoudi’s MIDROC group issued a press release following the Time magazine article, calling the report “baseless”, saying it was made to “undermine the Sheikh’s development efforts” in Ethiopia.
Al Amoudi no doubt prefers those days when he can focus on developing businesses and organisations in Ethiopia and elsewhere that bring prosperity and improved living conditions to millions of Africans. These acts of wealth generation (for his countrymen as much as for himself) are little mentioned in the international press – partly because Al Amoudi rarely speaks to the media and shies away from the spotlight. Nevertheless, his dedication to improving the lot of his country – and of Africa as a whole – is much to be admired.
http://www.ventures-africa.com/2013/09/mohammed-al-amoudi-ethiopias-richest-man-spots-opportunities-home/
See yaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!
Every thing was calm cool and collected till you showed up with your unusual and rude standards,. If all you can handle is two weeks of this you had better move on before you blow a circuit,,.
Ninja11
I do believe KH is referring to "Lokichar field" as apposed to "fields in Kenya" in the first sentence of the Bloomberg story. A Lokichar only farm-in certainly sounds like a viable option, they could realize matured value while retaining current share structure and percentages of the balance of their blocks. At 250 to 300 million dolor's per season these capital concerns are bound to be an ongoing uncertainty and overhang to share value.
"Africa Oil Corp. (AOI) and Tullow Oil Plc (TLW) may sell as much as half of their fields in Kenya to a strategic partner to share costs, Africa Oil Chief Executive Officer Keith Hill said.
Each company holds a 50 percent stake in the South Lokichar Basin fields and may sell 40 percent to 50 percent of the combined assets to “a multinational” company, Hill said in Oslo today. Tullow declined to comment.
“Early on it would be a very small piece, maybe a 10 percent piece of our 50 percent interest,” Hill said in an interview. Interest in buying a stake may rise because the oil resource estimate “could easily triple by the end of next year, using any reasonable risk on the wells we’re drilling[/I]"
Here's TD's version, they have a C$11.50 1 year
https://research.tdwaterhouse.ca/research/Reports/Report?documentKey=1581-AF526-33SDSGRER63IL1RTPF4VQO2NDU