Replies to post #19039 on ERHC Energy Inc (ERHE)

[InWayTooDeep]

Art,


Agree with you in that Nigerian officials can't just be sitting on their hands while STP politics dictate the agenda. Recalling Mark's last update it appeared that we were on the verge of a signing date announcement. Now this!
Pardon my French but WTF!

This latest development has thrust us into the Twilight Zone. Homeport's comment that someone has to lose face seems right on. This would indeed explain the holdup on the STP side. It's interesting that only an STP official has been quoted on the timing of the next JMC meeting. Me thinks the Nigerians will not be so liberal with time. It simply isn't in their best interest.

[Art2004]

Did some review reading of the two recent Jacinta Moran articles and her posted Emails to Mark.

Apparently, after her interview with Edmund Daukaro who said that the JMC meetings would be this weekend she Emailed Mark that she was about to phone the Sao Tome Oil Minister.

I assume Daukaro recommended to her to get the latest update directly from Sao Tome.

Her next article quoted Luis Prazeras, the Director of Sao Tome's National Petroleum Agency, that the Minster of Natural Resources or what we call "The Oil Minister" had requested a one week delay to go over different issues. It was a positive article stating that progress had been made on the blocks but that block 4 would be on the agenda.

The article concluded with a reference from Prazeras stating that he was confident that the PSCs would finally be signed.

So it seems like Prazeras and Daolinda da Costa the, Minister of Natural Resources speak from the same source. The Office of the Minister of Natural Resources who Jacinta Moran had originally planned to phone probably recommended she speak to Luis Praseras, the Exec Director of the National Petroleum Agency.

Then, a few days later da Costa told Lusaa that the delay would be for one month to approximately Feb 15.

My thoughts are that the delays are due to what the JDA and Nigeria and Homeport have said all along,"internal politics of Sao Tome."

Homeport has spelled out most of the political differences in detail. It is his considered opinion that politics continues to be the cause of the problems but that Sao Tome will go ahead and sign the PSCs in February.

If Chevron discovers oil before "Feb 15" Sao Tome might try to raise the ante again on signature bonuses but I really don't know if they would want to go thru all the delays that Balance has detailed in his posts.

Objectively, they would be happy that large oil revenue taxes are in their future.