News you've all been waiting for ...

Meridian Petroleum PLC
04 April 2006

MERIDIAN PETROLEUM PLC
('Meridian' or 'the Company')

VICTORY 1-21 SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED


Meridian, the oil & gas exploration and production company with key assets in
the USA and Australia today announced that the Victory 1-21 production well (10%
WI) has been successfully deepened in order to further penetrate a Niagaran
reef.

Using a coiled tubing unit and conventional work over rig, Total Depth was
reached at 4,394 feet and gas communication was made between 4,161 feet and
4,192 feet, an increase of approximately 31 feet in net pay. The well was
treated with acid to stimulate flow and is currently being swabbed to remove
remaining acid from the well bore following which the well will be put back on
line this week. It is anticipated that enhanced production rates will be gained
from the additional pay sections in the reservoir.

Anthony Mason, Chief Executive of Meridian said:

'The successful deepening of Victory 1-21 is good news for Meridian. The well
will be back on line this week, following which Meridian will resume receiving
income from Victory 1-21. We are now looking forward to the imminent completion
on Calvin 36.'

Don Caldwell, a certified petroleum geologist, is the Company's Qualified Person
and has reviewed the information in this announcement.


Enquiries:


Meridian Petroleum (020 7409 5041)
Tony Mason, Chief Executive

Westhouse Securities (020 7601 6100)
Richard Morrison

Citigate Dewe Rogerson (020 7638 9571)
Media enquiries: Martin Jackson / George Cazenove
Analyst enquiries: Nina Soon


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange ND

You were saying........

Well, right afterall, but nice to be wrong for a while. :-)

If the chart is anything to go by then I'd expect a bounce soon, from here or possibly a fraction lower. If they're planning a small placing, then it's understandable that people in the placing would sell at the higher price, and then take up larger or similar options with cheaper shares. I certainly don't think the price moved up strongly on the back of a placing though. I think Calvin is still the key milestone here. It pushed the price into the 40's at the start of the year, and I suspect will do the same again if finally completed.

The last RNS indicated an update before year end, so with only 8 trading days left, that doesn't leave much time to be in or out before any news arrives. The Christmas dead zone with lower volumes can do some funny things to prices too, so larger than normal movements can't be rulled out (up or down).

Personally I'm not sure what news we'll get. The comment in the Evening Standard (which I haven't seen), apparently indicated that Ambrian were looking for resource upgrades and fair value at around 43. I would hope that Meridians brokers have more of a clue about whats happening than the rest of us, and so have some basis for their valuation. When the RNS finally arrives, I would hope the production zone at Calvin has been perforated and the final stages of completion begun. Bonuses would be JV talks over Warrior Basin CBM, Delores, and a positive update to drilling at Orion (which was expected to begin in October as stated in the Interim results).

I'm hoping that Mason has something bullish to say (and not bull of another kind). The share price has been all over the place this year. It would be nice to finish on some upward momentum.

Looking forward to next year, I'd expect to see a larger placing to cover funding of expansion projects and additional land leasing. It could be a very exciting year! Good luck to all fellow holders into 2007, whatever news we see in the coming weeks..

As ever, just my opinion, do your own research.....


Strawbs.

spread bet settlement date ends tuesday for december so expect fireworks then...shorters closing and then buying big for march

maestro ..... i dare say i am wrong, but i thought it was only normal traded options that had specific shut-off dates - i.e. i thought spread bets were much more flexible

Well spotted Maestro. 3rd Tuesday of the quarter. I'd forgotten about that. Do you know if it applies to CFD's too? I remember reading the IC article about MRP being heavily shorted through CFD's (someone posted it earlier on the thread). I don't use either CFD's or SpreadBets, but I know some of the mechanics. I suppose they could just roll any short positions over, but I wonder if the Ambrian note was almost designed as an incentive not too.... Very interesting.

As ever, just my ramblings, do your own research, etc.

Strawbs.

Cynic,

I think Maestro is refering to the expiry date of the bet. Normally the 3rd Tuesday of every quarter. From memory the holder must either close it or roll it forward (at a cost).

Strawbs.

i read his post correctly .... clearly i just did not know the workings of spread bets, which would now look to work in much the same way as tradional traded options

No disrespect intended Cynic. I believe you can close short or long positions at anytime by buying or selling in the other direction, but if you leave the bet to run each day then it eventually expires and must be settled (for profit or loss). Optionally you can roll it over into the next quarter for a fee. I'll wait until Wednesday before deciding how significant Tuesday is. I personally wouldn't have the courage to leave a short or long position running until it had to be closed, especially when it's highly leveraged. I guess we'll see on Tuesday if many city types leave positions open until the last day or not!

Strawbs.

Having looked back at the charts for the last 3 quarters expiry periods I don't see anything to suggest a massive ammount of activity on expiry day, but who knows, maybe this one will be different.

In my opinion, do your own research etc.....

Strawbs.

Well I'm sticking with MRP,bought more this week,now have a substantial holding,was in profit last week,now sitting on a loss,but only a loss if you sell,so will be holding to see the full story unfold,very confident now we have the JV,equipment and personnel will be easier to obtain,therefore more wells will come online,therefore more income.MRP will come good,but it all takes time,too many impatient people looking for a fast buck.This is a good little company,all their assets are in safe political areas,no fear of the Ruskies cheating you out of your investments.Looking forward to 2007,things will really start to move then,IMO.

Strawbs ..... that's how traditional traded options work too; except with those, the premium slowly depreciates with the passing of time ...... i also agree that i see no reason for any great excitement in this minnow just because the contracts are expiring ...... used to hold this share and even made money on it i think, but cannot get excited with it at the moment ..... have switched a lot of my portfolio out of oils/commodities

I originally sold in the run up to the 40p mark back in April as the share price started to look overvalued. Since then they've added the Calvin deep rights, coal bed methane and rights over the Delores prospect. If people paid 40p back in April with less assets, they should in theory be worth more than todays price. I've been waiting since October though for Calvin to be finished, and so far been dissappointed. Now with a JV partner on the Calvin field I'm hoping they'll bring the necessary experience, equipment and money to get things done and finally moving forward.......

Not sure if it's anything to get excited about, but I live in hope....

DYOR, IMO, etc.

Strawbs.

RNS: Placing Completed

Strawbs

its clear Tony Mason is hiding some very bad news about calvin 36, still not pumping gas, and it was said it was imminent re hook up a year ago.

still not hooked up and jan approaching fast..

you lot need to call an EGM.. something stinks of a cover up

Don't really have a problem with the RNS myself. Assuming Calvin has been perforated (as mentioned in the last RNS) and the gas flow is acceptable, they'll probably want to run some production tubing, which I assume will cost money and may well be the next phase in January. I'm happy to wait for a more detailed update before selling off.

In my opinion, do your own research.....

Strawbs.

I did.. sold when they were 38.. glad i did!!

strawb, something smells bad on this.. if the company was so undervalued per tm in his wallstreet interview, why would they only do the placing at 18p..

sorry.. but your mad!!!

Now the placing is out of the way, to fund their operations, we now await the Calvin well update stated to be released by the end of this year.
Looking good now for 2007 where MRP can actually make money.

Latest RNS: Drilling Results

Strawbs

Strawbs,

Surprisded they issued this before they kinew the flow rate, it makes this news speculative, and seems designed to meet the private investor demand for news, rather than to inform.

i think they should have waited until the flow rate was known, this doesn't tell us anything.

Andy,

Possibly a little. I guess they'll have an indication of potential from the drilling logs. The formation was flowing at between 2 and 4 mmcf in the 80's (See Orion Lease RNS) and was shut-in because of impurities, which at the time would've probably made it uncommercial. This drilling exercise was really more about "checking it's still there with similar flow rates", rather than finding something new. If the estimates turn out better than expected then that would be a bonus.

A little disappointed that Calvin is not producing yet, but I'm encouraged that MRP is generally starting to deliver, which bodes well for the year ahead. On reflection, I now think the delays to Calvin have been more about money than technical problems. I suspect purchasing extra lease blocks and other prospects might be deemed more important than getting Calvin online. They may even have decided to delay production to make acquiring extra land easier. Only speculation, but if you had a very good asset in an area you wanted other blocks, the leasing costs might well be pushed higher by the seller. I guess we'll never know.

I'll certainly continue to hold for now.

In my opinion, do your own research......etc.

Strawbs.