Meridian Petroleum signs Orion field lease
LONDON (AFX) - Meridian Petroleum PLC, the oil and gas company with key
assets in the US and Australia, said it has signed a lease on the Orion field,
100 pct working interest, in Oakland County, Michigan.
The company said, based on data from earlier wells, the lease contains a
proven and probable shut in reserve of 3 BCF of gas in place with approximately
2.7 BCF recoverable. The gas content is pipeline quality after treatment and
also contains condensate.
It added it expects to begin drilling operations early in the second quarter
of this year.

Meridian Petroleum (AIM: MRP), the oil & gas company with key assets in the USA
and Australia, announced on 24 January that its Calvin 36-1 well on the Calvin
Field, Winn Parish Louisiana (80% WI), had encountered a substantial gas show in
the Sligo Petit Zone. The well was flowed on a limited open hole test with a
25/64 inch choke in excess of 1mmcfpd.



Based upon the analysis of previous production data from the Sligo Petit Zone,
the Company anticipates the following break down of the gas and condensate mix -
Carbon Dioxide 3.14% to 11.66%, Nitrogen 3.75% to 5.28%, Methane 76.97% to
83.11% and Propane 0.95% to 2.36%.



Due to the default and non consent of the original owner of the Calvin lease,
Meridian's Net Revenue Interest will increase to 67.75% from 60% until a
significant financial penalty is paid through the increased production revenue.



Meridian is moving ahead as quickly as possible to complete the well and
commence production into the nearby pipeline.





Anthony Mason, Chief Executive of Meridian said:



"We are very pleased with the likely rich condensate content of the Calvin well
which will enhance our revenue from the field. While unfortunate, the previous
lease owners default increases Meridian's revenue share enabling costs to be
recovered more quickly."

looking to update on cbm/australia - now that could get interesting!.

with this impressive expanding portfolio- 23.5p is pitiful!

It would appear that the recent update was already built into the share price , after the recent gains.

i think it just although solid confirmed what we know. what will lift the sp is positive news on australian asset/ coal bed methane cbm project.

This is really crap....the share price that is...

i know frustrating -but i'm holding!

Those frost laws seem to be delaying things too , once those are lifted things can pick upa bit of momentum. I know they've had some rough weather there , was watching ABC last night - loads of devastating tornados in that area.

MRP down 5.7%, TAG down 4.5%, VOG down 3% another poor day at the office!!

The price over the last two days is just suffering from shock. I believe a PI dumped over 1% of the company (with 30% profit) soon after the activity RNS came out and thinks just got out of hand.

If you believe in the re-valuation story, then I think the PI has done us a favour. Over the next few week good chance to top up, and, the churn in stock will allow the sp to rise futher. ( Need to offload some profit takers )

Anthony Mason flew over to London and has just given his resource engineers a lot of new work. I guess MRP have done the re-evaluation of resources in house and has asked the his London resource engineer consultants to review the calculations.

So now we just have to wait - and top up.
For me, the new possible resurves and the move to P2 and P1 will happen. it a no-brainer.

Perhaps they are waiting for Calvin production rates after hook up to enter into the calculations?

Here is a list that a poster on adfn maintains, I am expecting higher values.
Emery Hudson 5.2 bcf of gas,
Emery Hudson 67,600 boe,
Calvin 24.2 bcf of gas,
Calvin 980,000 boe,
Middleton Creek 134,000 bo,
Milford 400,000 boe,
Victory 3 bcf of gas,
Orion 3 bcf of gas plus condensate,
Australia 125 bcf of gas,
CBM 400 bcf of gas.

PS. I'm new to oilies

Thierry

med/ long term hold -aw

some steady buying ....

get ready for tuesday, TFC is going to fly fly fly

go to the aviva website and read there annual report, goto page 14 paragraph 5.. you will see why TFC will fly.. a hint 100,000 PAYD insurance

showing 22-23p as good support level- increased holding yesterday again. looking to update australia/cbm to be positive. now these could be big plays.

Morning all,
very quiet at the moment,Just thought i would post this again re. CBM. I like the bit about it being big busines in the US accounting for 10% of gas output, also although not a direct marker for sp, the increase in the sp of Heritage since getting into CBM.

Dexter

______________________________________

Interesting OilBarrell article today.
Not in that it relates to the co. featured but rather its comments on the West European gas market and CBM. Apols if it's already posted.


Aussie European Gas Ltd And London's Heritage Petroleum Both See Strong Share Price Rises On The Back Of Good News From Methane Gas Projects In France
Shares in Londons Ofex-quoted Heritage Petroleum have seen a strong rise in recent weeks almost trebling in value. The upswing after a pretty long dormant period seems to have caught investors by surprised. Several punters have contacted oilbarrel.com wanting to know what is going on. It may well be it is being on Ofex that is to blame. This junior market does not generate the kind of publicity even Londons AIM can drum up.

Whatever the reason for London investors being caught slightly unawares, it certainly has not been mirrored in Australia where Heritages partner in its European Coal Bed Methane/Coal Mine Methane (CBM/CMM) project has been trumpeting the good news from one of its projects since the tail end of 2005. The shares in European Gas, which was Kimberley Oil, have more than tripled in value as a result.

More than a year back Heritage Petroleum was joined by Kimberley, which paid 51,000 for a 10 per cent interest in certain of the Heritages CBM/CMM permits. This was to rise to a 75 per cent interest on Kimberleys part once Kimberley produced a reservoir study on each permit. The cost of each reservoir study was capped at 200,000.

Heritage had some interests in Spain which were sold off for 85,000. Subsequently, Heritage was awarded three permits in Italy. But the focus of interest and activity was France where after protracted negotiations the company was awarded three large licences. These were Bleue Lorraine permit in northeast France, the Gaz de Gardanne permit in the southeast of the country, which covers 563 sq kms and encompasses LArc Basin. Historical coal production from the basin totals some 80 million tonnes of sub bituminous coal. The third permit is the 730 sq km Gaz de Saint Etienne block in eastern France.

Kimberley, which had oil interests in the Canning Basin in Austraia, changed its name to European Gas to better reflect its activities and honed in on the Bleue Lorraine block. The permit covers 460 sq kms and includes a significant part of the Lorraine Basin which historically has produced more than 850 million tonnes of coal. The coal seams are of carboniferous age and are characterised as black gassy high-ranking coals. Cumulative seam thicknesses total 20 to 30 metres over 200 metre intervals.

Coal Mine Methane is methane gas which is trapped in old mines. If it seeps into the atmosphere it can become a dangerous pollutant with 23 times the damaging effect of carbon dioxide. Coal Bed Methane is mining old coal seams for gas. This is not an expensive process. Either way the gas if trapped can be used as a cheap domestic and industrial energy source. Methane gas has become big business in the US where it accounts for 10 per cent of total gas output. Prices in the US are, of course, sky-high. Europe is some way behind, but there is growing awareness of the potential.

Drawing on the extensive database of Charbonnages de France (CdF), the French state owned coal mining company, which enabled Kimberley (as was) to identify areas which have a high CBM content per unit area, the company completed its CBM inventory assessment for two major areas within the Lorraine permit. The two areas comprise 68 sq kms in total or approximately 15 per cent of the entire Lorraine permit of 460 sq km. The studies estimated there is 991.2 billion cubic feet of gas in place.

Now this is gas-in-place, which does not mean it is recoverable. Recovery rates can be as low as 10 per cent. Even if recovery rates are good it would not be until 2007 before production could take place, when the company would operate at least 30 wells. Still and all; nearly 1 trillion feet of gas onshore is a lot of gas. It was this announcement which started the European Gas share price spinning and, later, the Heritage Petroleum share price.

++++++++++++++++++++++++
PS> I LIKE THIS PARAGRAPH !
Tony McClure, Executive Director of European Gas, is upbeat about the project. He says: Based on valuations of other Australian coal bed methane companies if 50 per cent of the resource is recoverable, European Gas could be worth more than A$100 million." After share price rises in late February 2006 the market capitalisation was $A39 million.
+++++++++++++++++++++++


Looking at his Australian peer group there are companies such as Santos, Origin Energy and CH4 which produce coalbed methane in commercial quantities. But, according to European Gas, it is the West European natural gas market, with its substantial advanced infrastructure, including extensive pipeline networks and a free and open market that gives it an edge over its Australian rivals.

McClure says an indication of demand in this market is the natural gas price: 7 (A$16.50) to 10 per 1,000 cubic feet, as opposed to the Australian price of A$2 to A$3 per 1,000 cubic feet.

McClure was quoted in the Australian Financial Review as saying: As the only listed players in France; weve crept underneath the radar. People werent looking at it because the market is obsessed with the US, where the market is very developed. But Western Europe will be a much more competitive market in the not too distant future.

this was on my yahoo finance page, i know it`s a rehash of news we know but it is still extra coverage.
Dexter

________________________________________________


Friday March 17, 05:30 PM
Meridian reports on activities
LONDON (ShareCast) - Meridian Petroleum (LSE: MRP.L - news) eased back today following its recent good run after the oil and gas group with key (Advertisement)

assets in the USA and Australia updated on activities.

Permitting within the state of Louisiana is on schedule, it said, with work expected to start in the week of 27 March on the final completion and hook up will be in early April.

Permitting for the Orion asset has also started and is expected to commence drilling operations in the second quarter.

The company has started a leasing programme in the state of Mississippi in order to develop significant acreage positions over 3 specific Lower Tuscaloosa oil recovery projects.

Additionally, it has purchased and re-processed several seismic lines over the acreage prior to the commencement of leasing. It is likely that a 3D seismic survey will run over the acreage in question later this year with drilling operations scheduled for early 2007. Work on deepening the Victory (LSE: VRY.L - news) 1-21 well began on 6 March and is proceeding on schedule, although the Frost Laws currently in place in certain Michigan counties restrict the movement of heavy equipment.

Meridian has also completed a detailed internal review of a feasibility study on a significant coal bed methane prospect in a well known area of production in the US. Reserve engineers are reviewing the findings.

A complete technical review of the Dolores prospect by Meridian is underway and should be completed by the end of March 2006.

Chief executive Anthony Mason said, "This is a busy and exciting time for Meridian Petroleum following our recent placing of shares and as we push forward with our plans."

"We remain focused on moving towards production and building reserves and I am confident that we will be able to announce further progress in the near future."

Suspension-taken from Ample just to clear up what happens when a company gets suspended.
if a company is to be suspended for a revaluation, then it is is quite straight forward.
they simply suspend the share the new valuation of the company is calculated and thus a new share price is found ,could take a few days to sort out,so any t-traders who have an open position would be forced to pay for their shares.
you cannot buy or sell during suspension.
mrp could call for the company to be suspended at any time, if for example they have huge quantities of gas ,that would say value the company at 1.00 ,rather than massive flucuations in the sp which can damage its outlook,they would normally come back on the market at say fair value which is normally 33% less than the true value so would come back at say 67p.
this allows the company to be traded fairly,perhaps more shares issued to cope with the demand as well.

reval news not out till end of march

I have a feeling there will be lots of sells tomorrow

Prove it Katcenka mr Braindead!

see, lots of sells today and a dip in the price, it should continue till thurday

expected sp of 18p