Just cannot understand recent SP volatility!

As a Dana shareholder I find it difficult to
find any reason to sell, even at current price. The Company has recently
entered a number of agreements which will have
considerable benefits:-

1. Reserves from 31st December 2003 of 123.7 mmboe
must now be in the region of 200.0 mmboe.( 100 million
North Sea 70 million Mauritana 30 million Russia ).

2. Production will rise to 25-27 thousand boepd in
2005 from 18 thousand in 2004.

3. At 30th June 2004 a Net cash position which will
have been enhanced significantly year to date.

4. Exciting exploration potential.

5. Management that seem to know what they are doing
with an excellent chief executive.

6. Recent deals by other oil companies have seen oil
assets bought at prices between 7-11 dollars a barrel
( see last weeks Investors Chronicle ) Dana must have
a value well in excess of the current 300 million.

I am holding firm and looking towards 800 pence.

Any other views out there?

Interesting moves in institutional shareholdings including this morning's RNS from Goldman's:

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200512191134128640V.html

It seems that GSCO now account for about 24% of the shares, (based on REFS figure of 78.7m shares in issue at 28 October). Did they acquire these from "MHR Advisors LLC" who held 23% at that time according to REFS - but whose interest has not been announced as having changed?

Also Fidelity's holding has risen from 5.2% at 28 Oct. to 10.3% according to their announcement on 22 November:

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200511221010574781U.html

Edward

you beat me too it, was just looking at the percentages, certainly some interesting moves

Just seen the price at close of play, are we expecting positive news re Faucon in Hardmans drilling update in the morning?

In answer to my question ill take that as a no

The Faucon-1 discovery is a very important result for Dana's licence interests
in southern Mauritania and Senegal, which span three large contiguous production
sharing contract areas. Whilst the information collected so far would imply
Faucon is unlikely to be commercial on a stand-alone basis, it has proven the
presence of hydrocarbons and that the vital combination of petroleum source,
reservoir and trap is working in this vastly under-explored part of West Africa.
Faucon has also demonstrated that significant potential reservoir sand can be
present in the Cretaceous, which could lead to much larger discoveries in this
region. Faucon therefore provides enormous encouragement for the additional
prospects in Block 1, such as Petrel, and also for the future exploration of
Dana's neighbouring licence interests, namely Block 2 immediately to the north
and the St. Louis Block in Senegal which adjoins Block 1 to the south."

We're looking at a buying opportunity then, lol.

You could yet be right, Steve. This news might hit the price for a or so as opposed to a 3 or 4 upside had Faucon been commercial. Overall the longer term outlook remains bright enough. It is just that today the timescale for canny investing is a little harder to see.

Still holding as you say compoundup the future outlook remains bright enough.

Now looks well oversold. 2 day fall about standard. Should bounce tomorrow IMHO.

rgrds
gk

NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTERESTS IN SHARES
http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200512221529011289W.html

Fid upping their stake by 1/2 million :-)

Nice little read.

oilbarrel.com

03.01.2006
Drillbit Disappointments In Mauritania, Angola And The North Sea But Good News For Burren In Congo
High oil prices have triggered increased levels of exploration spending across the sector. Rig owners are enjoying soaring day rates and busy order books while oil companies are making friends with rivals that have access to spare rig slots. Yet all this spending and spudding doesnt necessarily equate to more discoveries: the black stuff is getting harder and harder to find.

Mauritania may be an explorers favourite - there have been a string of exciting oil and gas finds in these previously undrilled waters - but it has also seen its disappointments. The most recent of these is the Faucon-1 wildcat in Dana Petroleums Block 1, which lies outside the hot zone of blocks 3,4 and 5 (home to the likes of Woodsides Chinguetti oilfield, now on track for first oil in the first months of 2006).

At first hopes were high for Faucon-1. There were pre-drill estimates of a possible one billion barrel prospect and shares in Dana jumped 82 pence to 973 pence in early December (even in the face of Gordon Browns North Sea tax hike) on news that the well had encountered a fluid influx of 27 barrels and penetrated hydrocarbon-bearing sands in the upper Cretaceous - but at that time the well had not been logged or tested.

Further details released later in the month were less encouraging and shares in Dana Petroleum dropped by more than 10 per cent, making the Aberdeen-headquartered companys earlier decision to reduce its 60 per cent exposure by farming out 24 per cent to French company Gaz de France seem eminently sensible.

The well is now being plugged and abandoned, after finding two hydrocarbon-bearing sandstones some 150 metres apart, of which the upper zone was gas-bearing and the lower sandstone appeared to contain light oil or liquids-rich gas-condensate. Further details will be released in January once the fluid samples recovered downhole have been analysed in an onshore lab, said Dana in a statement.

It was left to partner company ROC Oil (2 per cent) to give a little more detail on the well: a regionally significant but sub-commercial, discovery. The City backed this analysis and a number of analysts downgraded Dana in the wake of the Faucon-1 results.
Even so, the well has proved the existence of a working hydrocarbon system outside the Mauritania hotzone: Faucon-1 was drilled 140 km south of Chinguetti. As ROC Oils CEO John Doran noted, Exploration offshore Mauritania is still in its infancy: more than 14 million acres/50,000 sq km; barely scratched by the drill bit."

It wasnt just exploration offshore Mauritania that proved disappointing in the days running up to Christmas. Tullow Oil, which recently signed up for its first exploration project in Angola, announced that two wells there, Ngueve-1 and Henda-1, had come in dry. The company has a 15 per cent stake in the Devon Energy-operated 4,800 sq km Block 10 in the South Kwanza Basin and believes there is further prospectivity on the acreage.

Closer to home, Elixir Petroleums Muness well in the UK North Sea is being plugged and abandoned after finding only minor gas shows. Elixir has a 7 per cent stake in the block and is already looking ahead to its next North Sea project: the high impact Jaguar well, which is due to spud later in January.

It wasnt all doom and gloom at the drillbit in December, however. Burren Energys MBoundi field in Congo (Brazzaville) yet again delighted the market as new development drilling produced some exciting production rates. Well MBD 1201 on the northwest perimeter of the field is flowing at 3,200 bpd, MBD 1104 to the west at 700 bpd and MBD 1006 on the northeast perimeter at 2,600 bpd. Development wells MBD 1202, 1105 and 1903 are currently drilling and, if successful, are expected to be placed on production later this month.

Nice to see a revisit of the 1000p level on the back of a rising oil price. Not too long now till results, will we get any more drilling news beforehand?

Be good to see it hold the 1000p level for a couple of days.

Likely to depend on the short term oil price i would think Dil, but yes would be nice to see it hold above 1000p

Good old Dana my only blue today.

Interesting trading update released this morning which imo was positive but the sp has been hit by 2 1m+ sales so far today.

A lot of drilling to come throughout the year and production targets raised, with pleanty of cash to cover the drilling program.

Steve,

Like you I have a long term core holding of DNX which won't be swayed by market gyrations, - maybe I was being modest about my modest holding, lol. Aside from today's sells (which could be viewed as positive - into strength?), I am reassured by the broker upgrades earlier this week.

Since the Manchester am event I have used Sputnik's Sharescope setting to get another view of FTSE350 stocks generally - basically 1-year line chart looking for with-trend support and resistance. It works rather well. Just now DNX is testing a slightly falling resistance line around 10. If it breaks and pulls back I'll add to my holding with a long CFD to try and ride up the rise.

It is such a volatile stock that I'll only get out my microscope if support around 9 is broken.

Edward

support at 900p breached ?

still not worried

Worrier

not worried at all, topped up with some more at 898p this morning.

Appears as though Fidelity are increasing there holding

Still got mine too.