< "> edit this post http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc-%28afr%29/rns/trading-statement-and-operations-update/201301210700069619
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/2012-full-year-results/201303250700107200A/

In an attempt to cut down the header page,i've transferred some of the older news to Page1 post No.3.

http://www.oil-price.net/index.php?lang=en
http://www.ft.com/home/uk

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201111020700081674R
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201111150700250723S
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201112010705051251T
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201201170700146472V
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201201230701479690V
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4323758
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204170700164488B
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201205140700212304D
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201205210700407032D
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4430164
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc-%28afr%29/rns/significant-new-seychelles-3d-seismic-programme/201212120700052973T/
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/2013-half-yearly-results/201308230700063334M/
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/ogo-drilling-and-resources-update/201311190700083404T/
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/trading-statement-and-operations-update/201401280700096280Y/
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/interim-management-statement/201405200700135209H/
http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/interim-management-statement/201410300700116483V/
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4942625
http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4943375

I am . :)

.

ISN works for 3 out of 4 largest UK independents

Written by David Ellison on August 19th, 2011

Afren now ranked 3rd in UK main board peer group

After the entry of ISN client, Afren plc (AFR.L), into the Kurdistan region of Iraq, they are now ranked 3rd amongst UK independent oil companies by last reported net 2p and 2C reserves.

The acquisition of Kurdistans Barda Rash and Ain Sifni assets increase Afrens recoverable reserves from 136 mmboe to 1,026 mmboe.

ISN continue to provide IT support and consultancy to Afren at their London HQ as well as Houston, Lagos and their African production well sites.

ISN are currently working on a drilling comms project for Tullow Oil plc Ghana (TLW.L), the UKs largest independent, equipping the Sedco Energy rig with VSAT and IT systems.

ISN has worked with 4th ranked Premier Oil plc (PMO.L) for a number of years on a range of IT and comms projects.

Many congratulations to Afren on their newest acquisitions and continued growth!


http://www.isnsolutions.co.uk/news/2011/08/isn-works-for-3-out-of-4-largest-uk-independents/

What were you going to say, blanche? 'Bu**er I should have sold, or bu**er I should have bought more?' ;o)

Oil shares to buy in a brutal market
Afren (LSE: AFR) has lost almost 40% of its value in two months and is cheaper still on potential earnings with a consensus P/E of 5.2. It recently raised 113m to finance expansion into the Kurdistan region of Iraq, after a placing at a 22% premium to today's price
http://www.fool.co.uk/news/investing/2011/08/15/oil-shares-to-buy-in-a-brutal-market.aspx

Oil and gas plays have suffered badly in the recent rout, undermining valuations. Some analysts believe that as a result there are now a number of well-funded, resource-rich stocks that could attract predators, triggering a new wave of M&A activity across the oil and gas sector.
Keith Morris, analyst at Evolution Securities, says the recent sell-off of oil and gas shares has led to the brokers exploration and production (E&P) universe of stocks tumbling 18 percent in the last week alone. For the year to date the universe is down 39 percent.
Morris says the retreat by oil E&P companies has been "disproportionate" to the drop in the main market. He notes a similar tumble in oil shares took place in 2008 as the oil price collapsed from almost US$150/barrel.
However, a key difference between 2011 and 2008 is that many of the companies now have stronger balance sheets and business models in place, he says, adding: Where there is a risk is for those explorers that have lost significant value in the last few weeks.
Evolution figures for the retreat by the E&P sector suggest we should have seen the some stirrings of M&A activity by now. The lack of it indicates the industry does not want to pay, which in turn implies a market that believes the sector is still overvalued, something that could well correct very near term.
As an exercise, Morris analysed a number of E&P stocks in the Evolution universe, focusing on those he believes boast solid financial underpinning and using the brokers long term oil price of US$90/barrel.
Morris then stripped out the risked upside inherent in these stocks and dropped the oil price scenario to US$70/barrel.
Even after this sterner valuation test, the analyst finds that core valuations for some of the stocks in Evolutions universe stand well above the current share prices.
On this basis, Afren (LON:AFR) in particular stands out. Other stocks that come out very well from the analysis include the likes of Cairn (LON:CNE), Premier (LON:PMO), Tullow (LON:TLW) and BG(LON:BG.).
"All these stocks fall into the category of being oversold but well-funded, with resource bases sufficiently attractive to draw in a predator," says Morris.
He adds: "Acquirers rarely pay for risked upside and like to use low oil price scenarios and now a number of the stocks mentioned above are starting to meet these criteria and so they should be at the top of the list for investors looking to get back into the sector."
Morris is not alone in highlighting the extent to which oil and gas stocks have suffered in the recent rout and how the resultant undermining of valuations could lead to a bout of M&A activity in the sector.
Michael Alsford, analyst at Citi, believes M&A activity in the sector is likely to accelerate. With many large oil caps and national oil companies sitting on piles of cash but having limited access to new growth opportunities, the temptation will be to put their funds to work through acquisitions, with falls in valuations across the sector an incentive to buy.
Alsford sees the highest risk of M&A at companies that are resource-long and offer strong production and cashflow growth over the medium-term.
http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/31778/rout-leaves-oil-and-gas-sector-exposed-to-ma-activity-say-analysts-31778.html

Harry, Not selling any til min 3.00. Plus brought another 5 grands worth at 95p.Medium term bargin 8-)

Thanks for posting that derwent ...

hmmmmmmmm?

Citi retains buy but reduces target to 1.58
Issued this afternoon

citi does
not my account
hence my hmmmmmmmmm
but after a chat it is what it is
gl

better safe than sorry.
i was fortunate that i am not sorry i bought and quickly sold out a whilst back, based purely on safety.
i am not tempted to buy back yet even at this low level but could be wrong.
better to be wrong and lose potential profit than wrong and lose actual capital.
good luck to all those that didnt and have.
regards
jkd

StockMarketWire.com
First half pre-tax profit at oil and gas explorer and developer Afren fell by 42% to $43.7m in the six months to the end of June.

Turnover was down by 25% at $161.0m and gross profits fell by 18.4% to $79.2m.

Normalised after-tax profits fell by by 52.1% to $26.1m.

CEO Osman Shahenshah said: "Afren continues to make good operational progress, with reservoir performance and drilling results at our Ebok and Okoro fields at the upper end of expectations.

"Whilst first half production volumes were impacted by periods of non-reservoir related facilities down time, we are now ramping up production towards our targeted 50,000 boepd exit rate.

"We are delighted to have acquired, post the period end, a high quality portfolio of assets in, and gain entry into the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

"The acquisition is consistent with our strategy of acquiring low cost barrels, increases our 2P and 2C recoverable reserves and resources base by over 700% at a cost of under $1 per barrel and means that Afren is now strategically positioned in two of the world's most prolific oil producing countries in Nigeria and Iraq."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-30/afren-drills-more-wells-sees-930-million-barrels-of-resources.html


Afren Plc (AFR), the U.K. oil and gas explorer focused on Africa and Kurdistan, is targeting 930 million barrels of resources by the end of next year as it drills more wells.

The company now plans to drill 14 wells following acquisitions of fields in the Iraqi region of Kurdistan, from nine wells announced in July, Chief Executive Officer Osman Shahenshah said by phone. It will invest more than $1 billion in Kurdish projects and plans to increase output to 180,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day net to the company in 2018, up from 25,000 barrels expected this year.

We have an active program across East Africa, West Africa and now Kurdistan, Shahenshah said in phone interview today. The companys most promising exploration wells are in Kurdistan, Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania, he said.

Afren is in talks with Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and other companies producing oil in Nigeria over possible field acquisitions with as much as 200 million barrels of resources, he said. The company is ramping up output at its deposits in Africa and plans to reach 50,000 barrels a day by the end of the year.

Afren shares rose as much as 7.2 percent to 102.4 pence in London and traded at 99.55 pence at 9:02 a.m. local time.

The second half sees a sharp increase in production and exploration activity making Afren highly attractive, Richard Griffith, a London-based analyst at Evolution Securities Ltd., wrote in an e-mailed report.

The company plans to develop the Barda Rash field in Kurdistan in three phases. The first two will require a $135 million investment and will reach production of 35,000 barrels a day in 2012. The third will raise output to 125,000 barrels of oil a day by 2017, London-based Afren said today in statement.

The risk of funding natural gas rather than oil is very low, because we have three wells in the field that have already discovered flow of fantastic oil, Shahenshah said.

Afren first-half net income shrank to $20.7 million, less than half the profit in the same period a year earlier, because of production disruptions in Nigeria, the company also said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said the results should bring comfort to investors.

"The 30 percent drop in the shares month-to-date (one of the weakest in our coverage) does not reflect the improving outlook for the company," it said. "The Ebok field ramp-up remains key to the story near term and management appears to be making good progress."
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/08/30/afren-results-idUKL4E7JU16E20110830

Interim figures are pretty poor though and had the sp not already tanked from c170p, then I would have expected it to do so now.

Regards production
13000bpd H1 poor but
25000bpd 2011
which makes 37000bpd H2
Start 2012 on 50000bpd

Collins Stewart upgrades Afren from hold to buy, target price cut from 175p to 135p.

From little acorns do mighty oaks grow. 8-) `2012`

Can't wait that long