The tiny Irish stock on the brink of landing 'the first' post-sanction oil deal in Iraq. Ref 'Fleet Street Letter' 12-04-04..

I might just take you up on that when PET come in !,

just found this over the road.

Reuters.com Help & InfoBy Khaled Yacoub Oweis
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's U.S.-backed government confirmed on Wednesday it has awarded a contract to develop the Khurmala Dome oilfield to an Iraqi-Turkish company.
The engineering and supply agreement, estimated at $135 million, marks the country's first foreign oil deal after the war.
A government statement said a consortium of Iraqi-based firm Kar, and Turkish-based company Avrasya, previously transliterated at Everasia, has won the deal to realize Khurmala's output of 100,000 barrels per day.
The northern field will also produce 100 million cubic feet of gas.
"The agreement was signed at the oil ministry on Monday. There has been delay on similar projects, but we hope to sign them early next year," spokesman Assem Jihad told Reuters.
British engineering company DPS is involved as a subcontractor, Jihad said. DPS confirmed that it would work on the project.
The Khurmala project is part of Saddam Hussein era plans to stop deterioration in the oil sector infrastructure and does not involve contractors after construction or as operators.
Oil ministry crews will perform most of the work. The ministry has already curtailed several projects because of sabotage and attacks on its employees.

Another contract to develop the Himrin oilfield was delayed. The oil ministry asked for new bids last week after it had sent the name of the leading contender to a committee headed by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi for final approval.
An oil ministry official, who declined to be named, said the Oil and Gas Council turned down Canadian company OGI because it was not qualified.
OGI describes itself as a privately held exploration, development and oilfield service company that spent years working on the bid.

dexter and others

Additional thoughts. No negativity should be felt about loss of Khurmala Dome as it was obviously a clear-cut win and one would imagine that the Turks would be keen to buy into the most northern project to gain a foothold in Iraq's oil industry. Your last post indicated that the cabinet do not rate IOG and that the project is therefore between Petrel and Ivanhoe, unless IOG can strengthen their partnerships. With the two other potential southern bids, Petrel appear to be in a strong position.

As none of these bids involved production you are right to be cautious in terms of the probable PET price if they do win one of the projects. It appears more like a step at a time but that makes them a potential long-term player rather than being in and out for a quick buck. Happy to be still in although aware that price paid was too high. Funnily enough, I tend to forget the price paid - the prospects from the current price are the key thing. It keeps the adrenalin flowing to have a company like PET rather than just boring old ASOS which are always going up - like the chap I play golf with: always straight down the middle and beating his handicap!

Eric

theres our baby hopefully

Morning all,
I e-mailed Ivanhoe yesterday and here is my reply
Dexter.


Roger,

We have bid on a project at Hamrin, however it is service contract, unlike the study we are doing at Qaiyarah, which is for field development.

Regards,

Cindy Burnett
Investor Relations
Ivanhoe Energy Inc.
Tel: (604) 331-9830
Fax: (604) 688-7168
cindyb@ivancorp.com



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: ******.***** [mailto:*************@**internet.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 4:39 AM
To: info@ivanhoeenergy.com
Subject: Iraqi oilfield developement



[ From the Ivanhoe Energy website at http://www.ivanhoe-energy.com/s/CorporateOffice.asp on Wed Dec 29, 2004 at 4:35:54 AM ]

Dear sir/madam,
There is a lot of speculation surrounding Ivanhoe tendering for a contract to develope the Hamrim Oilfield in Iraq. Icannot find anything on your website relating to this, only your MOU to conduct a study of the Qaiyarah Oil Field. please could you clarify this point.

Many thanks,
yours,
***** *******

Iraq's Khormala Field to Focus on Gas for Power
by Shai Oster
Wed, Dec 29, 2004 17:20 GMT


LONDON - Iraq's first postwar petroleum project will focus on gas for domestic power plants and industry, the head of the engineering firm hired by Baghdad said Wednesday.

A consortium of three firms including U.K.-based oil and gas engineering firm DPS (Bristol) Ltd. won the $136 million contract to develop the Khormala Dome field.

"The scope of work is well defined, we will start engineering very shortly," DPS managing director David Parkinson told Dow Jones Newswires.

Earlier reports suggested the government was considering production sharing contracts for oil export amid speculation the Canadian oil exploration companies OGI Group, Ironhorse Oil and Gas (IOG.V) or the Irish Petrel Resources (PET.LN) were leading the way to secure the deal.

Instead, the deal is limited to designing and building the wells and facilities, leaving eventual production to the government's state-owned monopoly.

"Talks about this project have been going on for some time, this isn't a five-minute job," Parkinson said.

His young firm has engineering and procurement contracts with units of Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD SC), Total SA (TOT), and Malaysia's state-owned oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd. (PET.YY), or Petronas.

The other two firms, while relatively unknown, have been established in Iraq and the Middle East for some time.

KAR Group has had contracts since the mid-1990s working with international aid agencies distributing fuel and building power and oil facilities in Iraq, its website says.

Avrasya Technology Engineering and Construction Inc., founded in 1993, has been working in the oil, gas and petrochemicals industry in Iraq, Russia and Central Asia, its website says.

The Iraq government says it will award contracts for development of the 60,000 barrels a day Himrin oil field in the coming days.

2004 Dow Jones Newswires.


The Iraq government says it will award contracts for development of the 60,000 barrels a day Himrin oil field in the coming days.

So they must have a pretty good idea of who they are going to award these contracts to.

Could it really just be down to PET & Ivanhoe?

If it's between PET and Ivanhoe then someone knows something, PET in freefall right now.

Looks as though PET is heading back down. Any ideas where it will end?

skids

Is it time for a quick in and out again ?

brave man that gets this right

Good afternoon (GMT)

While I realise that my very presence (not to mention nationality)can stimulate the negative and often illiterate to half-life, I thought I would nonetheless register my continuing presence on this sensible and carefully moderated board.

While disappointed not to mention hopelessly confused by the "yes they have no they havent" contract situation, is there a show of hands on whether PET have still a proverbial (and seasonal) snowball's chance of good news in the next few weeks (that period to be interpreted as including the end-Jan elections)?
- Livvy

Hi Livvy,

IMHO, PET are in with a chance because they have bid, what is a worry is that they have loaded their bids (understandably) for risk, and admit that they can be undercut by other bidders sourcing cheaper materials. Given the security situation, I can't understand why the government won't underwrite an acceptable level of risk to give a level playing field. My gripe is the statement attributed to PET that they were not in competition for two of the tenders, which was, in hindsight, inaccurate, misleading and inexcusable. However, I'm in this for the ride till the end, have taken a big hit relative to my portfolio and resources, so will hang on in there. The saving grace is the broadening of PET's activities into Jordan and Sudan, whatever future value they may hold.

Re timescales, the first two tenders were recommended two weeks or so after submission, the second which has been referred back to the bidders will presmuably take a similar timescale, therefore the third tender, submitted on the 15th Dec, should be due for recommendation in the next week or so, in my view. So, news there will be, how good it is, is anybody's guess, given the new players who emerged, out of the blue, on the first two. The fact that the first tender was awarded to the Turkish bidder shows that MOO is open for business, but need their decisions endorsed by the Oil & Gas Council, which kicked out OGI.

In reply to daves dazzlers (posting 2165), it may well be but what about the shares?
Chris
ps, from previous postings there seems to be another Chris Pine out there, spooky or what.

the russian oil firm said in a statement issued recently that the company was looking forward to cooperate with the iraqi government to enhance and promote the technical expertise in such a vital sector to the iraqi economy. The company, according to the statement,had also offered 29 scholarships for iraqi engineers. The russian firm used to operate in iraq before the fall of the former regime in iraq.'>

Livvy

The problem is, I think, that most of us put our hand up one minute and down the next. I suspect there is a lot of short-term activity in the share and I suspect charting rules may be irrelevant. Personally, I am taking a three month view and attempting not to let the short-term swings get to me. During that time PET has a number of bites at the cherry: (1) short-list of 3 at Hemrin and I am putting that at evens; (2) Suba-Luhais where there are 6 bidders, say 15%; (3) Zubair (is this a split off from Suba-Lubais?) where there are 5 bidders, presumably including PET, say 20%. Then there is the possible resurrection of Block 6 with the new government in place (views on timing?) and also Sudan. My money is on PET to win an Iraq contract. This may not be particularly profitable in itself but would get the ball rolling. The price would overshoot, inevitably (a good exit time) before reality brings the price back to settle down probably around the 150p mark. That would be better than a snowball in hell! By the way, have you ever thought that hell might be freezing cold!

Eric

In at 46 .

Eric et al

Thanks for your comments, like most of you I do tend to blow hot and cold (no pun intended!)

I remain confident of 1 contract but have grown weary of the tiresome and mindless hype: "next Cairn energy" etc etc. Any overshoot of the price would probably mean that I pack my bags for the time being and look in other sectors for investment opportunities. Off-topic, I made a tidy packet last spring on Stanley Gibbons (stamps, etc, yes, boring I know) but a growing area of interest. I could do with a little boring slow growth (in share capital that is :))

Again many thanks for thoughts and a Happy New Year to "ane an' a"
- Livvy

PS: Charting rules have always always been totally irrelevant to this share: contracts determine success. Id rather examine the entrails of a dead dog to determine sp movement!

livvy,
I totally agree about PET being made ou to be the next Cairn. I have waited a long time for this to go into orbit, although i have made on it, but i think i will sell most if/when they spike on announcement etc.

I am at a loss as to why it`s down the last couple of days, especially with the buys V sells today.

regards,
Dexter

Just found this on fyb,


some news dated 29/12 suggest fires in kirkuk and hamrin fields - could this be causing the sp drop of yesterday?

http://satblog.methaz.org/index.php?p=171

seem to remember buysell posted satellite images some time back - are these the same ones?