< "> 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

As far as all oilers in KRG are concerned,majors will be running the rule over them.So
rife for such bumours like,such as we've just seen?
Not sure about the volume and what that tells us?

Surely that's what's called a sucker's rally. A spurious rumour originating from a supposedly 'reputable source' which is designed to suck in the day traders and speculators? A fast buck for those who are watching their screens and then back to normality. The fact that many financial websites are hosting the story just adds to the hype. Sorry to be a cynic, but I wonder who really benefitted from that 'leak'?

not quite fair ..... i don't think it was ever said to be more than a rumour, and that sort of thing has been around for many many months

I personally thought that the 30 odd mill turnover we had a few days ago was down to the market realising that Afren were slowly derisking. But todays turnover is beyond me. Something must be going on. As per usual us everyday bods not privy.

Afren saw its stock surge 10pc on Wednesday as a bunch of traders who bet on potential takeovers bought the shares and spread rumours that a variety of bidders, including US giant Exxon Mobil and China's Sinopec, were preparing offers for the FTSE 250 company.

The latest company to be named by these traders as a bidder for Afren was mining giant Glencore, up 3.9 to 392.6p.

However, that tale is incorrect, according to people familiar with the matter. "I have never even heard of Afren," claimed one senior Glencore insider. Afren shed 8.3 to 143.1p.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/marketreport/9828001/Afren-falls-as-takeover-talk-scotched.html

Afren saw its stock surge 10pc on Wednesday as a bunch of traders who bet on potential takeovers bought the shares and spread rumours that a variety of bidders, including US giant Exxon Mobil and China's Sinopec, were preparing offers for the FTSE 250 company.

The latest company to be named by these traders as a bidder for Afren was mining giant Glencore, up 3.9 to 392.6p.

However, that tale is incorrect, according to people familiar with the matter. "I have never even heard of Afren," claimed one senior Glencore insider. Afren shed 8.3 to 143.1p.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/marketreport/9828001/Afren-falls-as-takeover-talk-scotched.html

Which proves my point!

clever bu**er ;)

Good volume,almost 11m and a rise of just under 4%?

StockMarketWire.com
JP Morgan Cazenove has reviewed it stance on the UK Exploration & Production sector today highlighting the fact that the sector had underperformed the broader market up to the end of the year. This reappraisal has led the US bank to downgrade a number of stocks in its coverage including SOCO International (LON:SIA) , Serica Energy (LON:SQZ), Genel Energy (LON:GENL) and Afren (LON:AFR) which have all been downgraded to "neutral" from "overweight". The City broker cut its price targets across the board reflecting its downbeat near-term outlook, which included: SOCO International - reduced to 418p (from 420p), Serica Energy - reduced to 47p (from 50p), Genel Energy reduced to 940p (from 1,060p) and Afren reduced to 195p (from 210p) In a note issued to clients today, analyst James Thompson said: "On a more structural theme, we see the relatively easy access to acreage that E&P companies have enjoyed for a decade coming to an end as big oil steps up the hunt for resources. Near term, we lower our exposure to political risk, particularly in the MENA region, and instead turn our focus to the exploration story that remains the sector's lifeblood."

HSBC ups target price from £1.90 to £2.00

AFR suddenly humming with very heavy volume (11m)

=====================

and a further 3.5m traded in the last 10 minutes before market closed

a freak, or something actually brewing?

Sinopec Said in Talks to Buy $1 Billion in Afren Assets
By Zijing Wu, Fox Hu & Will Kennedy - Feb 1, 2013 4:59 PM GMT ..Facebook Share LinkedIn Google +1 0 Comments
Print QUEUEQ..China Petrochemical Corp. (386), the country’s largest refiner, is in talks to buy more than $1 billion of assets from Afren Plc (AFR), people with knowledge of the matter said.

Sinopec Group, as China Petrochemical is known, is interested in Afren assets including those in Nigeria, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Afren, which also operates in the Kurdistan region of Iraq as well as other parts of Africa, said in November that it has been approached to sell stakes in its assets, without elaborating on the identity of the potential buyers.

Seeking to meet demand in the world’s second-largest economy, China’s state-backed firms bought a record $29 billion of energy assets abroad last year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Beijing-based Sinopec Group agreed to buy a 20 percent stake in an offshore Nigerian field from French explorer Total SA for about $2.5 billion in November.

Afren rose 10.6 pence, or 7.4 percent, to close at 154 pence in London yesterday, valuing the company at 1.7 billion pounds ($2.7 billion).

Lv Dapeng, Sinopec Group’s spokesman, did not answer calls to his office seeking comment. An Afren official declined to comment.

Afren, based in London, had $1.8 billion of assets in Nigeria at end of 2011, and generated 92 percent of its $597 million in sales there that year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Revenue probably more than doubled to about $1.5 billion last year after production soared to 42,830 barrels of oil equivalent a day, Afren said on Jan. 22.

Afren expects to pump as much as 47,000 barrels a day this year, excluding Iraqi output, it said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Zijing Wu in Hong Kong at zwu17@bloomberg.net; Fox Hu in Hong Kong at fhu7@bloomberg.net; Will Kennedy in London at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net

silly question, but what is the benefit to AFR to allow someone just to cherry-pick assets?

cynic
If they sold a few of their assetts for over $1bn they would have over $1.6bn for exploration/production in East and West Africa / Kurdistan.
Puts company in very strong position.
Afrens market value based on share price is about $2.2bn.
Kurdistan assetts alone are rumoured to be worth about $3bn.

depends which assets the chinese want to gobble up then and how much of a premium they are prepared to pay

from osirisra on another board

I've been in touch with my man in the city. He doesn't have anything concrete, just the same chatter as everyone else, but,,,,,. He did say a few things that some on here have half alluded to.
1. The Chinese traditionally like to buy established assets rather than go prospecting.
2. Sinopec and Hunt are far from being natural bed fellows.
3. The Chinese are big and getting bigger in Africa every day.
4. Because of the above he believes that if the story is true then SINOPEC are probably after Nigerian assets.
5. Afren are not likely to sell established cash flowing assets in Nigeria compltetely.
6. That would put Afren back to square one, albeit a bigger square so therefore a farm in rather than sell out.
7. That would give Afren secure cash flow and the clout to fully develope Kurdistan assets which he believes will be the game changer for Afren.

He concluded that it is likely to be Nigeria but only a percentage. Like everybody else we will have to wait and see. If there is a deal announced I'm sure there will be a lot of people re posting their posts from over the weekend to say "I told you so".

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/stocktube/1702/vsa-capital-still-likes-africa-kurdistan-for-oil-stocks--1702.html

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/Industry/article1206597.ec

ONE of Britain’s fastest-growing oil explorers has hatched an ambitious plan for a break-up.
Afren, the £1.7bn FTSE 250 company, has hired Steen Associates, a corporate finance firm, to sell its sought-after oil fields in Kurdistan and east Africa for up to £1bn. The disposal would leave the company with a rump centred on its operations in Nigeria.
Both Kurdistan and east Africa are enjoying oil booms after a string of discoveries. Big companies, desperate to get in, have paid huge prices for toeholds.
Exxon Mobil, Shell and BP are jostling for control of a giant $20bn (£ 12.7bn) gas development off Mozambique — south of Afren’s assets in Kenya and Ethiopia. Tony Hayward, the former BP boss who runs Genel Energy, the largest producer in Kurdistan, called the region “the last easy oil in the world”.
Osman Shahenshah, Afren’s chief executive, believes the company’s assets are undervalued and that industry heavyweights will pay a premium to take them over. Its shares have surged 7% in the past fortnight amid takeover speculation. Both Sinopec, the Chinese giant, and Exxon, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, have been tipped as suitors.
Steen is looking at alternatives to the asset sale plan as well. Afren declined to comment.
Oryx Petroleum, another oil explorer with assets in Nigeria and Kurdistan, is close to a float. The company founded by Jean Claude Gandur, a Swiss billionaire, has hired RBC Capital Markets to list it in Toronto.

Tullow Oil has discovered deposits of natural gas at a well in northern Kenya, whose drilling is set to be completed later this month.

The deposits were struck at 4,100 metres, less than a kilometre to the target depth of 4,900 metres at the Pai Pai 1 well in Block 10 A. The block is half owned by Tullow, 30 per cent by Africa Oil and the rest by Afren Plc.

“They are now testing to see output at that high pressure,” said an official conversant with the progress.

Tullow declined to comment on the status of its operations in Kenya.

“It’s still status quo, nothing has changed since the last update given. The well is still drilling,” said Evelyne Serro, Tullow’s communications officer for Kenya. “You will receive an update as soon as this is concluded at total depth”.

Industry analyst George Wachira said commercial natural gas deposits interrupt the momentum in the continued search and testing at the Twiga 1 , Ngamia 1 well and also the Mbawa natural gas prospect off the coast of Lamu.

“Finding of gas also delays commercial confirmation of already discovered oil which, hopefully, the drilling of “Sabisa-1” in Ethiopia will help to confirm,” he added.

Kenya is working on laws for exploration, production, logistics and monetisation of natural gas.
http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Tullow-strikes-natural-gas-deposits-in-the-north/-/539546/1683450/-/lc1n9/-/index.html