< "> 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

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

(Reuters) - London-listed oil explorer Afren (AFRE.L) has hired a corporate finance firm to look into selling its oil fields in Kurdistan and east Africa, leaving the group focused on its main assets in Nigeria, The Sunday Times reported.

Interest in both regions has soared after a string of discoveries, the newspaper said, and both China's Sinopec and U.S. oil company Exxon could be interested in buying the assets, which could fetch up to 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion).

Afren has appointed Steen Associates to look into both a sale and alternative plans, it said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/02/03/uk-afren-asset-sale-idUKBRE9120AE20130203

From Afrens last statement
And it expects production this year to average between 40,000 boepd to 47,000 boepd - excluding Barda Rash.

Did this actually mean Barda Rash is up for sale.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fq6vdpiqblbgxsd/AFREN_EXANE_04022013_35.pdf
Reportedly Sinopec looking to acquire some of Afren's assets
Last week, Bloomberg reported that China's Sinopec is interested in acquiring some of Afren's assets, including Nigeria, for over USD1bn. We believe this could make sense for Sinopec given its strong activity level in the country via its subsidiary Addax (acquired in 2009). We note that Afren CEO Osman Shahenshah has already indicated preliminary talks around farm-ins, partnerships and joint ventures in assets in which Afren has high equity stakes.
Okwok holds the key
Obviously until we get more detail on the potential asset package and terms it is impossible to assess the attractiveness of a potential deal for Afren. That said, the fact that Sinopec/Addax is a minority partner (12% stake) in the Okwok block and holds a commanding acreage position around it, should allow them (1) to extract significant synergies in the next phase of development of the Ebok/Okwok/OML115 complex and (2) potentially pay a decent premium to the assets. We value
the Ebok/Okwok/OML115 asset complex at a combined USD1.8bn (101p/sh).
Nigeria: fertile for deal activity despite PIB delays
Despite repeated delays to establish a new Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), deal activity has accelerated in recent months. Majors continue to exit (eg, COP asset sale; Total USD2.5bn Usan field disposal) and national and local players show appetite to expand. As such, we would not be surprised to see active deal flow in the country near term.
Exploration, strong prod growth, M&A appeal, 25% NAV discount; Outperform
As we highlighted in our E&P launch (see The Hunt) Afren is one of the key E&P stories of 2013.
Afren combines an active exploration campaign (Nigeria, East Africa), strong prod growth over thecoming years, now proven M&A appeal and an
unwarranted 25% discount to NAV. We see a potential asset sale quickly closing the valuation gap. Outperform. Tp £2.01.

http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-MHPAZZ6TTDTL01-0L9UG7PV514L4U2OOVKEOSQBON



Sinopec to Sell Shares Worth $3.1 Billion Amid Acquisitions
Joshua Fellman, Benjamin Haas and Bradley OlsonFeb 04, 2013 5:07 pm ET
(Updates with analyst comment in fourth paragraph.)

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia’s biggest refiner, plans to sell shares worth HK$24 billion ($3.1 billion) as it looks to add production assets.

The company plans to sell 2.85 billion Hong Kong-traded shares at HK$8.45 each., 9.5 percent less than yesterday’s close, according to a filing after the market closed yesterday. The company’s U.S.-traded securities plunged 7.2 percent today, the sharpest drop in almost a year.

Sinopec, as China Petroleum is known, plans to use the money for “general corporate purposes,” it said in the statement, without giving more details. Its parent company is in talks to buy more than $1 billion of African assets from Afren Plc, people familiar with the matter said this week after the group paid $2.5 billion for a 20 percent stake in an offshore Nigerian field owned by Total SA in November.

“The market may well be a bit disconcerted by it,” Colin Smith, head of energy research at VTB Capital in London, said today in a telephone interview. Investors may take the sale as a sign of financial stress since it isn’t tied to a specific acquisition, he said.

Sinopec may buy $8 billion worth of assets outside of China from its state-owned parent, the Wall Street Journal reported last month. Before today, the Beijing-based company rose 6.4 percent this year in Hong Kong trading, compared with a 4.5 percent gain in the city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index. The stock fell 0.3 percent to close at HK$9.34 in Hong Kong trading yesterday.

Looking Overseas

“The company will be able to enrich its shareholder base by attracting a number of high caliber investors to participate in the placing,” Sinopec said in the filing. The company didn’t identify any of the investors.

Sinopec has struggled under a heavy debt load and Chinese price controls that have damped profitability from processing fuel. Those factors have forced the Beijing-based company to look for oil producing assets that can offset refining losses, said Erica Downs, a fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, a U.S.-based research group, in Washington.

“Sinopec has been hurt the most by these price controls and they see upstream assets as necessary to offset any losses in the downstream,” she said in a phone interview yesterday.

Sinopec’s parent China Petrochemical Corp., which is owned by the Chinese government, has traditionally been more acquisitive overseas than its publicly traded unit, Downs said.

As the publicly traded Sinopec seeks additional investors, buying assets from the parent company may be the most attractive way to seek income streams to offset refining losses, she said.

“There are probably reduced risks to buying from your parent company to venturing overseas,” she said. “It would be a way to build your portfolio very quickly.”

--With assistance from Charles Siler in San Francisco. Editors: Andrew Hobbs, Keith Gosman

not sure whether or not this is new news ....

Tullow Oil discovers gas deposits at well in Northern Kenya
Tullow Oil has discovered deposits of natural gas at its Paipai 1 well in northern Kenya, whose drilling began 2 months ago and is set to be completed in a month's time.
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 remaining 20% by Afren Plc. This news was divulged by a official who did not want to be named due to the confidential nature of the process.

http://www.offshore-mag.com/articles/2013/jan/afren-expanding-offshore-oil-production-in-nigeria.html

sp down 6%?

buying opportunity coming up.,.

bought in ahead of full year results due 25th march.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/positive-test-results-from-the-simrit-2-well/201303130700128590Z/ren plc (AFR LN)

Positive test results from the Simrit-2 well on the Ain Sifni Block, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

London, 13 March 2013 - Afren plc ("Afren" or the "Group") announces an update on the on-going testing programme on the Hunt Oil Middle East (HOME) operated Simrit-2 well, yielding incremental flow rates of 5,368 bopd, with a cumulative rate of 18,952 bopd from six of the 12 zones tested.

Following the conclusion of drilling operations at the Simrit-2 well, located on the northern part of the Ain Sifni PSC, Kurdistan region of Iraq, the Partners have successfully completed three further DSTs in the Jurassic Mus, Adiayah and Butmah formations yielding incremental flow rates of 5,368 bopd of 21o API oil using the Hitech-3 rig. The Partners have now achieved aggregate flow rates of 18,952 bopd to date. The remaining testing operations will focus on Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous reservoirs.

Oil rate (bopd)

Gas rate (mmscfg/d)

Kurra Chine formation

Zone A (11,329 - 11,562 ft)

6,200

3.5

Zone B (11,929 - 11,975 ft & 11,988 - 12,034 ft)

3,102

10.0

Zone C (12,139 - 12,467 ft)

4,282

10.0

Mus formation (8,340 - 8,415 ft)

3,197

0.1

Adaiyah formation (8,543 - 8,681 ft)

2,121

0.3

Butmah formation (8,930 - 8,990 ft)

50

0

Aggregate rate

18,952

23.9

The Simrit-2 exploration well was drilled to a depth of 12,467 ft and encountered an estimated 1,509 ft of net oil pay.

Drilling on the Simrit-3 well, exploring the eastern extent of the large scale Simrit anticline is continuing. The well is currently operating at 11,483 ft having drilled and logged hydrocarbon bearing intervals in the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic reservoirs. A multi-zone testing programme is being prepared when drilling operations conclude.

Afren has a 20 per cent interest in the Ain Sifni PSC and is partnered by Hunt Oil Middle East (60 per cent. and operator) and Kurdistan Regional Government (20 per cent.).

Osman Shahenshah, Chief Executive of Afren, commented:

"The latest test results on the Simrit-2 exploration well continue to suggest excellent production capability and the transformational potential of this discovery to Afren. The Simrit-3 well is drilling ahead and confirms the eastern extent of the large scale Simrit anticline."

I was informed by good authority yesterday that there is major short seller in the market since December. Wont quote name but they are major player. Lets hope todays statement and the results at month end screw them to hell.

i can't remember the company that's shorting, but if you can be bothered, you'll find the full monty soemwhere further back

sp rising nicely ahead of results due shortly

Monday 25 March is results day.

Oil boss Tony Hayward's description of his latest venture sounds like it could be drilling for oil in rural England rather than northern Iraq.

"It's fairly benign - it's gentle rolling countryside," the former BP chief executive says.

"The distances are short and the operating environment is safe and secure. It's pretty straightforward and it's pretty low-cost."

Genel Energy, the Anglo-Turkish company Mr Hayward now heads, has been in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq since 2002.

And like the 50 or so other foreign firms operating there, it was attracted by vast potential energy reserves and a Kurdish government that has welcomed investors with production contracts far more generous than those offered by Baghdad in the south.

But, caught in a dispute between politicians in the regional capital Irbil and those in the country's capital Baghdad, many of these investors - including Genel - say they have not been paid for much of the oil they send abroad.

As a result, since December exports from Kurdish Iraq have ceased - the latest in a line of such stoppages.
Stalemate

Oil underpins Iraq's economy, making up more than 95% of its budget revenues, and is fundamental to paying for the country's reconstruction after the sanctions, war and neglect of Saddam Hussein's regime.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

Clearly we'd rather be working in an environment where there wasn't that sort of dialogue or row going on, but despite all of that you have to look at enormous improvement on the ground”

Tony Hayward Genel Energy

Under the country's revenue-sharing scheme, more than 80% of the money from Iraq's international oil sales goes to Baghdad, with 17% going to the Kurds. All exports go through a pipeline controlled by the federal government, with Baghdad collecting the revenues for distribution.

But after changes to the way the central government calculates payments to operators, Kurdistan says it has not received enough money to pay the companies working in Kurdish Iraq. And with the country yet to establish a hydrocarbon law to settle disputes, things have hit a stalemate.

This escalated earlier this month, when Iraq's delayed 2013 budget was eventually passed in the absence of Kurdish politicians. Less than $650m (£430m) has been set aside for oil companies in the north, just a fraction of the $3.5bn (£2.3bn) that Irbil had said it needed to cover the shortfall.

"This latest passage of the budget law has angered the Kurds and you wonder how they're going to resolve it," says Kate Dourian, Middle East editor at energy specialist Platts.

"They had a lot of discussions before the parliament, they couldn't reach an agreement and then the budget law was passed regardless.

"The gap between the two sides is now wider than before."

And, Ms Dourian told the BBC, this poses problems for international oil firms who rely on exports for their profits.

"They are shipping a little bit to Turkey [by road] and some of it's being sold to the local market, obviously at much below market rates," she says.

"So you wonder just how long they can hang on in there."
'Saner heads'

Despite this bleak assessment, Mr Hayward appears more relaxed.

He says his firm's output of 80,000 to 100,000 barrels a day for the domestic market is enough to create a "robust" business, though he admits this could grow by up to 50% if Genel were exporting.

"Clearly we'd rather be working in an environment where there wasn't that sort of dialogue or row going on, but despite all of that you have to look at enormous improvement on the ground," he told BBC World's Middle East Business Report.
Worker in an oil field in Kurdish Iraq Iraq has the world's fourth-largest oil reserves, says Opec

"To realise the full potential of the Kurdistan oil and gas - for the benefit of all Iraqis and for the benefit of Kurdistan and for the benefit of the contractors who are invested - clearly it would be much better if the oil was being exported.

"I believe that at some point in the not too-distant future saner heads will come to the table and there'll be an agreement.

"We're going to get to a place where people realise this is too big an opportunity for all of Iraq."
'Vocal investors'

If all this was purely about Iraq's overall oil production volumes, then the stoppage in exports from Kurdistan might not be such a big deal. Last year little more than 10% of Iraq's average of 3.2m barrels of oil a day came from Kurdish areas.

This means that security threats, deeply entrenched corruption and unattractive investment terms, all factors in the south blamed for muted interest in Iraq's last round of exploration licence auctions, are hurting efforts to ramp up production more than a stoppage of Kurdistan's exports, say analysts.

Instead, some industry experts believe that Baghdad's concerns about Kurdistan's oil policy run much deeper, with Baghdad fearing it threatens Iraq's fragile federation - especially if other provinces with deep oil reserves develop their own aspirations to self-rule.

"Kurdistan gets a lot of attention because you have foreign companies there who are vocal, there are investors who like to talk about it," says Robin Mills, head of consulting at Manaar Energy.

"And of course for Kurdish people, oil revenue is the basis that Kurdistan can be autonomous and perhaps could be an independent state at some point.

"So while economically the south is far more important, politically Kurdistan is very important because who controls oil in Iraq goes to the very heart of Iraq as a united entity."
'Key player'

Baghdad insists that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has no right to sign exploration deals with foreign companies.
A Kurdish flag in the old centre of Irbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region Iraq hopes to be exporting 6m barrels of oil a day by 2017

But those firms have gone ahead regardless. Most significant of these has been ExxonMobil, which was already developing the West Qurna-1 field in southern Iraq - prompting Baghdad to threaten to revoke ExxonMobil's contract there.

But these threats have not been carried out, and since then other oil majors including Total and Chevron have also entered Kurdistan.

If a much-talked-about pipeline ever came to fruition that allowed Kurdistan's oil to be exported to Turkey - bypassing the Baghdad-controlled route - the political ramifications in the region would far outweigh the row between northern and southern Iraq.

And stability in Iraq's oil sector goes far beyond Iraq's people, says Mr Mills.

"Iraq is one of the key players - perhaps the key player - in the global oil market in the next decade.

"Whether Iraq succeeds in expanding its production determines whether the oil market is going to be relatively well-supplied and prices are lower, or whether we're going to have another decade of high oil prices," he says.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21793783

http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc--afr-/rns/tr-1-notification-of-major-interest-in-shares/201303200700273984A/

Gone above 5%/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSkesuqGbNM

Recommended acquisition of 10.4% of First Hydrocarbon Nigeria
London, 25 March 2013 - The Board of Afren plc ("Afren" or the "Company") announces that CBO Oil and Gas FHN Investment Service Vehicle Limited ("COGIL") has exercised the terms of an amended put option agreement which will result in Afren owning a beneficial interest in a majority of the issued share capital of First Hydrocarbon Nigeria (the "Acquisition")

Transaction Highlights
· Under the terms of the put option Afren will acquire a beneficial interest in 15 million shares in First Hydrocarbon Nigeria Company Limited ("FHN")

· Following the acquisition Afren will have a beneficial interest in 54.8% of the issued share capital of FHN

· This will result in a material change in 2P reserves net to Afren

o Group pro forma net Proved and Probable Reserves to increase from 210 mmboe to approximately 270 mmboe.

o Assuming Completion, Afren will therefore increase its net Proved and Probable Reserves by 29%

Transaction Terms
· Afren will acquire a beneficial interest in 10.4% of the issued share capital of FHN in exchange for an aggregate consideration of US$37.05 million under the terms of the put option, payable in cash

· FHN will remain as an indigenous Nigerian oil and gas company

· The Acquisition will be subject to the approval of Afren's shareholders.

Record financial results; strong production performance; significant exploration success contributing to reserves upgrade

25 March 2013 - The Board of Afren plc ("Afren" or "the Group") announces results for the year ended 31 December 2012

Key highlights
· Record financial results driven by strong production growth (+123%); FY 2013E net production expected to average 40,000 to 47,000 boepd (excluding Barda Rash)

· Significant exploration success

- E&A success ratio of 88%

- 265% reserves replacement ratio - net working interest 2P reserves addition of 39 mmbbls (gross 76 mmbbls and excluding Ain Sifni) to 210 mmboe

· Group pro-forma net 2P reserves expected to increase to approximately 270 mmboe after consolidation of OML 26 reserves

- following exercise of a put option by a third party over FHN shares (subject to shareholder approval)

· Multi-well E&A drilling campaign targeting Pmean resources of 650 mmboe

- Okwok appraisal success confirms management view of 52 mmbbls gross recoverable reserves (net working interest 29 mmbbls)

- Simrit-3 well confirms eastern extent of anticline

· Strong balance sheet

- net debt, excluding finance leases US$488 million (31 December 2011: US$548 million)

- US$300m senior secured Ebok facility signed (post period end), replacing the existing Ebok RBL facility. Pro-forma net debt unchanged

· Repeatable strategy - continue to create significant shareholder value

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4560755