< "> 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

Once they complete the Ogo drilling on OPL 310 the rig moves onto OML 115 for the
Ufon drill.

Afren and Partner Oriental will commence drilling the Ufon South-1 well, the first exploration well on the block in the second half of 2013, following the completion of drilling operations at OPL 310. The Ufon structure has been selected (gross PMean prospective resources of 65 mmbbls) for drilling and is structurally and geologically analogous to the nearby Ebok and Okwokfields but with significant deeper exploration potential.

AFREN MAKES 307 MILLION BARRELS NEW OIL DISCOVERY

African-focused exploration and production company, Afren Plc, said it had made new oil discovery of over 300 million barrels at its Ebok and Okoro oil fields.

Specifically, additional 150 million barrels of oil were discovered at the Ebok oilfield located in OML 67, offshore Nigeria; and 157 million barrels at the Okoro field located in OML 112 in shallow water offshore Nigeria.

Speaking during the FBN Capital Limited’s maiden Oil and Gas Roundtable in Lagos on Tuesday, Head, Finance, Afren Nigeria, Mr. Deji West, said, “We just discovered a reserve of 150 million barrels of oil each in the Okoro and Ebok fields. We have 14 wells at Okoro and 24 wells in Ebok.“

He specifically said the Okoro field was currently producing over 20,000 barrels of oil per day, adding that the company had plans to increase the production to 50,000 barrels in the future. The Ebok field, according to him, is currently producing about 35,000 barrels a day.

He explained that Afren had a diversified portfolio, adding that the company had raised $2.8bn in the past eight years from the London Stock Exchange and other sources.

“ We have raised equity and have gone back to the equity market over and over again. The first thing, you need to have strong asset base and strong technical achievements. Good corporate governance is also very critical. You can’t raise equity as a one-man business. You need a robust management team with proven track record to attract international investments,” he said.

He said the indigenous oil company had a market capitulation of $20m by the time it listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange growth market.

“We started with a market value of $50m by December, 2005 and zero production. By the December, 2012, our market value was $2.3bn with 27 assets in nine countries. We are currently producing about 57,000 barrels of oil per day,” he said

West described the AIM market as suitable for smaller and growing companies, noting that opportunities to move to the Main Board in future abound.

Meanwhile, Aconex had been engaged to provide online project collaboration solutions for Afren Plc.

Specifically, Afren said it would use the Aconex Online Collaboration Platform to manage the operation and maintenance of its Ebok and Okoro Setu oil fields.

Technical Applications Manager, Afren, Mr. Dhiraj Kavia, “We have individuals from several organisations working on the Ebok and Okoro Setu projects, and it’s critical that everyone be aligned at all times. The Aconex platform enables us to structure and control all project data as it flows among team members, resulting in improved efficiency, governance and compliance. The system is easy to learn and use, and we have the support of a global organization when we need it.”

According to him, the teams responsible for operating and maintaining the production platforms in the Ebok and Okoro Setu fields span Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

They use the Aconex platform to capture all project data in one place for centralised information management and retrieval. In a secure, cloud-based collaboration environment, participants across different locations have anytime, anywhere access to the current version of all project documents and drawings, as well as a complete audit trail of all decisions and actions.

Kavia said previous collaboration tools had limited Afren’s ability to provide access to project participants outside of Afren.

source:punchng.com
http://lubepoint.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/afren-makes-307-million-barrels-new-oil-discovery/

Plenty of drilling in Kurdistan we just need that transformational news.

Barda Rash.
Afren has commenced Phase 2 operations on the field which will involve new wells to increase production capacity, evaluate new field areas and acquire modern log and core data to better understand and delineate the field. The Partners commenced drilling on the BR-5 well in March 2013 using the Romfor-23 drilling rig which is currently drilling ahead at around 6,200 ft. The BR-4 well will be drilled using the Viking I-10 rig and is expected to spud in May 2013. The wells will be drilled to test the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic reservoirs identified in the previous wells drilled on the structure.

Ain Sifni.
Operator Hunt Oil is preparing to commence drilling operations on the Maqlub-1 well in May 2013 on the high potential Maqlub structure followed by the Maqlub-2 appraisal well. The Maqlub structure is located adjacent to the Barda Rash PSC and will be testing the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic reservoirs.

From Africa Oil website - Ethiopia

Ogaden Blocks 7/8
The Company and its partners continue to focus on the El Kuran oil accumulation on Block 8, discovered in the early 1970's. After completing reservoir characterization studies, the Company focused efforts on testing and completion strategies for producing commercial quantities of oil and gas. The Company and its joint operating partners on Blocks 7/8 (New Age operated) are planning to drill and test the El Kuran-3 appraisal well. A rig has been secured, the well site has been constructed and the well is expected to spud towards the end of June 2013. Should the well show encouragement, a multi-zone acid fracture stimulation well test is planned during 2013. The initial exploration period under the PSC expires in July 2013 and requires that the El Kuran-3 well be completed before then. The Company expects to receive an extension to the initial exploration period sufficient to drill and test the El Kuran-3 well.

SP down to 129p looking cheap?

perhaps, but then so are a stack of other shares after today's massacre

cynic time to put some chips back on the table?

i have enough of these, but i scarcely think that we are entering a new bear phase - merely a very sharp correction, which i have predicted for a few weeks but lacked the balls to follow through

cynic how sharp? are you thinking below 6000?

i doubt it very much ..... dow could fall to 14700/14750, but even if it does, that wouldn't drag ftse below 6000

AFR chart looks negative - can see this falling further imo

From shares mag

Courtesy of Alliance trust

Ogo result could lift Afren

Drilling offshore Nigeria represents potential catalyst for the stock - Tom Sieber

Results from a potentially high-impact exploration well being drilled by Afren (AFR), due in late July, could provide a substantial boost to the share price. The company is targeting the Ogo prospect offshore Nigeria and work on the 90-day well got underway in April.

In the last three months the shares have drifted down 3.6% and as a result trade on an undemanding ten times 2013 consensus forecast earnings per share of 13.4p. Broker Investec, which estimates Ogo could be worth 37p in a success case, also attributes a handsome free cashflow yield to the stock of 8.6% this year, rising to 9.8% in 2014.

Following cost recovery the £1.5 billion cap, which also has assets in Kurdistan, will enjoy a 40% interest in Ogo and it is partnered on the well by new Aim entrant Lekoil (LEK:AIM) and indigenous operator Optimum Petroleum. The target is located on the OPL310 licence and the pre-drill estimate stands at 202 million barrels of oil equivalent. Encouragingly it is located in close proximity to the 280 million barrel Aje field. If the well is successful it would increase the likelihood of making further commercial finds on the block.

Afren delivered strong operational performance in the first quarter of this year. Net output of 47,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) was at the top end of its full-year guidance of 40,000 to 47,000 boepd while operating cashflow reached $243 million.

RNS chairman's statement, sp down.......there's no pleasing some people!

Niceone, was right about AFR when you look at the chart.

LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - An overwhelming majority of shareholders in oil and gas explorer Afren (LSE: AFR.L - news) voted down pay packages for its executives on Tuesday, making it the first UK-listed firm to have its remuneration report rejected twice.

However, the vote is non-binding and does not alter this year's pay packages for Afren's top managers.

Almost 80 percent of votes cast were against approving the Nigeria-focused company's 2012 remuneration report, which included a 3.4-million-pound ($5.28 million) package for Chief Executive Osman Shahenshah and 2.6 million pounds for Chief Operating Officer Shahid Ullah.

"We have been sent a clear message by our shareholders and are committed to ensuring that the results are very different at next year's AGM," said Chairman Egbert Imomoh.

"Our remuneration philosophy has reflected the need to retain exceptional talent in a highly competitive market, further compounded by the fact that we operate in very challenging areas."

Shareholder advisory firm PIRC opposed the report, saying the packages were excessive, with targets attached to share awards "not sufficiently stretching".

The vote makes Afren the first British listed company to lose a vote on its remuneration report twice, a spokesman at PIRC said. In 2011, 52 percent of shareholder votes were against approving the report.

Quoted companies in Britain have had to disclose remuneration reports since 2002.

PIRC also opposed the reappointment of the chairman and one of the non-executive directors.
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/afren-shareholders-reject-executive-pay-152221374.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jun/11/afren-pay-rejected-80-shareholders
Investors have rejected a £3.4m pay deal for the boss of an oil exploration company in one of the largest shareholder revolts yet seen.

Around 80% of shareholders voted down Afren's remuneration report on Tuesday, a stunning defeat in the world of company annual general meetings where motions are usually passed with near unanimity.

Sarah Wilson, chief executive of the proxy voting agency Manifest, said it was the third biggest shareholder revolt since it began tracking AGMs in 1996.

Only rewards for RBS bankers after its £45bn taxpayer bailout in 2009, and a £250,000 "golden goodbye" to Labour peer Lord Hollick from United Business Media in 2005 – on top of £1.44m salary and bonus and a £14.5m pension pot – have proved more unpopular.

Afren's shareholders also revealed their wider discontent with the oil company's leadership. Peter Bingham, a non-executive director, who collects £60,000 a year for attending board meetings, was only re-elected to the board by a whisker, while 30% of shareholders voted against chairman Egbert Imomoh.

But the brunt of investors' anger was directed at the generous pay package for Afren's chief executive and co-founder, Osman Shahenshah. In an above average deal for a FTSE 250 company, Shahenshah gets a basic salary of £625,000, topped up by £26,000 in benefits, a further £92,000 for his pension pot, a bonus of £1.3m, plus £1.3m in shares under Afren's long-term incentive scheme.

The shareholder vote is non-binding and Shahenshah will collect his pay and bonuses in full this year, a source close to the company said.

Wilson said the defeat was unsurprising as Afren had "driven a coach and horses" through boardroom best practice, citing a complete absence of "clawback" measures in the long-term incentive scheme, poor alignment between bonus and performance and opacity about rewards.

This is Afren's second defeat on pay, after 60% of shareholders voted against its remuneration report in 2011. But the company, which drills for oil and gas across Africa and in Iraq, has registered high numbers of abstentions at other AGMs, another sign of rebellion. In 2010 Afren scraped barely 50% approval for its pay – a striking message from shareholders when most remuneration reports get backing of 97%.

"The company should have taken better advice when it got its first defeat," Wilson said. "There has clearly been a failure to engage by the company."

It comes as WPP boss, Martin Sorrell, faces the possibility on Wednesday of a fresh wave of protests against his £17.6m pay package. Last year investors voted down the advertising group's remuneration report to protest about his pay rise which has since been reduced.

Afren has also come under scrutiny in recent days after it emerged that its top managers personally own shares worth $24m (£15m) in a Nigerian company that Afren itself invests in.

Afren's chairman, chief executive, chief financial officer and chief operating officer did not declare their personal interest in First Hydrocarbon Nigeria at the time of the original purchase in 2010, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Afren said in response to the report that "complete due process was followed" at the time and that it was guided by its "counsel and financial sponsor".

The company has "independence problems," Wilson said, also noting that there are no women on the board.

Imomoh said: "Since our [flotation] in 2005 we have delivered total shareholder returns of 556%. Our remuneration philosophy has reflected the need to retain exceptional talent in a highly competitive market, further compounded by the fact that we operate in very challenging areas. However, we have been sent a clear message by our shareholders and are committed to ensuring that the results are very different at next year's AGM."

No wonder that shareholders are not happy, the share price looking to test 120p again

Yes rapidly heading that way but is that the bottom?

Let's hope someone will take the bait and launch a bid for the company

ald seems to be near the bottom of its range.