< "> 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

Derwent -
Do not wish too much for SAP news - that may only be a "bonus" if it ever comes.

Afr was over sold probably people getting stops hit on heavy market traders short selling ( who does this ). They are probably buying back now at small dealer expense.
Also others seeing that it may have hit a rock bottom and is well undervalued.
Also a move up in Brent oil prices for the first time in a couple of weeks.

To me Afren may soon issue some good drilling and production news, and with some decent Directors at the helm, - by Christmas may hopefully be back to above 140p, as a quality investment.

Also Kurdistan - sod the Baghdad Central Government messing with payments - Kurdistan could sell their oil to an Oil Trader, who could then sell it on to a User.
The Trader would be happy to get the Kurdistan oil at best price, pay Kurdistan Gov., and sell it on to an anonymous user. Only problem could be pipeline security I think. So Kurdistan oil could soon start gushing for Afren.
.

Is Kirkuk Oil fields now under the control of Kurdistan or Baghdad, with these ongoing ( Islamic State ) IS problems ?

Business
Pipeline upgrade to boost Kurdish oil exports
By Alexander Whitcomb 28/10/2014

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A new pipeline upgrade will significantly boost Kurdish oil exports by the end of the year, according to Kurdistan Region officials.

On Tuesday the Kurdistan Regional Government confirmed that Kurdish exports of crude to Turkey are expected to reach 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the year, up from current levels of more than 290,000bpd.

They added that this number should rise to 500,000bpd by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

Once technical upgrades in both Turkey and the Kurdistan region are fully complete, the Ministry of Natural Resources says the pipeline will reach a capacity of 700,000bpd. The KRG aims to reach one million bpd by the end of 2015.

But these figures are contingent on a number of simultaneous developments.

Norwegian oil and gas firm DNO working on a new 24-inch pipeline for the Tawke field, which will help it meet a 200,000bpd deliverability target this year. Anglo-Turkish firm Genel hopes to increase its production by 80,000bpd before 2015, according to its website.

They also factor in oil that the Iraqi federal government considers misappropriated by Kurdistan from its state-owned North Oil Company.

Oil pumped from the KRG-controlled fields in Makhmour district—the Avana dome in Kirkuk field and Bai Hassan field—are being linked by a spur to the KRG-Turkey pipeline. Oil from Avana has been flowing to the KRG for a little over a week.

Testing on the Bai Hassan branch is imminent, according to the Ministry of Natural resources.

The oil from these fields will be used by the KRG for its domestic refineries, helping the region to maintain its supply of refined products after Islamic State militants disrupted the activity of the Baiji refinery in June. The loss of Iraq’s largest refinery in June caused shortages of electricity and refined oil products, such as gasoline.

The Ministry of Natural Resources also stated that production in Avana and Bai Hassan will free up oil from its Khurmala dome for export.

The use of Kirkuk oil promises to complicate future negotiations over control of the country’s oil exports, the focus of a bitter dispute between Erbil and Baghdad that led former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to cut off the region’s budget—over one billion dollars a month—in January.

Despite their disagreement, Baghdad had agreed to link Kirkuk’s Avana dome to the Khurmala field in Kurdistan after repeated insurgent attacks forced the North Oil to close its Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline in early March. The government was eager to resume exports of Kirkuk crude: every day its pipeline was offline, it lost revenue from the sale of 300,000bpd of oil.

“Increasing throughput capacity is commendable,” says Nat Kern, president of Foreign Reports, an oil industry consulting firm. “If Baghdad and Irbil ever reach an agreement, Iraq will need a new outlet for Kirkuk crude. If not, the KRG will need to overcome the legal obstacles Baghdad has erected so that it can develop a reliable customer base. The Obama Administration shouldn’t take sides in these legal disputes. Either way, the KRG is laying the groundwork for much higher volumes, to be exported sooner or later, for itself or for Iraq.”

I wonder if we will have an RNS tonight or first thing Monday to say SAP have increased their holding?

and not only 80p but 81.75p also now gone

Is the 10p rise on the cards?

Finished up 13%

A very large UT at closing 1.5Millions

Time 16:35:02
price 82.10p
amount 1,504,727
trade UT

LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdistan has sold 34.5 million barrels of oil worth almost $3 billion since January, the Kurdistan Regional Government said, despite opposition from the federal government to independent oil sales from the region.

The KRG said in a statement on Friday that it would make an initial payment of $75 million to oil producing companies for their exports and would make further payments on a regular basis, sparking a rally in producers' share prices.

Companies producing oil in the semi-autonomous region include the UK's Genel Energy (Other OTC: GEGYF - news) , Gulf Keystone Petroleum and Afren (LSE: AFR.L - news) , and Norway's DNO (Other OTC: DTNOF - news) . Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Gulf Keystone rose by more than 6 percent, and Genel shares rose more than 3 percent.

The KRG added that the proceeds of the $2.87 billion sales were being treated as part of what it claimed as its "constitutional entitlement" of 17 percent of Iraqi government revenues, which it says have not been paid by Baghdad since January.

"The KRG is balancing almost a year of non-payments of its budgetary allocation from Baghdad," said Ayham Kamel, Middle East and North Africa director at Eurasia Group.

The statement comes a day after the KRG's minister for natural resources told a conference in Arbil that the region's exports were approaching 300,000 barrels a day.

The KRG said that it had shipped 21.5 million barrels of crude to the Turkish port of Ceyhan and trucked 13 million barrels to the Turkish port of Mersin since January.

The KRG said it had received $2.1 billion in cash and $775 million in payments in kind via refined oil product sales. (Reporting by Sam Wilkin and David Sheppard in London; editing by Jane Baird)

There is a mention about Afren regarding a possible bid in todays FT, can someone paste it on here

22 hours ago
BP rises as bid talk resurfaces
...could be worth around 138p per Cairn share, analysts said. Afren jumped 12.7 per cent to 82.1p after announcing the resignation...who led Eni’s African M&A push, raised speculation that Afren is being targeted for a takeover by 7.1 per cent shareholder...Bryce Elder

>>>>>>>>>> FT

A few lines in FT ...

....speculating that the General might be preparing for a take over. Once again, nothing concrete but the usual speculation and conjecture whenever they see an out of ordinary daily rise. I've heard these kind of guesses for so many years now that for me they've lost their impact.

------------------
The Independent.

Is the gamble on the Kurdish oil industry about to pay off?

Producers in the unstable region have been struggling to get payment for their exports, amid squabbles between Kurdistan and the Iraqi Government over who should take what cut. But yesterday the Kurdish Ministry of Natural Resources said it would pay $75m (£47m) to exporters this month, with future payments to follow. It also revealed that exports have jumped by 60 per cent in the last four months.

The news sent producers in the region rocketing. Afren jumped 9.25p to 82.1p, Genel Energy 27p to 754p and Gulf Keystone Petroleum 8.75p to 75p.

that must be from friday, but sp level is still close enough

Who's in here in the 70's or 80's ??

pretty modestly at 94, but i didn't fancy topping up at the lower levels

I have itchy fingers for this ,can't decide ,see if it goes down or if there is a bid /oil price goes up etc etc get left behind.

i'ld say there must be a at least a reasonable chance of a bid, but when and for how much, goodness knows

one could make an equally valid argument TLW, which has long looked a prime target but has brought forth no suitors

Sold out in the low 100's back in at 73p jimmy.

Cheers , i sold at a tad over 104p end of Sept , want back in at some point ,i missed the 70's .

Nigerian Operations Update
London, 11 November 2014

Afren plc ("Afren" or the "Company") is pleased to provide the market with an update on its operations at Ebok, Okwok and OML 115, all located offshore Nigeria.

Ebok Central Fault Block Extension platform jacket installed.

At the Ebok field, following a favourable weather window, Afren and its Partner, Oriental Energy Resources Limited (Oriental), are pleased to announce that the jacket for the Ebok Central Fault Block Extension (CFBx) platform has now been installed. The installation of the decks and bridge will complete in early January 2015 once the wellhead jacket at Okwok has been installed; following which the Partners will commence the hook up and commissioning of the CFBx platform.

The work programme at the CFBx will include up to 9 new wells to be drilled and brought on-stream by the end of 2015 targeting both producing and undeveloped reservoirs. Elsewhere at the North Fault Block (NFB), the Partners continue to make good progress and are targeting completion of the third new producer by mid-December 2014. The forward programme at the NFB will incorporate up to an additional 5 wells by year-end 2015.

The Company remains on-track to deliver full year net production at the lower end of guidance between 32,000 to 36,000 bopd (excluding Barda Rash).

Drilling commences on the Ameena East Prospect

Afren and its Partner Oriental have spudded the Ameena East well located on OML 115, offshore Nigeria. The well is being drilled with the Shelf Adriatic I drilling rig. The Ameena East prospect will be targeting 65 mmbbls of gross unrisked resources in zones of prospectivity in the Biafra intervals that are productive north of the acreage, with secondary objectives in the Qua Iboe reservoirs equivalent to those at the Ebok and Okwok fields. The drilling campaign at Ameena East is expected to be completed in December, 2014.

Drilling at the Ebok Deep exploration tail targeting 50 mmbbls of gross unrisked resources in the deeper Qua Iboe and Biafra reservoirs is expected to commence in Q4 2014 following the completion of the third new producer at the NFB.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/6395W_-2014-11-10.pdf

Toby Hayward, Interim Chief Executive of Afren, commented:

"With incremental new production to be brought on stream from both the CFB and NFB platforms, as well as from the Okoro FFD, Okwok, OML 26 and OML 113 developments, Afren is expecting to deliver strong production and cash flow growth in 2015 and beyond. We are pleased to have commenced our drilling campaign at the Ameena East prospect and are excited about the potential there and at Ebok Deep."

wouldnt exactly call it good or bad either way