< "> edit this post http://www.investegate.co.uk/afren-plc-%28afr%29/rns/trading-statement-and-operations-update/201301210700069619
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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

SEPLAT PetDevCom Plc
Acquisition of interest in OML 53 onshore Nigeria
RNS Number : 1707E
SEPLAT Petroleum Development Co PLC
05 February 2015




Seplat completes acquisition of interest in OML 53 onshore Nigeria

Lagos and London, 5 February 2015: Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc ("Seplat" or the "Company"), a leading Nigerian indigenous oil and gas company listed on both the Nigeria Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange, today announces that it has completed the acquisition of a 40.00% working interest in OML 53, onshore north eastern Niger Delta from Chevron Nigeria Limited ("CNL"). NNPC holds the remaining 60.00% interest in OML 53.

The up-front acquisition cost to Seplat, after adjustments, is US$259.4 million, of which US$69.0 million had previously been paid as a deposit in 2013 and US$190.4 million paid at completion. The adjustments to the up-front acquisition cost include a deferred payment of US$18.75 million contingent on oil prices averaging US$90/bbl or above for 12 consecutive months over the next five years. The Company estimates net recoverable hydrocarbon volumes attributable to its 40.00% working interest to be approximately 51 MMbbls of oil and condensate and 611 Bscf of gas (total 151 MMboe). Seplat has been designated as Operator of OML 53 pursuant to the Joint Operating Model approved by the Honourable Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources.

"This transaction fits neatly with our strategy of securing, commercialising and monetising natural gas in the Niger Delta with a view to supplying the rapidly growing and evolving domestic market. In addition to the large scale discovered, but undeveloped gas and condensate resources that are yet to be fully classified through detailed technical work, there are near term opportunities to increase and optimise oil production significantly above current levels," said Austin Avuru, Seplat's Chief Executive Officer. "We very much look forward to working with NNPC and leveraging our technical and commercial expertise as Operator to realise the full potential of this high grade acreage," he added.

OML 53 covers an area of approximately 1,585km2 and is located onshore in the north eastern Niger Delta. The Jisike oil field, located in the north western area of the block, is currently the only producing field on OML 53. Current gross production from Jisike is approximately 2,000 bopd (approximately 800 bopd on a 40.00% working interest basis). Existing infrastructure on OML 53 at Jisike comprises flow-lines, phase one separation facilities and a flow station with a design capacity of 12,000 bopd and 8 MMscfd. Oil production is then sent for further processing at the nearby Izombe facilities on OML 124 from where it is exported via pipeline to the Brass oil terminal. The block also contains the large undeveloped Ohaji South gas and condensate field, the development of which will be co-ordinated with the SPDC operated Assa North field on adjacent OML 21, together referred to as the ANOS project. The expectation is that future gas production from the ANOS project will supply the domestic market, for which significant work on commercialisation terms and development concepts has been undertaken. There is also shallow oil development potential at Ohaji South that could be pursued as a separate standalone project in the near term. Prior to initiating development of the ANOS project, Seplat expects to focus efforts on increasing oil production at the Jisike field and development of the shallow oil reservoirs in Ohaji South.

Enquiries:

Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc



Roger Brown, CFO



Andrew Dymond, Head of Investor Relations


+44 (0) 203 725 6500



Chioma Nwachuku, GM - External Affairs and Communications


+234 12 770 400





FTI Consulting



Ben Brewerton / Sara Powell / George Parker




+44 (0) 203 727 1000




seplat@fticonsulting.com








Citigroup Global Markets Limited






Tom Reid / Luke Spells




+44 (0) 207 986 4000

dont leave much cash for afr if sepl?

posting twice doesn't leave much room on the page either :-)

prob only need $1 to buy AFR always provided the debt is taken on too

$1 - as much as that :-)

i didnt post twice - it is 2 seperate rns from sepl they have purchased # 53 & # 55

chuckle :-)

Seems happy to hold around this level. We are not all paupers......yet!

Brent back to $58.40 after earlier profit taking to $57.40

------------------ Intraday Brent Oil ----------------------------------------- 2 month ---------------

Is share price ready for the bounce after seeing 9p a few times?
At the moment there is aseller at 9.50p on the order book lasting for a while or 30 minutes, every time the "AT" takes the lot another lot is put on ( Iceberg )


closing price 9 - 02 - 2015

Yesterday's bounce though at the end lost plenty is following the same path this morning.

On the order book it does not seem so control as on the last few days

AFR
Share Price: 9.885 Bid: 9.70 Ask: 9.87 Change: 0.52 (+5.55%)

it's all gone rather sleepy for this one

Just came across this,no idea as to it's cred?

A joker no doubt,but maybe???

From lse (taken from iii)
26Clarke on iii

I have heard it from good sources both Lagos and the City that this merger of Seplat and Afren is looking increasingly likely as I mention a couple of times last week, news likely on Wednesday from my research but of course do your own!! It's looking highly likely to be a merger, the other investors are coming out of Asia or Swiss (points towards a trader, which would make sense as they pull a lot of crude out of West Africa). This is going to start increasing in the next two days, good fundamentals this week, oil on the up, potential re-structure of existing debt and according to the rumours coming from various sources looking most likely the merger of Seplat and Afren as per the info from the ADVN post.....should make for an interesting week!!

for goodness sake ...... as you say cyril, a load more BS
what does anyone actually know?
best part of FA!
even if seplat do put in an offer (possible), what odds that PIs will be left high and dry?
very short to odds-on

Time is running out for Afren (LSE: AFR). The company's future now hinges on a deal with Seplat but so far, no deal has been forthcoming and with every day that passes, the group gets closer to the edge.
Taking too long
Afren's only hope is to hammer out a takeover deal with Nigeria's Seplat Petroleum. Indeed, City analysts believe that if Afren fails to negotiate a deal, it will fail pretty quickly. Specifically, analysts believe that with oil prices at present levels, Afren's operations will only generate enough cash to cover its debt interest payments over the next 12 months.
This forecast assumes that Afren reduces capital spending to zero: an unrealistic assumption. The company will still have to carry out maintenance on its existing oil fields.
Unfortunately, it seems as if a deal between Afren and Seplat is unlikely to go ahead. The two parties have been in talks for nearly two months now and so far no deal has been announced.
It's possible that Seplat wants to carry out rigorous due diligence on Afren, which would explain the delay but it's more likely that the two groups are fighting over an appropriate purchase price. After all, Seplat will have to take on Afren's liabilities if it acquires the company, including Afren's $1.2bn debt pile. This means Seplat will have to seek approval from Afren's bondholders.
Nevertheless, a resolution to whatever issue is causing the delay will have to be found soon. The deadline for Seplat to make an official bid is 5pm on 13 February, which gives the company only two days.
Worst-case scenario
Bondholders are not known for their flexibility, and if a deal hinges on bondholders demands then it's likely that shareholders will be wiped out. Lenders have already been extremely lenient towards Afren, and it's unlikely that they will continue to be so forgiving.
For example, lenders of the $300m Ebok debt facility agreed to a deferral of the $50m amortisation payment due on 31 January until 27 February. A 30-day grace period under the 2016 bonds has also been utilised with respect to $15m of interest that had been due on 1 February.
But this means at the end of February, Afren, if it is still independent, will have to find $65m to fund interest costs or admit defeat. Raising funds via a rights issue remains an option, although this would have to be a last ditch attempt.
The bottom line
So overall, it looks as if time is running out and it could be time for shareholders to jump ship before the company disappears for good.
Still, as always, I strongly recommend that you do your own research before making any trading decision. To help you assess Afren, our top analysts have put together this new report from The Motley Fool.
The report guides you through the seven key steps all successful investors follow before making an investment. And the report teaches you everything you need to know in under 20 minutes!
Don't delay, this report is only available for a limited time. So click here to r

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-could-game-over-afren-151654704.html

Now, what was that song?............24 hours to...........Lagos??? (Actually it was Tulsa, but poetic licence!).

What are all these buys...takeover bid ?...could it be ...?...(remind me to stamp myself on my other foot when I say such things)....

more likely to be bears locking in profits b4 w/e

What profits ?

Total guess work either way this share.

If there is any deal with SEPLAT it is probably a none cash deal i.e. so many Afren shares
for one SEPLAT share as the combined may need cash to pay bond holders, or

If no deal then Afren could probably sell off Kurdistan interests or something to
SEPLAT, Hunt Oil, or someone to raise cash to give it time to re-establish itself.

Bond holders will be very reluctant to take any drastic actions and will want to see Afren remain in business as a going concern as long as they can see it has a chance
to be profitable and has a fair chance of bond repayment.

Be optimistic and strong - stay with it .... my guess - ????