Desire Petroleum

<>Desire Petroleum plc (Desire) is a UK company listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) dedicated to exploring for oil and gas in the North Falkland Basin.

Desire has recently completed a 6 well exploration programme. The Liz well encountered dry gas and gas condensate at 2 separate levels while other wells recorded shows.
Together with the Rockhopper Exploration Sea Lion oil discovery in the licence to the north, these wells have provided significant encouragement for the potential of the North Falkland Basin. The oil at Sea Lion is of particular interest as this has demonstrated that oil is trapped in potentially significant quantities in a fan sandstone on the east flank of the basin. It is believed that over 50% of this east flank play fairway is on Desire operated acreage.

Desire has now completed new 3D seismic acquisition which provides coverage over the east flank play, Ann, Pam and Helen prospects. The results from fast-track processing of priority areas are provided in the 2011 CPR. A farm-out to Rockhopper has been announced. The revised equities are shown on the licence map (subject to regulatory approval and completion of the farm-in well). Desire Petroleum

Rockhopper Exploration

British Geological Survey

Argos Resources



Latest Press Realeses from Desire

Desire Petroleum (LSE: DES): Desire holds licences in the shallow waters of the North Falklands Basin. It has contracted the Ocean Guardian drilling rig. It expects to drill four wells, starting in February. Evaluation of its top ten prospects has indicated prospective recoverable resources of over three billion barrels (boe).

Rockhopper (LSE: RKH): Rockhopper is the largest licence holder in the North Falkland Basin. It has indicated a possible 4.3bn boe in its licence area. The Ocean Guardian will drill two wells on its wholly-owned blocks.

Borders & Southern (LSE: BOR): Borders & Southern holds a 100% interest in five production licences in the South Falkland Basin. It has been cagey about how much oil could be here, referring only to "multiple targets". The biggest of these could contain over 1bn boe. It has also alluded to the contiguous Malvinas and Magallanes Basins to the west where discoveries of six billion boe have been reported.

In November Borders & Southern raised 113m, enough to finance the drilling of three wells. It may yet bring in a partner and it has also hinted at "sharing with other operators in the region". This is likely to mean Falkland Oil & Gas. This is partly because Borders & Southern's licences are in the deep waters to the south, but also because Desire and Rockhopper have already secured their rig.

Falklands Oil & Gas (LSE: FOGL): Having brought in BHP Billiton as a partner, FOGL has an interest of only 49% in its licence areas. But these areas cover an expanse the size of 223 North Sea blocks more extensive than all the other licences put together. The joint venture plans to use the Ocean Guardian to drill one well at one of the shallower points of its acreage. But the licence areas are predominantly deep water. To drill here it needs to hire a dynamically positioned drillship or semi-submersible, which it hopes to do later this year.

Getting my bearings in Port Stanley


http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article203964.ece

balls or otherwise?

Actually a compass bearing (magnetic north) that close to the South Pole is probably quite tricky to get.

A bit of a bounce at the end....blue start tom

Lots of buys today anyway... only the nervous ones will run.

Too bad it is moving downwards, marky due to general market weakness and also to this top navy admiral mentioning about war in the Falklands.

More sells than buys today...guess people are nervous and scared when war is mentioned.
Well, where there is oil, there is usually war.

Monday, January 18th 2010

Britain rejects latest Argentine claim to Falklands sovereignty


The British government has firmly rejected the latest claim by Argentina to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, Members of Parliament have been told, according to a report from BBC.

Junior Foreign office minister Chris Bryant made a statement to Parliament.
In a written statement, junior Foreign Office minister Chris Bryant said the UK had "no doubt" that the Falklands belonged to the UK.

Argentina passed a law in December claiming to own the islands and several other British overseas territories.

The Conservatives gave their "full support" to the British government's response.

Argentina and Britain went to war over the Falklands in 1982, and despite the military dictatorship defeat and surrender, Argentina insists with claims to the Falklands and other South Atlantic Islands.

Mr Bryant said the Foreign Office had delivered a "note verbale" to the Argentine charge d'affaires in London to outline UK rejection of the claim.

It insisted that the Falklands, along with South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and the British Antarctic Territory, all remained firmly under UK sovereignty.

Shadow foreign minister David Lidington added that the Conservatives would "condemn attempts by any foreign governments to assert otherwise".

In March 2009, Gordon Brown rejected calls from Argentina for talks over the future sovereignty of the Falklands. PM Brown turned down the request for discussions at a meeting with Argentinas president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

http://en.mercopress.com/2010/01/20/oil-executives-check-preparations-for-rig-arrival-in-falklands


MercoPress, Stanley, 20/01/10

"Oil executives check preparations for rig arrival in Falklands.

DRILLING chemicals, pipe casing and logging equipment are just part of the mass of physical supplies being offloaded in Stanley in preparation for the arrival of the oil rig in Falkland Islands waters next month.

Desire Petroleum plc (Desire) Chairman Stephen Phipps told MercoPress the large cargo ship Honest Rays, currently berthed at the islands dock, FIPASS, is the second to have landed supplies for storage at their lay down area run by local firm Byron Marine Ltd.

A supply helicopter for the rig Ocean Guardian, has already been delivered to the islands and will be based at Cape Dolphin at the furthest northern point on East Falkland Islands.

Speaking of logistical support for the rig and drill programme, Mr Phipps said, although it has all been rather rushed the level of support here in the Falklands is fabulous, it really is excellent bearing in mind it has been set up in three months rather than the more normal 8 months.

Mr Phipps is visiting the islands along with Desire Chief Executive Ian Duncan and two colleagues from the partner company Rockhopper Exploration plc, Chief Executive Sam Moody, and Exploration Director Dave Bodecott.

Apart from inspecting the supply base to the East of the dock, which they describe as, very good, the group will have talks with the eight recently elected Legislative Assembly Members.
Desire Petroleum is a UK company listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), dedicated to exploring for oil and gas in the North Falkland Basin.

The company participated in the first round of drilling in the North Falkland Basin in 1998. Desire now operates 6 licences in the area and Rockhopper Exploration plc have farmed-in to two of the tranches."

The Following transcript from an Interview from with Stephen Phipps,of DES and also Sam Moody,of RKH, who are both currently down in the Falklands on a visit,has been sent to me just this afternoon.
Rep = Reporter.

I make appoplgy for any spelling errors in this,dictation was never a strong point of mine,however I have done my best to cover what was said.
PP.


Rep-
Oil company reps that are currently visiting the Falklands,say they are pleased with how preperations are progressing in advance of the arrival of the "Ocean Guardian" Oil rig,and said there was a number of reasons for their visit..

SP
We are here just to see how things are going,our 2 supply vessels have arrived,our supply depot is being built by Byron Marine,we came to see it all and see how things are going,obviously we have a new councill since we were last here,we've come to meet councillors,and update the Minerals dept as to where we are with our drilling campaign.

Rep
Yes, so how is all the logistical work going in anticipation of the rig arriving?

SP
Its going very well,it's been an enourmos task which has been done very well by every one here in the Falklands,the 2nd ship that came in was the the biggest ship that has come into fipass for 10 years,its going to take 7-8 days to unload,the firs ship was unloaded quickly,things are going well and its all down to the credit of the Falkland Islander's who are working so hard around the clock to do it.The work effort from the Falklands has been
fantastic,every one is working hard to get us here,and we are looking forward to finding oil.

Rep
Whats the latest with the rig,and where is that at the moment?

SP
Well I cant tell you exactly where it is,that would be..I'm not allowed to umm,but its on its way,lets put it that way,and will be here pretty much on schedule,early Feb.

Rep
Have there been any difficultys so far,I belive it did have to stop off at one point in the trip?

SP
Well I think it was a minor stop for a chain breaking or something,but things that are a normal part of dragging a rig down 8000 mile in 65 days,its just a normal part of that procedure.

Rep
I guess that security is also an issue,is that also something you have been discussing?

Sp
Yes we have been discussing it with the Rig,Diamond,but all rigs have their own security procedures,its nothing untoward about that,I mean people drill in Nigera,and all sorts of places that are difficult,I'm not suggesting that this is giong to be difficult,infact we dont forsee any problems, but we will have and do have an emergency responce plan,which is in the normal operating envoirment we would have.

Rep
There seems to be quite a lot of buzz around at the moment with this campaign,it must be quite an exciting time for Desire.?

SP
We are excited,we have been waiting 12 years to drill,we have done a lot of work in between time,a lot more work on our prospects, 3D, AVO work,
we were lucky to get a rig when the rig prices were coming down,we've not just ourselves,but other oil companys have raised a lot of money on the stock market,and were here,were excited,and looking forward to the next 6-8 months.SP.
End

The Reporter then spoke to Sam Moody of RKH.

SM
Well were planning to drill 2 wells during 2010,useing the same rig as Desire,one of those wells is in the ex-Shell block, its just a few Km from the last well Shell drilled during 98,and that well of course did recover oil,so were very excited about that one,and then were drilling another well called Earnest,which is much nearer to the Islands, about 100Km away from the Islands, in an area that has'nt been drilled before. Both Des and RKH are useing AGR to do the management of the wells,and they are doing a fantastic job down here, and were extreamaly excited about whatas about to happen. This is a defining year for the company,so in my position,clearly this is the culmination of 5 years work,so yes its extreamaly exciting.

Rep
Whats the best case scenario for this campaign for Rockhopper.?

SM
Well the best case scenario is that these 2 wells we drill would be oil discoveries,and that would be an event that would compleatly transform
the company,and of course you've got to remember as well that we are in 3 wells that DES will be drilling,so we've got 5 chances if you like to make it work.

Rep
Yes there must be good co-operation between yourselves and DES with this work?.

SM
Yes, its extreamaly important that we co-operate with each other,because were both operating remotly from where we are based,thats why we've both appointed AGR to manage the wells on our bahalf.

End of Interview.

http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article204058.ece

Stanley basks in southern summer

The final two videos of the Hitler & Desire series have been uploaded.

I hope you've enjoyed them and good luck with your investment in Desire!

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzmWefseY8s

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AK4-1KkaU8

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i7Nsx-43Pg

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j2xVuOCUG0

A first contract covering the sub-letting of the semi-submersible rig Ocean Guardian for the upcoming exploration campaign off the 
Falkland Islands appears set to be signed by the end of next week.

Rob Watts Friday, 22 January, 2010, 02:34 GMT

Desire Petroleum, which has contracted the rig for the explor ation in the North Falkland basin, said it hopes to finalise the deal with fellow explorer Rockhopper Exploration in the next few days.

Desire chief executive Ian 
Duncan refused to be tied down to an exact schedule but said he was hopeful the deal would be signed.

It will not be finalised until it is actually signed but it is a case of dotting the Is and crossing the Ts, said Duncan. He added that talks on another deal to sub-let the rig to BHP Billiton Petroleum for a well off the south-east of the 
islands are at an advanced stage, with a deal expected shortly after the Rockhopper agreement.

Duncan and Desire chairman Stephen Phipps have been in Port Stanley this week along with 
officials from Rockhopper Explor ation, including managing director Sam Moody, for a series of meetings with Falkland Island 
officials and agencies ahead of the start of the campaign, the first drilling off the islands since 1998.

Duncan said: We are excited. After 12 years of waiting we cant wait to get started.

The Ocean Guardian is 
currently south of Rio de Janeiro heading for the islands after refuelling in Brazil, and drilling is 
expected to start in mid-February. niDesire has contracted the rig to drill four wells on its own acreage, with six optional slots.

Rockhopper is expected to take two of those options while BHP Billiton, assuming a deal is signed with the Australian company, is expected to take one slot, widely assumed to be the third.

Duncan told Upstream that the first Desire well to spud will in all probability be its Liz prospect, where it holds a 92.5% interest, with Rockhopper on 7.5%.

The second well on the Ocean Guardians schedule is expected be the Rockhopper-operated Sea Lion prospect.

Despite speculation over the remaining drilling schedule, 
Duncan cautioned that Desire wanted to keep a large degree of flexibility in the campaign.

He also said Desire intends to test any potential discoveries.

Work is also picking up in Port Stanley, with thousands of tonnes of drilling equipment from the UK being unloaded from the Thor Leader and Honest Rays vessels in the past week.

Work on a yard being built by Falkland Islands company Byron McKay Port Services to store the equipment is also in full swing.

Oil bosses excited as
prospects bode well

TOP oil men visiting the Falklands
in advance of the arrival of the oil
rig Ocean Guardian have said they
are extremely excited about the
next stage of exploration in Falklands
waters.
Sam Moody, Rockhopper Explorations
Managing Director and
co-founder of the company, and
Desire Petroleums Chairman
Stephen Phipps are in the Islands
this week meeting with government
officials and observing the
ongoing arrangements being put in
place for the arrival of the semisubmersible
oil rig.
The construction of office
blocks and a laydown area near
Boxer Bridge - affectionately referred
to by the oil men as Byron
Plaza - is progressing well, said
Mr Phipps.
There has been an enormous
effort to get everything ready and
they [Byron McKay] have been
working around the clock to get
the ships unloaded.
The first of the two ships,
Thor Leader, has been unloaded
and the off loading of Honest Rays
is going well, said Mr Phipps.
A 100-tonne crane needed to
unload the vessels was shipped
into Mare Harbour just days before
the cargo arrived in Stanley.
Rockhopper Exploration is
planning to drill two wells using
Ocean Guardian: one is in the
block from which Shell recovered
oil in the previous drilling round
in 1998; the other, called Ernest,
is about 100km from the Islands
in an area that has not been drilled
before.
Both Rockhopper and Desire
are using AGR for the management
of the wells. They are doing a
fantastic job down here, said Mr
Moody, for whom the drilling is
the culmination of five years
work. He said if both wells were
discoveries it would completely
transform the company.
Rockhopper also is in on three
wells with Desire, effectively with
five chances to make a success of
the drilling round.
Desire Petroleum has contracted
the oil rig and expects to
drill four wells in the shallow waters
of the North Falklands basin.
Evaluation of its top ten prospects
has indicated prospective recoverable
resources of over three
billion barrels. While the rig is going
to be 100km offshore and there
is not going to be any great influx
of personnel into the town, the
local economy is feeling the benefit
of the drilling round in a subtle
way, not least by the construction
of the office and laydown facilities
by local labour.
As an additional example Mr
Phipps said Desire had block
booked 15 seats on each airbridge
flight and nine rooms in the
Malvina House Hotel until the end
of April.
There is a good lot of money
coming in, he added.
At an extraordinary meeting of
Executive Council on Monday oil
industry related papers were considered.
Councillor Jan Cheek said it
was recommended to the Governor
that approval for a Consent to
Drill application from Rockhopper
Exploration be forwarded to the
Secretary of State.
Further papers related to oil
spill contingency plans for Desire
Petroleum and the Falkland Islands,
the latter being an updated
plan which addresses some of the
previous shortcomings which became
apparent at the time of the
Ocean 8 spill in Berkeley Sound.

The rig is on schedule for Vitoria on Monday morning. (Brazil time) The Maersk Traveller will then dock and load the required bunkers for the remainder of the tow to F.I. The stop over should only take around 24/36hrs.

Due in FI and will spud mid feb

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/153759/Port-Stanley-s-oil-reserves-set-to-be-new-Aberdeen

PORT STANLEY'S OIL RESERVES SET TO BE NEW ABERDEEN

If they do find oil in quantity : there will be quite a few jobs created around Port Stanley.

Markymar,

Don't often post here but always look in as I am invested in FKL.
Would just like to say thanks re all your input (and other contributors of course).

Regards Greek.

http://sartma.com/art_7323.html

Falklands : FALKLANDS ARE GO FOR OIL EXPLORATION
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 24.01.2010 (Current Article)
Desire Chairman, Stephen Phipps has confirmed that the exploration rig, Ocean Guardian, is progressing well and scheduled to arrive in Falklands waters early in February, weather and sea conditions depending.


FALKLANDS ARE GO FOR OIL EXPLORATION

By J. Brock (FINN)

Desire Chairman, Stephen Phipps has confirmed that the exploration rig, Ocean Guardian, is progressing well and scheduled to arrive in Falklands waters early in February, weather and sea conditions depending.

During an interview with FINN he also confirmed that the integrated pipe and lay-down facility at Coastel Road being constructed by Byron McKay is nearing completion with plans to base a majority of the shore support personnel from that area.


As reported last month on FINN there will be a financial benefit for the economy for entities involved in the pipe and lay-down facility, the movement of oil related cargo from FIPASS, People renting accommodation for shore based workers, Hotels accommodating workers and transport services. Twelve Rooms at the Malvina House Hotel, 15 seats on the airbridge as well as the increased port activity is a significant contribution to the Falklands economy said Mr Phipps.


Mr Phipps went on to say that once exploratory drilling is complete then these revenue streams will be dried up until there is another round of exploratory drilling possibly by FOGL, BHP Billiton and Borders & Southern.


Ocean Guardian is a semi-submersible rig suitable for exploring in shallower waters. This means that after Desire Petroleum finish their prospects in tranches C, D, and F, and Rockhopper Exploration end their drilling campaign in former Shell tranches, then BHP Billitons shallower prospects of Endeavour, Loligo and Nimrod could be drilled.

According to Mr Phipps there will be little information coming from the site. There will be an announcement when drilling commences and another when target depth is reached and how long it took to drill that depth. After a while the results of the drill will be announced.

Besides Desires Chairman, the CEO, Mr Ian Duncan, Finance Director Mr Eddie Wisniewski and PR Consultant Mr Ben Romney from Buchanan are visiting Also in the Falklands this week is Mr Sam Moody of Rockhopper Exploration. Rockhopper have discovered natural gas in one of their prospects.



When asked about what hydrocarbons products were being explored Mr Phipps said that the main thought process is oil because thats whats believed to be there. He shied away from commenting about natural gas


When the exploration process is over and if hydrocarbons have been found, the exploration well will be tested. If no hydrocarbons have been found, exploratory wells will be plugged and abandoned. If we can, we would like to stay, but that depends on rig availability, said Mr Phipps.



In a tight rig market this could only be a wish, rather than a firm way forward. However, many exploratory rigs in other parts of the world have been kept for exploitation purposes in the past. This adds to a tight rig market, so if a rig can be secured for Falklands waters all the better.


At the end of the day after all the exploration is finished there will be slack hydrocarbons based revenue streams. To investors, I say, hang in there. The next few months could be interesting indeed.