Amities . l have been discreetly buying this stock since it was 39p . And the more i learn the bolder are the positions i take . .....Floated in Dec 2004 it was oversubscribed and before costs the required $15 million was raised. At the helm is ex BP head of Global exploration and Resavoir management . Furthermore a success story at Global Expo . Now Nick Johnstone wants to set up on his own . And after speaking to him l am not at all surprised . He is like a "Who s Who " of the hydrocarbon world ...He has ALL the prerequisites for success so why work for some other lackey ! .. namely connections from his ertwhistle employers . He has assembled a first class management team from ex colleauges at BP ; and is his business model is simple . AFR farms in on "Big Oils " inception upstream ; and with its scale of economy it works closely with "Big oils" fields on the look out for excellent workovers oppertunities .... Already lt has via a complicated j/v a percentage of the Sao Tome and Principe acreage -Located between the oil rich waters of Nigeria and those of Sao Tome and operated by Texaco / Chevron and Esso; and believed by many to be the new North sea . . 3D Seismic testing and magnetic graphic imagery and satellite imaging has located a labyrinth of channels leading to a main resavoir which is believed to14-15 mmbbls of oil and which would leave AFR with its share of 120/140 million barrels for NO cash outlay .To ensure early cash generation Afren has entered into a production sharing agreement in the developed Ogedeh field { adjacent to the BP operated Olowi marin field which is believed to yield 180 mmbbloe. Furthernore AFR has agreed to drill the lbekelia project for Ascent resources which is expected to produce 2,500 b/pdoe to satisfy AFR percentile share ,ln addition it is a believed resouce of several years . .. , .Not a bad start for a company with little more than six months in the making . ....and well worthy of investigation !! .....@+ J

Kieth think it may funded by a placing. I can see us drifting back to 80p. Good buying opportunity then.

Well if anyone is in London Thursday evening, you have an opportunity to go and address your questions to the CEO himself!

And over free drinks and canapes!

An opportunity not to be missed IMO.

Andy, off topic, Good news today for KYS.

A good read from Jack Brent, don't know where he finds all this information but he is a star


Afren on the up
AIM-listed Afren is pressing ahead with marginal field work in Nigeria, but there are signs of larger projects on the horizon
By Amrit Sidhu
Afren’s FPSO for the Okoru Setu project is ready and production will begin next year The company has strong links to international banks and to local Nigerian figures Acquisition of stake offshore Angola, plus stake in JDZ, suggest bigger dreams

A three-year old African junior
exploration company is set to launch three to four new fields over the next two years, with the potential to reach gross production of 100,000 barrels per day by 2009-2010. The company, Afren, is set to produce 15,000-20,000 bpd by the middle of next year.
Afren, formed in December 2004 and listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), is in the midst of commencing production from the Okoro Setu field, off Nigeria, by next March.
Though shying away from giving specific numbers, Afren’s CEO, Osman Shahenshah, was confident of launching the development of three to four new fields within the following six months. Afren, under the chairmanship of former OPEC secretary general, Rilwanu Lukman, has raised over US$300 million of financing so far this year.
This includes the syndication of US$200 million debt facility to finance Okoro Setu, completion of US$65 million equity fundraising following a US$15 million strategic equity investment from Standard Bank and BNP Paribas and a US$50 million unsecured acquisition facility with First City Local links The company seems to be focussed on marginal fields, which have become economical to develop as a result of high international oil prices. Marginal fields were relinquished by larger companies – such as Shell and Chevron – and licensed back to indigenous companies. The Nigerian government is keen to use this mechanism in an attempt to bolster local content.
In the case of Okoru Setu, the local company was Amni, which subsequently brought in Afren to assist the development of the field.
The London-listed junior has excellent political connections in Nigeria, alongside the links to Amni it is also working with Dangote Energy Equity Resources (DEER) in the Nigeria-Sao Tome & Principe Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Block 1.
Okoro Setu is expected to
generate millions of dollars in revenue for Afren
Monument Bank in Nigeria. According to the AIM-listed company’s accounts, it also had cash of US$96.2 million as of June 30, 2007.

Shahenshah said the next round of
fields to be developed had reserves ranging from 40 million barrels to 100 million barrels. Okoro Setu has reserves of 40 million barrels.
Progress on Okoru Setu received a boost on December 4, when Afren announced the sail away ceremony for the Armada Perkasa, a floating, producing, storing and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Afren sealed the US$150 million contract for the vessel from Malaysia\'s Bumi Armada Group. Armada Perkasa goes to the Nigerian field this month under a five-year term contract, with an option for a four-year renewal. Shahenshah said Okoro Setu was set to produce for 10 years, with production peaking in the first five years. Okoro Setu is expected to generate millions of dollars in revenue for Afren in the 2008 financial year, said Shahenshah but he declined to provide a definite figure or projected numbers. The FPSO has a processing capacity of 27,000 bpd with 360,000 barrels of storage and is set to arrive on site in February.
The drilling rig, Adriatic VI, is to commence a nine-month programme in January to drill five production wells. Two appraisal wells, drilled in the fourth quarter of 2006, have confirmed its development.
Assuming success in these ventures would see Afren set up for a transformation, the company would be well poised for further successes with strong prospects.
Afren has been building upstream portfolios and will continue to do so, Shahenshah told a Singapore press conference during the sail away ceremony for the Armada Perkasa. The company signed an agreement with Devon Energy last month to acquire interests in Ghana and Angola, comprising a 95% working interest and operatorship of the Keta Block, offshore Ghana, and a 15% working interest in Angola’s offshore Block 16.
The Angolan block is interesting as it is a high-risk, high-reward area, similar to Afren’s stake in the JDZ.
These holdings suggest that while Afren is content to pick up production from marginal fields – which will certainly serve the company well – it has its sights set on grander targets. Successes in these two blocks would transform the AIM-listed junior into a force to be reckoned with. That said, the higher risk attached to the Angolan and JDZ blocks carry with them higher costs, which could pose a difficult strain on Afren at these times of tightening credit markets.

Not a bad finish to the end of the year, i think we have had good one and now i look forward to 2008 with production not too far away. So to fellow holders a Happy New Year and may all our dreams come true
Keith

Happy New Year to you too Keith. All looks good with AFR.

What a start to the new year, great stuff we don't usually rise so quick wonder if we have some good news due soon, some frantic trading this morning

unless you work diligently, it is quite hard to find a dud oily at the moment (those in MRP have succeeded!), so it is difficult to know whether or not AFR (and others) are merely reacting to the general hype and high crude price, or if there is more substance

cynic, this stock has substance. DYOR :-)

it was not the substance of the company i was questioning, but whether or not the rise had anything more behind it that the current general jolliness of oilies

From The Times today:

Tiddler to watch
Afren the explorer of potential oilfields in Nigeria, Gabon, Ghana and Congo-Brazzaville rose 7p to 115p after Jefferies, the broker, raised its price target to 129p with a buy adviser. It said that it was about to become a producer and should begin production early in the second quarter this year from a field off Nigeria.

Thanks Toya, i wonder how long we will be a tiddler, not sure if we are drilling yet but a wonderful sight

http://www.rigzone.com/data/rig_detail.asp?rig_id=308

Thanks for that link Keith.

I don't actually hold this stock currently but, from looking at the graph, clearly should have bought some a while back!

I like this stock, but I can' t help feeling that somewhere along the line there will be production delays, Nigeria has masses of oil but Nigeria is Nigeria and going from zero to 15000 to 20000 barrels of oil is a tall order for any company, though this one seems to have very good management. I have been in and out of this company several times already and at the moment possibly looking for a way back in, the subsequent latest rise has caught me by surprise.

I'm late to this party--should I hope for a pull back after the sudden rise or is now the time to climb on board? It certainly looks promising.

Moneyplus, I'm also looking for an entry point, (timing is so important), for me it's just a guess as to which way this stock is going to go in the next few weeks : as a long term buy overall it looks like a winner, in the short term, what is it going to do ?, it could go all the way up to 120p and beyond, then again with what's going on in the markets (possible drop on monday) this just could be a spike with a pullback to 100p soon, but in my opinion if : long term you want a good oilie then this one could be a good bet.

I agree-cheers RF my finger is poised on the buy button next week.

Very nice to see some new posts on here, i wish you all well if you decide to purchase
Its not been a easy ride in 2007 but we did end the year up, am hoping 2008 will bring greater rewards and the way we have started it's looking good
Keith

certainly a terrific chart, even if rsi may be indicating o'bought, but the markets are certainly pretty scary at the moment.

Think I'll wait a while and see if sp drops back a bit after recent rise before buying.