Hi everyone. I started this thread as FDC - but the copmpany recently changed its name to First Africa Oil (FAO). For completeness (nay, posterity) I've copied the original thread here - only three posts, two by me. So, as you can see I haven't given up trying to let you know about this very interesting prospect in W. Africa on and off shore.

Recently there has been a good deal of very heavy buying and selling since the reverse takeover on 7th Feb by Canadian Minerals comapny Energem's oil interests of FAO, in particular the following RNS on 15th Feb:-

The Company was notified on 14 February 2005 by RAB Capital ("RAB") that, following an
acquisition of 144,930,638 ordinary shares of 0.1p each ("Ordinary Shares") on 8
February 2005, RAB currently holds a total of 144,930,638 Ordinary Shares
representing 9.76 per cent. of the Company's issued Ordinary Share capital.

Now RAB has significant positions in FOGL and FGML and I believe many other similar oils/minerals co's and is no fool when it comes to taking large chunks of highly speculative early ventures.

I've cut out a lot of this as now out of date, leaving just the first post and now, by special request from SWW, here is a weblink and a chart.

Good luck.

Stock Dog

http://www.firstafricaoil.com/index.asp



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Well I'm out of this one as of yesterday - couldn't hang around any longer. Whoever would have thought you could lose so much money on an oil stock in 2005???!!

If the SP shows sign of life, I might try and catch a bit of momentum - just to get my own back - later in the year.

Good luck to all who remain in board - feeels funny jumping ship from a thread I started, but there you go.

sd

Looking good this morning. Seems to be ready to start moving back up.

Seems like they may be letting their mates in first.

and out!

Has anyone had a chance to look/assess the RNS released after closing hours, on a Friday afternoon, I take it, its bad news?????? and to expect further drop on Monday?

"Due to commercial sensitivities the Independent Evaluators' estimated monetary
valuations ("EMV's") for Chari Ouest are not being publicly disclosed. In
reaching agreement on the consideration to be paid to Energem for the Chad
Concession the Company and Energem have taken into account the Independent
Evaluators' Final Summary Reports and the privately disclosed EMV's calculated
by the Independent Evaluators in respect of the Chari-Ouest Block. The Company
and Energem have also taken into account that the Independent Evaluators did not
carry out an evaluation of the Largeau Block, due to the data not being
available at the time of the Independent Evaluators' evaluations."

seems v. strange that this is behind closed doors - what are shareholders meant to think was the result of the valuation that was done, or the one that wasn't?!

why are they raising so much money to develop so rapidly on so many fronts at once - looks like Energem are cashing out big time from this one because the Chinese interest they anticipated has failed. Only my conjecture, but it all seems very ambitious for such a tiny, young company.

sd

I just saw 2 lots of x trades at 4p (8mln and 17 mln), just means something big coming?

Are we due an RNS then for those 2 big trades?

No I would not expect so gill. What was interesting was that Energem took loan notes valued at 6p. Now why would they do that with current SP at 4p ?

The EOV4 well supposedly has proven resrves as confirmed by Marathin which previously, with oil at $10 barrel, was not commercially viable. This could be the foundation with other wells to prove more resource and subsequently a significant mark higher in price.

There also is the possibility of the Chinese comming to the table with a cash injection. Looks interesting.

Moneyman - thks for that, yeh, the loan notes at 6p was interesting.....

However, having now read the complete RNS, the point where they mention that if they do not get the 2nd stage of the fundraising (minimum of approx 22mln) by the end of April 06, the company can not continue to trade, was a bit worrying?
I'm still quite new to this, so would really appreciate yours (or anyone else's) view on all this. Thks in advance.

Think they were obliged to add that, maybe legal reasons. Anyway ticking along nicely the last couple of days.

Yes, they would have been obliged to say that, but the obligation does not make it any less real a possibility.

Having been one of the frist in on re-listing last Feb, I finally sold out at 3.85 for a 65% loss because of the following scenario:-

1) The Chinese deal that was hoped for and being negotiated by Energem failed at least for now.

2) Energem have moved on in their thinking and just want to offload their undeveloped assets at as good a price as the AIM market can pay.

3) Drilling commencing offshore Gabon is not going to provide enornmous cashflow to sustain full development of adjacent optioned territory.

4) Not sure if FAO management without Energem management have it in them to get off the ground from here.

Over time they may succeed, and maybe they'll get lucky and hit oil more often than average, but the downside is now much greater IMHO than previously. As ever, I should have set a stop loss and sold out at 9p. But I've bitten the bullet now, however late, along with two other similar dogs and my portfolio has been transformed in 3 short weeks to a respectable performer.

Good luck to all continuing holders - may you prove me wrong.

sd

First african oil is just about to release news early next week concerning its drilling campain on well EOV-4, I assume its going to be positive due the fact that they think it could be in production as early as the fourth quarter of 2006, but only after a successful fund raising , 22.3 million by the end of april.

This might be a good quick buy and sell opportunty , the share price as already gone up by 40% in the last week.

Any thoughts would be helpful.

should be a bit hot this one next week,charts great as its in a new territory,should run to 10+ quickly and a nice tight spread.Oil tiddlers are hothohhot at the mo,you just have to trade them.

stockdog - 14 Feb 2006 22:55 - 76 of 78
Yes, they would have been obliged to say that, but the obligation does not make it any less real a possibility.

Having been one of the frist in on re-listing last Feb, I finally sold out at 3.85 for a 65% loss because of the following scenario:-

Think you must have sold at the absolute low and must be kicking yourself now !

Thanks, Moneyman - always to be counted on to kick a dog when he's down!

As it happens, what I put the money into instead has risen just as strongly and at less risk. So I haven't lost anything. That's the thing about cutting your losses - not to measure what you lost on the share, but where better to place the remaining value now.

Sorry to disappoint.

sd

PS. Talking of dogs, how's IFM doing? lol!

Chinas appetite for African oil

By VIVIENNE WALT of Fortune Magazine
19 February 2006
China, the worlds second-largest energy consumer, now imports about 28% of its oil and gas from sub-Saharan Africa, compared with about 15% for the United States.
In the past few years, Chinas leading energy companies Sinopec, China National Petroleum, and CNOOC have inked oil contracts from Equatorial Guinea to Algeria to Angola. Chinese President Hu Jintaos African trips have included pocket-sized Gabon, whose 1.4m people could fit into a corner of Shanghai but which has more than 2bn barrels of oil reserves. When Chinas Foreign Minister, Li Zhaoxing, toured the region in January, he spent several days in Nigeria.
We havent been totally invaded by China yet, but it will come, says Iheanyi Ohiaeri, head of business development for Nigerias National Petroleum. I get calls and e-mails daily from Beijing, from people looking to buy oil.
The calls are being answered, in part because African governments view China as a more co-operative partner than the West. China has refused to back regular Western rebukes of African corruption and human-rights abuses and last year used its permanent seat on the UN Security Council to block genocide charges against Sudan source of about 7% of Chinas oil for the massacres in Darfur.
The US will talk to you about governance, about efficiency, about security, about the environment, says Mustafa Bello, head of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, who has visited China seven times. The Chinese just ask, How do we procure this licence?
China has become the biggest foreign investor in Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabes policies have impoverished the country and left millions homeless. Zimbabwe doesnt have oil, but it is the worlds second-largest exporter of platinum, a key import for Chinas auto industry.
Chinese radio-jamming devices block Zimbabwes dissident broadcasts and Chinese workers built Mugabes new $9m (5.2m, E7.6m) home, featuring a blue-tiled roof donated by the Chinese government. While Western politicians railed against Mugabe last year for flattening entire shanty towns, China was supplying him with fighter jets and troop carriers worth about $240m, in exchange for imports of gold and tobacco.
China has also agreed to sell armaments to Nigeria $251m worth of Chinese fighter jets, financed by Chinas Exim Bank and satellite technology provided by defence contractor Norinco. If China wanted to go out and develop Europe, it would be impossible, says Dai Adi, a Chinese journalist in Lagos who moved from Beijing in 2001. But here they can.
The next hot spot may be Angola, where offshore oil could transform the country from one of Africas poorest to one of its richest. In late 2004, while International Monetary Fund officials were berating Angola for corrupt oil dealings, China gave the government $2bn in credit to repair railway tracks bombed in the countrys long civil war and to construct new office buildings in the capital all using Chinese contractors. The timing was flawless: When French oil company Total applied to renew its licence on a large oil-production block, Angola refused, handing it instead to Sinopec, with which it then formed a joint venture to bid on other oilfields.
China faces its own challenges in Africa. Tony Chukweke, head of Nigerias department of petroleum resources, admits that he often finds it difficult to negotiate with Chinese companies, since each detail requires approval from officials in Beijing. It is very, very slow, he says. They go back and forth. And when they come back, sometimes you find it is not what you agreed to. Chukweke, who worked for years as a Shell geophysicist in London, prefers negotiating with Western oil companies: Exxon comes in with clear mandates, he says. We can negotiate within those mandates.
Still, Chinas intense energy needs make it an alluring partner. Nigerias oil-business development manager Ohiaeri points out that his government can pressure China far more than it can western governments. They are desperate for our resources, he notes. That symbiotic relationship continues to grow, and with each passing day and each new deal Chinas role in the region deepens.

stockdog

You have made a few mistakes on your live for sure, all is evident on selling FAO @ at 3.85p,
but the biggest one on Moneyam is to use the nickname "stockdog" you must know,
the asociation with the name "dog" as being a negative one, therefor you associate yourself
with such a name, makes me thing, you must be yourself on a negative frame of mine for some time now.

               LUNCH TIME FUN

       
IT IS NOT WHAT YOU DO THAT COUNTS, IT IS WHERE YOUR HEAD IS AT

Negative feelings or emotions are useless in themselves. Negative attitudes can become positive
if one realizes that it is not actions or deeds in themselves that have value, but rather the way one feels.
This is not to say actions can be independent of feelings. Harmful actions breed negativity.

In general, a positive attitude brings more favorable results and as long as you can be objective,
your circumstances will not make you anxious or depressed.
You have the power to remove negative feelings and replace them with positive ones.

Or by the way. last weekend I selected the shares to go UP ............ This is my selection for the "UPS" this week 12 Feb'06 FAO

Share	Volume	Chart	News	Various
FAO price 4.03p	Good volume and rising 4 times the usual	Doing a double bottom and a breakout from the 4.50p last high will be very positive	Company has raised 15M on loan notes last week to develop the EOV block were has an stimated 421M BOP adquired from Energem ( parent company holding 51% of FAO )	Energem is happy to take loan notes were the value is 6p in exchange. If the second fund raising is succesfull the company expect to be cash positive by Q1 2007

Down 20% today, i suppose a bit of profit taking, last deal of the day was to purchase 100ks worth, does someone know some think, news regarding the drill should be out any time now, any thoughts