Up 10% today any interest.

In for a few at this price,worth the punt for what they already have,IMO?

Some healthy buys going through late day at 269p and 200k at 282p?

This was what happened in April this year with Bowleven... will it be the case with the muted response now?


Bowleven value hit by Cameroon drilling setback

21 Apr 2011


NEARLY 93 million was wiped off the market value of Edinburgh-based oil and gas firm Bowleven after the release of bad news about a promising sidetrack well at its closely watched exploration block off Cameroon.

The company is now worth 647.8m after the stock, which is listed on the junior AIM market, fell 43p, or 12.5%, to 300p, a five-month low.

It revealed to the market that it failed to recover drilling data and reservoir fluid samples from a sidetrack well from its Sapele-1 well where oil had been found in high quality sands in November.

The company said it needed to do more detailed analysis about the impact of its findings on resource estimates.

Kevin Hart, chief executive of Bowleven, said: We are pleased with the results so far on Sapele-1ST (sidetrack).

The initial log evaluation is encouraging as it endorses the presence of light oil and gas condensate in the Lower and Deep Omicron fairways encountered with the original Sapele-1 well.

Preparations are now under way for a testing programme at Sapele-1ST to assess connectivity and deliverability.

Given their stratigraphic nature, further evaluation, including appraisal drilling, is required to fully understand sand distribution within these tertiary fairways, however results to date are promising in the context of Sapele and the Douala Basin as a whole.

Bowlevens shares have more than doubled in the last year amid excitement in the City about the prospects for the Douala basin. Analysts warned yesterday that it might not be a straightforward prospect.

Bowlevens acreage offshore Cameroon, we believe, has significant potential but at this stage it looks like extracting that potential could take longer and be more complicated than perhaps the market was anticipating, said analysts at Evolution Securities.

Earlier this month Bowleven reported a pre-tax loss of $15m (9.36m) for the six months to December 31, 2010.

But the company is cash rich after conducting a 70m share placement in November to fund its exploration and drilling activities in the Douala Basin and Etinde areas in the waters off the coast of Cameroon.

Obviously investors are not impressed with the RNS today... flow rate not too impressive.

The falling knife is building momentum... Sell now at 248p.

234p... very grim

GRimmer now,making a good buy for the patient? imo

LOL.

Was this not pumped up by the same brokers pumping GKP ?


niceonecyril - 14 Jan 2011 09:22 - 87 of 121
Baeclays top tip for 2011.

Top tip has lost more than 50%.
That explains why Barclays profits dropped by a third.

crikey more south here!

Same type of chart as for AVN and PDX.

Pumped up when the market recovered and now falling to more realistic levels.

More bad news... Sell at all costs... 170p now.


Shares in the Aim-listed African explorer dropped by 14pc on Monday and a further 20pc on Tuesday, after revealing drilling results for its two Sapele wells. It was also affected by the news that its partner, Vitol, did not want to participate in any more exploration.

The company was worth just under 600m when the market opened on Monday, but closed on Tuesday valued at 392m.

Bowleven soared by 316pc last year on the back of its new discoveries and funded more exploration with a 74m fundraising in late-2010.

It had in May described the prospect as "extremely promising". With 40m barrels of oil discovered, it is understood that the company still believes its wells will produce oil at economically viable prices.

However, Charlie Sharp, an analyst at Matrix, described the results as "disappointing", since the amount likely to be recovered appears to have been revised downwards.

"Bowleven states that oil recovery rates are initially estimated to be 10pc to 30pc. This compares with previous indications of 30pc as being a potentially low-end estimate.

"The result is that Sapele looks to have around 10m to 20m barrels of recoverable potential, but this looks borderline commercial.

"Overall, this is a bleak update from Bowleven and raises questions about the forward programme."

140p now.

sp heading sub 100p.

hali - is this another of the crackers you chappies have dived into - you should have backed TLW like a sensible chap :-)

From citi recently:

Alert: Bowleven updates exploration and development plans
Looking into 2012 - Bowleven provided an update on its 2012 plans at an analyst
presentation. Following disappointing results from the 1H11 drilling campaign,
Bowleven plans to drill up to six wells across its Cameroon acreage before the end of
2012. However, this campaign remains unfunded (we see c. US$100m additional
financing required) and the Sapele-3 well remains critical for near-term sentiment
ahead of a possible equity raising. A farm out remains an option, but this process could
take time and is unlikely to be completed on attractive terms given the company's weak
financial position, in our view. We still see good potential from Bowleven's acreage
offshore Cameroon and with the shares trading at a discount to our core NAV of
190p/share (including only the IE/IF discoveries) retain our Buy. However, the shares
are unlikely to outperform in the short-term until the funding gap is addressed.
Outlining 2011-2012 drilling program Bowleven plans to drill up to six wells across
its Cameroon acreage position before the end of 2012. The Sapele-3 well is currently
drilling, targeting a gross recoverable resource of 50mboe in the sands encountered in
the D-1R discovery, which are shallower than the Omicron section targeted by the
Sapele 1 and 2 wells. We estimate that if successful, it could be worth up to 120p/share
unrisked and is very important for near-term sentiment. In 2012, Bowleven plans two
appraisal wells on the IE/IF complex, a well on the original Sapele discovery, and two
further exploration wells (MLHP-6, Bomono).
More details on a potential development plan Bowleven estimates its current P50
contingent resource base at 213mboe, of which c.160mboe is contained in the IE/IF
structures. Subject to successful appraisal, Bowleven is now targeting a phased joint
development, linking the MLHP 7 and MLHP 5 discoveries to a central production
facility onshore. We estimate this project would cost c. US$500-600m to develop,
assuming 3 wells per production hub and c. US$150m for the CPF. Phase 1 is
expected to deliver production of 10-15k boe/d, increasing to >50k boe/d in Phase 2
from the IE/IF complex and Sapele combined. However, timing remains dependent on
the outcome of the 2011-12 drilling appraisal campaign.
Funding gap needs to be addressed Bowleven forecasts a cash balance of
US$60-70m post Sapele-3 well, which includes US$35-40m of proceeds from EOV
sale (expected end-September). Bowleven currently includes five wells in its 2012 work
programme and net capex levels for 2012 are forecast at US$120-140m. We estimate
Bowleven needs to raise c. US$100m (accounting for contingencies) to fund the 2012
E&A programme, mostly likely through an equity raising. We believe this needs to be
completed by Q1 2012 to complete the planned 2012 drilling campaign. A farm out of
Bowleven's acreage position remains an option, but this could take time (and delay
2012 drilling) and in our view is unlikely to be completed on favourable terms given
Bowleven's weak funding position.

Valuation
Our E&P sector valuations are driven off a net asset value (NAV) methodology. We feel
this method best captures the value of oil and gas assets at different stages of their lifecycle
(production, development and exploration) and the specific pricing, cost and fiscal
terms of each individual asset.
We calculate a base case NAV of 3.30, which assumes US$105/bbl in 2011,
US$86.3/bbl in 2012 and US$90/bbl from 2013 onwards and GBP/USD exchange rate
of 1:$1.65. We have used a 10% discount rate for our field models. Our base NAV
comprises a core value of 1.90 (1.71 for core reserves plus 0.19/share for financial
items), 0.67 of development/appraisal upside and 0.73/share of risked exploration.
Our price target of 2.64 is set at a 20% discount to our base case NAV, which
represents the long-run sector discount to base NAV.

gulp......she is sliding quickly

Oil and gas condensate discoveries at Sapele-3 exploration well

Sapele-3 exploration well, Block MLHP-5, Etinde Permit, Offshore Cameroon

Bowleven, the West Africa focused oil and gas exploration group traded on AIM, is delighted to announce the discovery of oil at the Sapele-3 exploration well drilling in the Douala Basin, offshore Cameroon.

Highlights
11 metres of independently assessed net hydrocarbon pay intersected within upper part of Deep Omicron interval; up to further 11 metres (net) is currently interpreted as having either ahigh residual hydrocarbon or a hydrocarbon bearing response from logs.

Majority of reservoir located in two gross sand packages exhibiting high net to gross ratios and good quality reservoir; packages appear to correlate back to earlier Sapele wells.

Samples confirm excellent quality oil bearing sands encountered at current TD; intention to continue drilling to base of Deep Omicron interval.

Confirmed presence of oil in the Deep Omicron interval at Sapele-3 extends fairway significantly beyond current mapped area. Consequently, a significant upward revision to Deep Omicron volumetrics is now anticipated.

Additional gas/condensate discovery made in high quality reservoir at D1-r equivalent level; extent and size of discovery is worthy of further evaluation.


Sapele-3 drilling update

The Sapele-3 well is located circa 16 kilometres North West of Sapele-1 and circa thirteen kilometres North West of the D-1r wells. The well is drilling in water depths of approximately 30 metres.

The well was initially designed to target the shallower Miocene play including the reservoir interval previously encountered at D1-r. Due to optimised well design it has also been possible to deepen the well into what is the Deep Omicron equivalent interval encountered with previous Sapele wells.

Bowleven, as operator, provides updates for the reservoir intervals encountered at Sapele-3 below:

Deep Omicron interval (oil)
The well has encountered 11 metres of independently log evaluated hydrocarbon pay in high quality sandstone reservoirs within the Deep Omicron stratigraphic interval intersected by previous Sapele wells. In addition, a further 24 metres of net sand was encountered, of which up to 11 metres is currently interpreted as having either a high residual hydrocarbon or a hydrocarbon bearing response from logs. Further evaluation to determine whether this is pay or not is pending.

Wireline logs indicate that the majority of reservoir has been encountered within two distinct packages within the upper part of the Deep Omicron interval that can be correlated to the earlier Sapele discovery wells. The logs also indicate high net to gross ratios through these packages.

As the well is only two thirds of the way through the Deep Omicron interval and has encountered excellent quality oil bearing reservoir at current total depth (TD), the intention is to recommence drilling to the base of Deep Omicron. The presence of light oil at current TD has been confirmed by sampling. Testing plans will be assessed on reaching final TD.

The confirmed presence of oil in the Deep Omicron interval at Sapele-3, 16 kilometres from the original Deep Omicron discovery at Sapele-1, extends the currently mapped Deep Omicron fairway significantly Northwards into MLHP-6. Consequently a significant increase in current Deep Omicron in-place volumetrics is anticipated.

Miocene interval
At the shallower Miocene (D1-r) equivalent interval target, a 7 metre high quality sandstone was encountered with a 1 metre gas-condensate column. The extent and size of the discovery is worthy of further evaluation.


Additional information

Presentation slides relating to Sapele-3 are available on our website www.bowleven.com under the heading "Presentations"; the presentation is titled "Sapele-3 presentation - 14 October 2011".

Further announcements on drilling activities will be made as appropriate. Updated volumetrics will be provided in due course.

The joint venture partner, Vitol, elected not to participate in the drilling of the Sapele-3 exploration well. Consequently Bowleven, as operator, is drilling this well on a sole risk basis.

Kevin Hart, Chief Executive of Bowleven plc, commented:

"We are excited with results so far at Sapele-3. The Deep Omicron interval continues to deliver and the confirmed presence of oil and good quality reservoir at this location further emphasises the significance of this play within the Douala Basin. All four Sapele wells drilled have now encountered oil within the Deep Omicron interval, thus reinforcing the geological model and highlighting the overall development and exploration potential of the fairway. This well has also now shown that the Deep Omicron interval extends considerably beyond the currently mapped area which has significant implications in terms of both volumetrics and prospectivity potential on both block MLHP-5 and MLHP-6. In addition, the gas condensate discovery at the D1-r interval is promising and warrants further evaluation.

The results at Sapele-3 represent another step towards our overarching strategy of converting resources to reserves whilst highlighting the extensive exploration potential in the basin. We look forward with eager anticipation to the further drilling planned at Sapele-3."

From BarCap:

Fairway to heaven
The results of Sapele-3 constitute, in our view, a positive update for the oil prospectivity of
Bowlevens Block 5 and 6 offshore Cameron. The well has proven that the Deep Omicron
fairway, which includes a number of oil-bearing sands, extends 16km to the North of the
existing Sapele discoveries and beyond what the company considered to be the limits of
the fairway. Sapele-3 has penetrated two main zones. Although we believe that the uppermost
still requires a well-test to provide a definitive answer as to what type of hydrocarbon
fluid is present, the lower-most shows a typical light-oil response from the well-logs. This
is also supported by the pressure data and an oil sample, which the company has collected
at the bottom interval. Once the well results are integrated with the existing regional
dataset, we believe that volumes in place across the block could be revised upwards. In the
meantime, with a new price target of 405p, up from 385p, reflecting a higher confidence in
the volumes surrounding the new Sapele-3 discovery, we re-iterate our 1-OW rating.
Sapele-3, two main zones: Sapele-3 encountered two main zones, the Top and Middle
Omicron, both with a net thickness of 11m each and good reservoir properties. The company
is confident the bottom interval has several oil-bearing sands, given the log-response, the
pressure data and the oil sample collected. The log-interpretation of the top one, however, is
not definitive due to uncertainties of a key input parameter, the salinity of formation water.
A thinning cash position: Post Sapele-3, the company expects to have $60mn in cash,
assuming that the much delayed sale of the EOV field completes ($35mn). Give the companys
plans to undertake an additional phase of exploration in 2012 with up to four wells offshore
Cameroon, we expect Bowleven to require additional funds of at least $100mn to cover the
next 12 months of activities. This may be achieved through a farm-out to an industry partner
already operating in Cameroon, an equity issue or combination of the two.
Next catalysts: Bowleven has currently drilled two-thirds of Sapele-3; target depth is likely to
be reached over the next few days. At that point Bowleven may decide to perform a well-test,
whose results could be announced by the mid-Nov 11. This is likely to be the last exploration
newsflow for FY11. A follow-up campaign is currently scheduled to re-start in Q2 12, with two
exploration wells in Block 5 and 6 and two appraisal wells on the IE and IF discoveries.

what fantastic news - should hit 150 today imo gla

In the
meantime, with a new price target of 405p, up from 385p, reflecting a higher confidence inthe volumes surrounding the new Sapele-3 discovery, we re-iterate our 1-OW rating.