http://www.falklands-oil.com/

http://www.rockhopperexploration.co.uk

http://www.argosresources.com/




Rockhopper was established in 2004 with a strategy to invest in and undertake an offshore oil exploration programme in the North Falkland Basin. It was floated on AIM in August 2005. Rockhopper was the first company to make a commercial oil discovery in the Falklands. Today Rockhopper is the largest acreage holder in the North Falkland Basin, with interests in the Greater Mediterranean region.

I've touched a raw nerve... which is nice !!

scotinvest, you have knack of picking dogs - did you acquire that skill or were you just gifted with it ?

hurry up and die fusebox

its just a punt for me as its for 2009.....i hold to see what happens....take u r a sad shorter...do u do anything constructive ever in life...doubt it

keep posting drivel every 2 minutes.
dont sleep now

survival of the fittest my friend.... mother nature will get rid of numptys like you first .... thankfully

i'm fit as hell....i was brought up under stalin

Stalin died of a brain haemorrhage .... you wont die of that, as you have no brain to haemorrhage... but you'll die of senality pretty soon.. you are showing classic signs of that on here.

Here is the Daniel Stewart note if anyone wants to read it :





Rockhopper Exploration - SELL
Price: 88.75p Target price: 25p
Code: RKH.L Analyst: Tim Heeley | 020 7776 6933

Results but no new news

Rockhopper has announced results for the year ending March 2008. A loss of $1.4mn is reported and the company currently has cash of around $10mn in the bank following the fund raise of 3.6mn in May.

However there is no new news from the company on drilling timetables. It states all technical issues on its acreage have been resolved and that it is close to completing the interpretation of its 3D analysis. It further states that the issues surrounding further work on the licence are logistics and associated finance. For all intents and purposes we interpret this to mean how will it drill a well.

The company continues to state that it is considering all options on this front and we observe that the company now states it is talking to SPD, its consultant on the drilling side, about drilling in 2009 noting that timescales are continually being pushed outwards and drilling, or indeed a deal of any kind, is not, in any way, imminent. We further note that announcements from Desire on this front have not been forthcoming of late.

Furthermore Rockhopper states that the placing in May 2008 was oversubscribed to blue chip institutions, however we note that Schroders, the largest institutional holder of the stock prior to the placing, sold its entire notifiable position at the time therefore not following its money.

We continue to believe that investors money is better placed elsewhere within the sector to capitalise on record oil prices, such as a company with production or an active drilling campaign. We maintain our sell and 25p target.

i actually agree with DS insofar as there is not a single outfit in falklands that has even found oil yet, let alone started pumping

Shell drilled in 1998 and did recover live oil to the surface but at $10 a barrel didnot pursue this. Having been down to the Islands a number of times If you can drill in the north sea you can drill in the Falklands.

schroder didnt sell all of its holdings.....theres lots of inaccurancies in DS but i've seen it recently on other companies too.......doubt this paddy heeley knows anthing of oil industry

read the article you thicko :

"sold its entire notifiable position"

it didnt say they sold "its entire position".. its says "its entire notifiable position".

You really are one thick gimp !!

54p now

Straight through 200 DMA!
Support at 50p, 40p & 30p, so it will be interesting to see which level it settles at.

"The Company announces that on 9 July 2008 it received notification from Richard Visick, a non-executive director of the Company, that on the same day he acquired 200,000 ordinary shares of 1 pence each in the Company ('Ordinary Shares') at a price of 58 pence per Ordinary Share."
These look to be held in his pension fund, so he seems to be pretty confident of a
very comfortable retirement!

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/article4312901.ece

Falkland Island oil explorers have been falling on worries that Desire Petroleums long-awaited deal to secure a rig, which could be shared with Rockhopper Exploration, has not yet materialised. But Rockhopper rallied 3p to 60p after share-buying by directors and after its house broker Landsbanki said: We believe that an announcement of Desire Petroleums farm-out is expected within four to six weeks. Nevertheless, it cut its Rockhopper target price from 163p to 134p. Desire gained 8p to 59p and Falklands Oil & Gas rose 12p to 104p

Landsbanki desperately trying to support the sp, no sign of any oilrig for any of the Falklands oilies. Time to put them on the backburner,just another hopeful surge which is now disipated. The only hope is if BHP/BLT come up with a rig for FOGL.

lol....more than 9% up today....and thats with market getting hammered and dow jones getting slaughtered.

keep your nose in the pick n mix at woolies, halifax......is it still functioning woolies by the way, aint ben in it for years.....wlw soon be 1p

u should try some research halifax....u aint a clue about real world....lots of rigs go to brazil etc and fi cos could get one short time......also des / rkh only need any sort of rig as its in shallow waters compared to south of falklands.

DES up 10%,,,,,RKH will folow!!! easy money


http://www.smallcapnews.co.uk/article/Rock_star_Rockhopper_Exploration_plc/5359.aspx

Rock star: Rockhopper Exploration plc


Friday, July 18, 2008

Four years ago Sam Moody swapped his job as an investment manager in London to start a new life with his family in the Wiltshire countryside. But it wasnt long before his City expertise was being called upon again this time to lead an oil and gas venture 8,000 miles away in the south Atlantic ocean.

Today, the managing director of AIM-listed Rockhopper Exploration plc is talking over his companys next move in a chase to find oil in the Falkland Islands.

Earlier this summer Rockhopper began sounding out potential farm-in partners ahead of test drilling on its North Falkland Basin acreage. After four years of detailed surveying and scoping, the company is pondering whether or not to bring in big company help or opt to raise more cash through the City and do the drilling work itself. For Moody, its a delicate balance.

When youre a focused company like us the most important thing is to maximise shareholder value, he says. We cant lose sight of the fact that we dont have anything anywhere else in the world so the normal rules of spreading the risk dont apply to us in terms farming out.

What we will do over the next weeks and months is compare the relative merits of doing an industry deal with doing a deal in the equity markets. And until weve run the farm-out campaign for a bit longer we wont know what the answer is. But we do think that there will be money available in both camps.

Rock steady

It was during his migration to the countryside that Moody crossed the path of Richard Visick, an entrepreneur hed worked with on previous deals it was a chance meeting that set the course of the next four years.

Richard rang me up one day and said Im thinking about starting an oil exploration company, he says. I offered to help and somewhere along the line fell completely in love with the idea of oil exploration.

Moody was tasked with building a company around acreage that Visick had secured in the North Falkland Basin. Through a personal contact I found Pierre Jungels, the ex-chief exec of Enterprise Oil, to become chairman. We needed proper oil experience but it was Pierres idea that I stayed on with Rockhopper to run the company side of the business - as opposed to the technical side.

Running the company side means that I get the money, I make sure everything gets done and I deal with the stock market. But Ive learned a lot in the past five years about the oil industry.

Rockhopper's acreage lies to the north of the Falklands in an area with a history of oil discoveries. In 1998 Shell, Amerada Hess, Lasmo and IPC between them drilled six wells, five of which found oil or gas. One of the Shell wells, which is on acreage Rockhopper now holds, recovered live oil to the surface which bled in to the borehole of the well at its target depth of 3,000 metres.

So its true to say you know theres oil and gas down there, but you dont know whether you can ever commercialise it, Moody says. In 1998 the price of oil was $12 per barrel, in 1999 it fell to less than $10 per barrel and when youre in a remote location with little or no infrastructure in the late nineties you cant make it work at that oil price.

Now youve got a dramatic increase in the price of oil and gas, youve got much better and accurate exploration technology, youve got an increasing demand for oil, youve got a decreasing availability of high quality acreage in the world. So all of those things come together to make the Falklands look attractive again.

The rising oil price has changed things out of all recognition. If youd set this company up at $12 per barrel you would never have got anywhere. Were now at $130-plus per barrel and all of a sudden lots and lots of parts of the world that were never of interest before start to make sense. But the magic number for the North Falkland Basin, as opposed to the much deeper waters south and east of the Falkland Islands, is as low as $25 or $30 per barrel.

The question for us now is not whether there is oil in the North Falkland Basin, the question is whether you can find enough oil that flows quickly enough to commercialise it.

To try and answer that question Rockhopper has been relentless in surveying its acreage. Since 2004 it has conducted two 2D seismic surveys totalling around 1,500 sq km. Those were followed by 850 sq km of 3D seismic over the earlier Shell discovery, which at the time was the biggest 3D survey ever done in the Falklands. There have also been four controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) lines.

All the work weve done in the past has led us to believe that there is a good chance of finding commercial hydrocarbons in the North Falklands basin, he says.

Of course theres no guarantee, but its a good starting point. What I would say is that at every stage of the exploration its just looked a little bit better than it did before. So weve been very pleased with the work that weve done.

With interpretation of the 3D seismic drawing to a close, Moodys team is now beginning to tackle the problem of how to pay for test wells. At IPO in the summer of 2005 the company was only ever funded to carry out seismic and other exploratory work over its acreage it was never funded to actually pay for the wells.

In terms of the farm-in programme, people are interested in looking at the data and some of those companies are of a pretty meaningful size but its just too early to say, Moody says.

Timescales? I think wed like to try and get something wrapped up by the end of this calendar year if possible. We will either choose to farm out or contract a rig and drill the wells ourselves with money from the City. Thats the current timetable.

Rock and roll

Moodys confidence in Rockhoppers capacity to raise cash is well founded as recently as May this year it propped up its working capital funds with a 3.6 million share placing. He believes a combination of factors help the City discern the quality of the various companies that it chooses to invest in.

If you look at the quality of the acreage that Rockhopper has got, the quality of the work that we have done, the quality of the board, it gives the City an extra hint of confidence in the company, he says.

Thats not to say it will definitely work, because you can never say that, but we think weve got a high quality offering with a good ratio of risk to reward. We think the City will be able to see that and our recent fundraising would demonstrate that to be the case.

That just leaves the question of a discovery. Again, Moody takes a balanced view relaxed on the prospect of either shifting gear and becoming a full production operation or selling to a bigger player.

At that point you would need to talk to shareholders, he says. It depends on where the moment of maximum value for shareholders is and that can either be at the moment of a discovery or when the first drop of oil is produced.

But he is also aware that Rockhopper is not alone even in the North Falkland Basin, where there are presently two other companies operating: AIM-listed Desire Petroleum plc and private operation Argos Evergreen Ltd. In the south and the east of the Falklands there is Falklands Oil & Gas Ltd and Borders & Southern Petroleum plc.

But Rockhopper has fared well in its time as a public company. Currently capitalised at around 53m, the company raised 15m on listing at 42p per share. The recent fundraising raised 3.8m at 101p per share.

I think the AIM market has worked pretty well for us and weve had a respectable share price performance, Moody says. Weve had good liquidity on our stock this year probably turning over about 50m shares in the market out of about 80m shares in issue.

Weve got better liquidity than a lot of AIM companies which is a pretty positive sign for us because some AIM companies can suffer from a lack of liquidity.

Weve done everything weve ever said we were going to do and a bit more, and I think thats what shareholders are looking for.

Ben Hobson, SmallCapNews.co.uk

PRESS RELEASE

26 August 2008

Results of 3D Interpretation and Operational Update

Rockhopper Exploration plc ('Rockhopper' or the 'Company'), the AIM traded (RKH) oil and gas explorer with licences in the North Falkland Basin, is pleased to provide an update on further technical work on the 3D seismic collected over licences PL032 and PL033 along with an operational update.


Highlights:


Depth conversion of the 3D interpretation has been completed

Directors' best estimates of P50 unrisked reserves over licences PL032 and PL033 increased from 1.2 bn bbls recoverable to 1.8 billion barrels recoverable

Modest drilling depths confirmed for oil plays

AVO study shows strong indications of hydrocarbons inside the Sea Lion fan system within the 3D area

Basin modelling studies suggest larger source kitchens with greater areas and more extensive oil windows than previously interpreted

Independent log analysis of Shell well 14/5-1A confirms gas saturations over a 1,400 metre gross interval, new gas prospect mapped which this well tested in a flank position

Initial review suggests this newly identified gas prospect could contain multi Tcf gas in place

Updated economics

Rockhopper intends to work closely with Desire and Arcadia to secure a suitable drilling unit for a minimum 6 well campaign in the North Falkland Basin

Depth conversion of 3D seismic interpretation

Depth conversion mapping has now been completed over licences PL032 and PL033 and the following table sets out the results:


Play type


Prospect
P50 unrisked recoverable reserves

(millions of barrels)*

Pinchout
Sedge
55


Tyssen
14


Jason
350


Fans
Sea Lion
230


Chatham
65

Downthrown Closures


Meredith

Walker

Louis

Fox

Stephens


23

68

82

383

201


Intra Basinal Structures
Johnson
now reclassified as a gas play


Central Basin Inversion Structures
Berkeley
140


George
157


Total

1,768


* Directors' estimates


This represents an overall increase in directors' best estimates of P50 unrisked reserves on licences PL032 and PL033 from 1.2 billion barrels recoverable to 1.8 billion barrels recoverable and means that we now estimate that the Company has total P50 unrisked reserves of 4.3 billion barrels recoverable across our operated North Falkland Basin acreage. In addition, Rockhopper holds a 7.5% interest in licences PL003 and PL004, which are operated by Desire Petroleum plc.


AVO Studies


AVO studies indicate a clear response over the Sea Lion fan system in licence PL032 which is consistent with the presence of hydrocarbons. An AVO response is a type of Direct Hydrocarbon Indicator. The Sea Lion fan forms a prospect located in licence PL032 which the directors of Rockhopper estimate to represent P50 unrisked reserves of 230mm barrels recoverable.


A number of other prospects are being studied at present to establish whether additional AVO features are present.


Geochemical, maturation and basin modelling studies


During 1998 Shell drilled well 14/10-1 on what is now licence PL032. Live oil was recovered from that well. Rockhopper commissioned an independent review of existing data from previous wells and analysis on a sample bottle of oil recovered from well 14/10-1. These analyses were then combined with the 2D and 3D seismic interpretation.

The results are summarised below:


The oil recovered in well 14/10-1 had a gravity of 27.1 API and was generated from a lacustrine source with no marine influence and very similar to lacustrine oils from other global basins. Certain fresh water biological markers have been reported for the first time from the North Falkland Basin. Otherwise, the analysis confirms and enhances the earlier work of Shell;

A new conclusion is the evidence of significant uplift in the North Falkland Basin and a more accurate heat flow model that has enhanced the overall maturity profile of the source kitchens. Onset of oil generation is thought to have occurred at a shallower level than previously published; and

The size and area of the Barremian lacustrine source kitchen is larger than previously thought. This effectively increases the potential quantity of oil that could have been generated and expelled into the Basin.

Evaluation of Shell well 14/5-1A

During 1998 Shell drilled well 14/5-1A in tranche B. This is now licence PL032 and PL033, operated 100% by Rockhopper. 14/5-1A encountered high gas levels during drilling. The Shell log interpretation identified two main gas bearing zones, Sand 3 and Sand 4, at approximately 3,200 and 4,200 metres, with a total net gas pay of 165 metres, porosity of 6% to 10% and water saturations ranging from 47% to 51%.
Unfortunately, due to prevailing economics, the well was not tested and no wireline gas or water samples were obtained. However, high levels of gas in the mud proved beyond doubt that the well was drilled in a hydrocarbon rich environment encountering significant gas shows. Rockhopper has carried out a new and independent log analysis on this well in addition to mapping the 2007 3D seismic.


The results of this work are summarised below:


A large structural closure can be mapped on the 3D and 2D seismic in the northwest of licence PL032. This potential gas prospect has previously not been detailed. The structure extends beyond the current boundary of Rockhopper acreage;

Well 14/5-1A tested the flank of this structure, 18 kilometres south of the northern licence boundary; and

Work is continuing on the area but an initial review suggests that the prospect is capable of containing multi Tcf gas in place.

Although relatively poor reservoir was encountered in the well (due to the deep, basin-centre location), the directors of Rockhopper expect that reservoir quality will improve towards the shallower northern part of the block near the structural crest, and near the large bounding fault which could have generated additional sand sources.

Rockhopper does not believe it would be possible to re-enter this well and produce gas commercially owing to the poor quality of the reservoir encountered. However, if as is expected, the untested up-dip part of the newly mapped prospect contains better quality reservoir, then the prospect could contain sufficient volumes of gas for commerciality.

With energy prices now significantly higher than in 1998 and new technology, such as newly designed floating liquefied natural gas ('LNG') systems, the potential for commercialising gas finds of more than 1 Tcf has changed considerably. Consequently, Rockhopper will now undertake additional technical work and consider the merit of drilling an exploration well up dip from well 14/5-1A, in addition to the oil exploration targets.

Prospect Ernest

Further AVO analysis on 2006 2D seismic over the Ernest prospect in licence PL024 has also revealed a number of amplitude anomalies that could be consistent with the presence of hydrocarbons. These studies are in addition to the existing CSEM data which is also consistent with the presence of hydrocarbons.

Economic Model

As energy prices and equipment costs have changed since the time of the Company's admission to AIM, Rockhopper has re-run its economic model to determine potential NPVs with new assumptions. The results are summarised below and show the potential NPV10 for a single discovery of 150 mmbbls recoverable:

Recoverable Barrels
150mmbbls


Oil Price (USD )
80
100
120
140

NPV10 (USD millions)
2,025
2,850
3,674
4,499

Source: Barrett Petroleum Services

Update on drilling plans

The Board of Rockhopper notes the recent announcement of 14 August 2008 by Desire Petroleum plc ('Desire') and welcomes Arcadia Petroleum Limited ('Arcadia') to the North Falkland Basin. The Board also notes the stated intention of Desire and Arcadia to drill a total of 4 wells between them. To this programme of 4 wells Rockhopper intends to add a minimum of 2 wells bringing the total number to 6 wells.

Both drilling and water depths for oil prospects are relatively modest in the North Falkland Basin and most wells would be planned for 20 to 30 days.

Dr. Pierre Jungels, Executive Chairman of Rockhopper Exploration, said:

'After all the work we have completed over the last three years, we believe that the North Falkland Basin represents a world class exploration province which is now ready for drilling.

Our acreage contains proven source rocks mature for oil and gas, proven oil and gas, clear direct hydrocarbon indicators such as AVO and electromagnetic signatures within identified structures and a total estimated resource potential of over 4 billion barrels of oil and possibly multi Tcf gas.

At present and foreseeable oil and LNG prices, with current technologies and costs, the economics are very robust.

In a world where access to similar opportunities is difficult, expensive or not allowed by sovereign acreage holders, we believe that the North Falkland acreage of Rockhopper is unique.




We are continuing to meet with potential farm-in partners and are separately discussing rig availability with rig owners. When this process concludes we will be in a position to decide the best way forward for Rockhopper's shareholders.'




NB: This statement has been approved by the Company's geological staff who include David Bodecott (Exploration Director), who is a Member of Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB) and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) with over 30 years of experience in petroleum exploration and management, for the purpose of the Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in respect of AIM companies, which outline standards of disclosure for mineral projects.