Amerisur Resources is exploring for oil and gas in South America, currently in Colombia and later it plans to exploit its licences in Paraguay. It has a new Board of Directors and following a recent Placing at 6p (250m shares) sufficient cash to see through its current drilling plans and carry out some further corporate asset improvement opportunities.

Valuation of Amerisur Resources : 'Rule of Thumb' based on c.800m shares and using 10% DCF on oil at $70/barrel is 0.75p on the sp for every 1m barrels (CHP's share) that is proved in the ground.

Amerisur (formerly Chaco Resources) now has two exploration blocks in Colombia which it is currently evaluating and preparing to drill, one of these in the last quarter of 2007. It has also applied for further blocks in Colombia which are also believed to offer near term production. It also has three substantial areas in Paraguay and is awaiting news on a fourth. The next six months (May-November 2008) should see a steady news flow as it establishes the companys transformation from being an exploration company to becoming a significant oil production company. Set out below are some of the milestones which should produce announcements and have a positive effect on the share price. Any potential reserves are quoted in recoverable oil assets.



Platinillo, Colombia :

100% interest in a field currently assessed at holding 38.1m barrels of light sweet crude oil. Previously this a well flowed at 533 b/d before it was capped.Modern extraction methods may achieve up to double this output/well. Drilling completed for assessment and details of reserve figures and resumption of production daily figures awaited at Dec.2009. (Some guessestimates suggest the field might contain as much as 70m-100m barrels.)

b>



Tigra/Fenix block

100%% Further 3D seismic is completed; previous drilling has resulted in 30,000 barrels of oil from this block. Other blocks nearby in the Magdalena basin have also produced well. Drilled 11/2009; optimistic RNS (17 leads to follow)but reserve figures awaited

RNS :Expect further news on this block imminently and maybe a JV or other arrangement to speed up the timescale to production



Additional blocks to be announced

New local management team, in particular the CEO, is reputed to have some excellent contacts which will bring some high quality blocks to Amerisur in the coming months.

Curupayty Block, Paraguay :

1.39m hectares in north, close to Bolivia. Two wells previously drilled and both showed oil.

RNS : Expect JV with larger producer.



San Pedro Block, Paraguay :

1m hectares in south-east. Previous drilling showed oil.

RNS : Expect JV with larger producer.



Parana Basin, Paraguay :

Canindeyu block covering 1,789,000 hectares. Bordering Brazil. Oil field on Brazilian side already drilled. Chaco also expect to find oil and, at a deeper level, considerable quantities of gas. Chaco has obtained valuable historic seismic for re-evaluation.

RNS : Presidential Decree received 2/11/06.. Petrobras has announced its intention to increase substantially its effort to exploit Paraguay's hydrocarbons and has announced a farm-in on CDS's adjacent block. Possibility that they or another major will do likewise with Amerisur



Corporate Activity : The new Chairman is believed to have been brought on board to prove some or all of the existing Colombian assets and get these oil producing, arrange a JV on the Paraguayan assets before negotiating a sale of the company as consolidation of explorers in the region continues. An exit sp north of 1.00 over the next 12 months might be a reasonable target provided the drilling programme lives up to expectations, the price of oil remains at/above current levels and an approach is made for the company.

Amerisur Resources PLC - Amerisur Resources PLC - Operations Update Colombia and Grant of Options

RNS Number : 6316E
Amerisur Resources PLC
23 December 2009



23 December 2009



Amerisur Resources Plc ("Amerisur" or the "Company")



Operations Update Colombia and Grant of Share Options



Amerisur Resources Plc, the oil and gas producer and explorer focused on South America, is pleased to provide the following update on the Platanillo contract in Colombia.




On Thursday 17th December the Ministry of Environment in Colombia (MAVDT) granted the Global Environmental License for the project named "Platanillo Hydrocarbons Exploitation Area". The award of this license will allow the Ministry of Mines and Energy to authorise the commencement of exploitation activities and thus give continuity to the production from the wells Alea-1R and Platanillo-2.




Total current production is approximately 300 BOPD.







The Board of Amerisur further announces that on 22 December 2009 the Renumeration Committee granted options to directors over 14,500,000 new ordinary shares of 0.1p each, representing 1.74 per cent of the current issued share capital, with an exercise price of 11.05p per share. The exercise price is calculated by reference to the closing price of the Company's shares for the five days prior to the date of grant. There was no consideration paid upon the grant of the options and there are no performance criteria attached to the exercise of the options. These options are exercisable at any time from 23/12/09 to 23/12/19.

The options have been granted as follows:

Director
Number of options
Percentage of issued share capital

John Wardle
8,000,000
0.96%

Giles Clarke
3,000,000
0.36%

Nick Harrison
3,000,000
0.36%

Douglas Ellenor
500,000
0.06%

Total
14,500,000
1.74%





The company also announces that Dr John Wardle has assigned the interest of all of his options in the Company to Tracarta Ltd where he has an interest

Following this grant of options the interests of the directors are set out below:

Director
Number of ordinary shares
Percentage of issued share capital
Number of options

John Wardle *
8,865,860
1.07%
26,500,000

Giles Clarke
10,527,448
1.27%
29,100,000

Nick Harrison
2,245,025
0.27%
17,210,000

Douglas Ellenor
-


1,950,000





* Dr John Wardle's interest in his share options are held through his interest in Tracarta Ltd



Competent person: Technical information in this announcement has been reviewed by John Wardle Ph.D., the Company's Chief Executive. John Wardle has 24 years experience in the industry, having worked for BP, Britoil, Emerald Energy and Pebercan, and is a trained drilling engineer.




ENQUIRIES:




Billy Clegg/Caroline Stewart,

Financial Dynamics



Tel: +44 (0)207 831 3113




Jerry Keen/Lindsay Mair,

Astaire Securities Plc
Tel: +44 (0)207 448 4400





Notes to editors




The Platanillo Contract is an Exploration and Production Contract held with the Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos. The block is located in the Putumayo Basin of Colombia and the commercial area covers 10,341 hectares. The Company holds 100% of the contract and is the Operator.

Four years is a pretty long time to wait.
It looks like it has been worth it now!
Looks like a new high coming very soon.

just be careful troupers and don't be afraid to bank at least partial profits ..... it's well to remember that volumes at this time of year are very low and sp movements can be heavily exaggerated, not least because of end year book-squaring

Sound advice cynic. Regards.

cynic, what you say about volumes generally is correct, but in the case of AMER you could not be more wrong. AMER has gone up recently on huge volumes and with over 35 million shares traded in the last couple of working days.

alfred

that was also true of PET a few days ago ...... just maybe AMER is onto to something worthwhile, but the cautionary note + banking profits remain valid

agreed, cynic.

Banked profits myself yesterday so I could relax for a few days and free up some funds. I can always re-invest as I believe AMER has further to run but been guilty of not banking profits before, turning my back and watching it disappear.

Lester Piggott style finish to the day!

I guess like most I wont be around much today - so here is wishing you all a great Xmas and a wonderful new year.

Bigbas

BH, and to you and others on here who have stayed the course. I think that the timing of yesterday's award of options could be significant. Good drilling test results in January followed by a further increase in stake building looks likely in my view. That should help the sp much further.

Have a great Christmas break everyone & here's to a hopefully very prosperous New Year

Am ever so slightly in profit now - Can't believe it! Great Christmas present! Merry Christmas everyone and a lot more of the same in 2010.

Bhunt and Sharesure nice to see that it looks like you are starting to reap the rewards of your belief and patience. I was a long term holder back in the Chaco days so I know the ups and downs you have been through, and also the contributions you have made to this board. Well I have bought back in to AMER on Monday, and I hope we will all have a prosperous new year.

Depending on what happens next week, this share could be one of the major risers during 2009.

This is the first time I've posted, but I have held these shares (Bought at 21p) since GMS days, thats probably 8 or 9 years ! I only bought them because they were a Red Hot Penny share tip
I bought some more a few years ago when they were Chaco Resources at 12p, so am now roughly even,
I've held on all this time because I've been encouraged by Sharesures and many other posts,
My question is when do you think they might start drilling / producing oil from the Paraquay blocks and do you still
think this share has a chance of being north of 1.00 when this happens ?
Could 2010 be the year that I finally sell !?!

A,

Don't think there will be any drilling in Paraguay before 2011, but research into the prospects will carry on through 2010. Maybe a JV re Paraguay - perhaps late 2010 - if the prospects are as good as they seem now.

All, Although what is coming out of Amerisur, and due soon, is all looking really positive I don't think that we should let the Board get away, yet again, with diluting us in order immediately to line their own pockets with an instant profit. I am referring to their second share grab at a discount to market price when they must know full well, or have a very shrewd idea, what they are going to be able to announce very shortly. It could be construed as market abuse, and that is not in any of our interests to have that suspicion surrounding the company.
I would respect and support this Board far more if they granted share options at a significant premium to the current market price. Doing so at a discount amounts might be construed as amounting to corporate theft. I would encourage all to register their opposition to the latest dilution ; it amounts to a significant %.
Apart from that have a Happy (happier!!!!) Christmas.

SS,

As long as the board delivers - which appears to be the case now - I have to say that I am fairly relaxed re the share options.

Blackdown, You are more generous than me.