Epic : AEX

Aminex PLC is an established upstream oil and gas company, listed on the London and Irish Stock Exchanges, which has operated internationally since 1991.

Aminex produces oil and gas in the USA and has ongoing exploration activity in Tanzania, North Korea. Madagascar, Kenya and Egypt. Aminex also owns AMOSSCO Ltd, an international oilfield service, supply and logistics company.


Main Web Site : http://www.aminex-plc.com

Amossoco Web Site : http://www.amossco.com/

Dec 2007 Company Presentation : Link to PDF File



Sept 07 - Operations Detail & Update : In post 2

28th Sept 07 - Oil Barrel Write Up : In post 6

North Korea Info : In post 3

Planned Drilling :

Commencing late Oct 07 (or early Nov) - Kiliwani-1 - Tanzania
to be followed by second Tanzania well.

Commencing Nov 07 - West esh el Mellahah Block 2 - Egypt



* Note : AEX is fully listed (not AIM) and so can be ISA'd


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Another decent day, and another step towards 30p, which is fair value if you take exploration potential as nothing.............in other words 30p is still cheap imv.

A good site for getting information on Tanzania oil and gas.

http://www.tpdc-tz.com/exploration.htm



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Added the North Korea presentation to post 3 information on NK.

http://www.aminex-plc.com/Resources/c_DPRK_Summary.pdf



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Thanks to a post on TMF for highlighting it.

Artumas Group Inc. are Aminex's 'neighbours' in terms of locations being explored in Tanzania. ( http://www.artumas.com/html/tanzania.php )

Artumas have just issued an update on the Mnazi Bay Concession in Tanzania which reads well, and perhaps offers an insight to the potential in the Aminex area.


The report is a PDF document, you can download at the link below :


http://hugin.info/136496/R/1159490/224673.pdf


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From the Davy note in March 2007, if you allow for higher oil prices now, you can say that the US 2P reserves are worth around 20p a share, if not more. From this, you can see that the present price allows little for the other assets, which is why AEX at its present price offers so much upside for very little risk, imv. :

http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/morningrep/download/0305davy.pdf

5th March 2007

"OPC, an independent oil and gas engineering firm, has concluded from an analysis of Aminexs US interests that its net 2P reserves total 5.4 mmboe. This is more than double the number used in our valuation model and from which our NAV of 37p per share is derived. Aminex values its 2P reserves at $84m versus our valuation of $45m for all of its US assets (2P reserves + P3 resources).
Aminexs market cap is currently some 30m. Its valuation of its US reserves suggests that its market cap should be closer to 45m, even before adjusting for the price of an option on its exploration portfolio. This simple comparison suggestsat least 50% upside in the current share price.
Drilling and 3D seismic acquisition is planned for Aminexs US properties over the coming months."

Turkey seems a new driver for higher oil prices, along with the US data etc......bring on 100$ a barrel soon I hope :)

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=36518

...................................................Crude oil prices have shot up to levels above $83 per barrel as other discerning news emerged at the same time. Turkish threats to start a major military operation in Iraqs Kurdistan, largely to destroy the military bases of the Turkish-Kurdish rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), could result in a major destabilization of the whole region.

Turkish military operations have been halted the last two years, as the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq has prevented this to happen. PKK forces have been able to feel rather safe in Iraqs Kurdistan, which has become a defacto independent region, ruled by Kurdish parties that are still part of the Baghdad government. American officials have warned that they will not allow Turkish forces to enter Iraq to quell PKK operations the next months.

A major political confrontation already has been brewing between Ankara and Washington, as Turkish generals have been preparing to invade Iraq openly. At the same time, a U.S. House of Representatives vote on the Armenian issue has ended in a declaration that the killings of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by Turkey at the end of World War I was genocide, putting additional oil on the fire.

The coming months will continue to be volatile, as crude oil does not seem to be heading to a slowdown. Price levels will keep high, as market fundamentals only show a tendency for further constraints.

From the Key Petroleum presentation just out, it says the rig to drill Tanzania will be on site week three of October 2007.

Should be up and drilling the first Tanzania well for all partners (inc. AEX) fairly soon then :)


Presentation link (PDF file) is below :

http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20071017/pdf/3155q6vfyn2r8b.pdf


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From a post on TMF, sone details on the potentials of Tanzania from Artumas, the exciting line being ;

"Our geologists and partners describe the Rovuma Delta Basin as the last great undrilled Tertiary basin in the world, with geology and hydrocarbon potential similar to the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Mexico" :

***********************************************

http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/43154/Artumas.html


Artumas Group Work Program

Calgary, Alberta, Norway, Oct 18, 2007 - (Hugin via Asia Business News) - Artumas Group Inc. ("Artumas") (OSE:AGI) announces the next stage of its exploration and development program in Tanzania and Mozambique, which will launch Artumas into high impact crude oil exploration in Mozambique, and move the company closer to commercializing its gas resource base in Tanzania.

...
Artumas' Chief Operating Officer, Douglas Purcell states, "Our geologists and partners describe the Rovuma Delta Basin as the last great undrilled Tertiary basin in the world, with geology and hydrocarbon potential similar to the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Mexico. Contract terms in Mozambique are attractive. Based on my experience in frontier exploration and development around the world, including West Africa, commercial thresholds and development costs will be low and the economic potential of an oil discovery will be substantial."

Certaily sounds like awesome possibilities!

Out of interest.......


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml;?xml=/money/2007/10/21/cnburren121.xml

Korea sets sights on Burren Energy

By Sylvia Pfeifer

Last Updated: 11:59pm BST 20/10/2007

Korea's state oil giant, Korean National Oil Company, has emerged as one of the mystery suitors for Burren Energy, the London-listed oil and gas explorer being circled by predators.


Surging energy requirements are making oil and gas independents takeover targets


KNOC has hired Jefferies, the boutique investment bank, to advise it on a bid. The Koreans are understood to have tabled an indicative offer of 11 a share a few weeks ago, valuing Burren at 1.5bn.

Burren's board rejected the offer but last night industry sources said KNOC could still return with an improved bid.

Burren has also rebuffed a rival offer from ENI, the Italian energy giant. In a statement to the stock exchange earlier this month, ENI said its 10.50 per share offer had been rejected but added it remained in talks with the board and shareholders.

The announcement forced Burren to reveal it had been the subject of a numb..........................................

From a post on TMF the following information below - wonder if Aminex will want more exposure to exploration in Tanzania. First well should be spudding in the next few weeks for AEX in Tanzania.


http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKL2236768020071022

NAIROBI, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Tanzania has invited energy explorers to bid for six blocks in the east African nation that is fast becoming a new frontier in the hunt for oil and gas.

According to a statement by the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation seen by Reuters on Monday, the six blocks are all inland and stretch from the southeast of the country to the northwest.

Bidders have until December 3 to submit their documents.

So, from the Mozambique border across to the Rift Valley then northwards?

And, for those wanting more:

More information on the Tanzanian offer can be found at http://www.tpdc-tz.com/index.htm

Current activity map, as of August, here:
http://www.tpdc-tz.com/activity_August_2007.htm

And the open areas here:
http://www.tpdc-tz.com/new/activitymap.htm

From a post on AFN :

From Davy Stockbrokers this morning:

"Price 31c Target: 45.0c

Aminex has successfully converted its technical evaluation agreement (TEA) for Kenyan Blocks L17 and L18 to a production sharing contract (PSC). The two blocks are located mostly off-shore in relatively shallow water close to a significant energy market at Mombasa. They contain a number of known leads in an area of just under 5,000 square kilometres. Aminex is the nominated operator of the PSC with a 25% share.

In 2006, Aminex acquired 2D marine seismic of the area and carried out sea-bed core sampling which revealed encouraging shows of hydrocarbons. The PSC lasts for seven years, with an obligation to acquire seismic in an initial two-year period and drilling commitments in subsequent periods. This is the first time that a Kenyan TEA has been converted to PSC status, and also the first time that a Kenyan company has embarked on frontier exploration in the country (partner SomKen has a 35% interest)."

http://www.oilbarrel.com/email_index.html?page=/news/article.html?body=1&key=oilbarrel_en:1193364096&feed=oilbarrel_en

26.10.2007

Aminex Extends Its Corridor Of Interests In East Africa With Signing Of Kenyan PSC

It has taken a while to conclude negotiations but Aminex has finally signed a Production Sharing Contract for near-shore Blocks 17 and 18 offshore Kenya. The London-listed company entered Kenya in March 2006 when it signed up to a technical evaluation agreement (TEA) for an onshore and shallow water area near the port city of Mombassa in a deal that extended its interests in East Africa from Kenya in the north to Tanzania in the south and Madagascar to the east.

Aminex agreed to pay Upstream Petroleum Services Limited US$550,000, comprising US$300,000 in cash plus US$250,000 in new Aminex shares, to secure a 25 per cent interest in the TEA, which commits the partners to seismic and geochemical work reckoned to cost US$2 million. Following the Aminex farm-in, the equity in the TEA was UPSL 50 per cent, Aminex 25 per cent and Mombassa-based Somken Petroleum with 25 per cent. The partners hoped to convert the TEA into a full PSC later that year but negotiations proved protracted.

The PSC has finally been signed, with Aminex acting as operator with 25 per cent of the equity, along with SomKen (35 per cent) and East African Exploration (40 per cent). This is the first time a TEA in Kenya has been converted to PSC status and the first time a Kenyan company (SomKen) has embarked on frontier exploration in the country.

Aminex is no stranger to industry firsts. The company has a history of getting in on the ground floor, giving it first mover advantage in what it hopes will prove to be the next industry hotspot. It was, for example, the first company to sign a deal with North Korea, giving it access to vast tracts of that troubled countrys onshore and offshore sedimentary basins. It picked up its acreage in Tanzania in 2002 and its Nyuni-1 well, which spudded at the back-end of 2003, was the first well in the country for 13 years. During the five years the London- and Dublin-listed firm has held its Nyuni and Ruvuma Basin licences, Tanzania has been gaining support from some of the great and the good of the oil industry: Brazilian deepwater specialist Petrobras has signed up to explore offshore, oil giant Shell is in negotiations for four offshore blocks and French outfit Maurel et Prom is looking onshore while a recent licensing round in east coast neighbour Mozambique saw the industry snap up licences next to Aminexs Ruvuma Basin PSC.

Aminex added Madagascar, the Indian Ocean island off the coast of Mozambique, to the portfolio in 2005, when it signed up to explore the 10,725 sq km onshore Manja Block. Madagascar is also making its mark on the industrys radar: ExxonMobil, Norsk Hydro and Sterling Energy are among those exploring its offshore waters. Aminex may not be the first on the ground in Madagascar but for a small company it has been quick to gain a foothold in an emerging exploration hotspot.

The same goes for Kenya. Aminex is not the first but it is one of very few companies to be exploring these little known waters, which took a heavy blow earlier this year when a consortium led by Australias Woodside Energy drilled an expensive duster in the deep offshore. This was the first deepwater well in Kenyan waters and Woodside has taken time to assess the data before drilling a second well. Although the result was a disappointment, it certainly doesnt write off Kenya, which remains under-explored.

While other countries in the East African region have recently witnessed an unprecedented boom in exploration activity, Kenya has been relatively quiet, said chairman Brian Hall. Our exploration targets in L17 and L18 are a logical extension of the work we are already doing in Tanzania and Madagascar.

The two blocks together cover 5,000 sq km and stretch from the Tanzanian border to the Kenyan coastal town of Kilifi. Aminex and its partners have already acquired new 2D data over the offshore portions and a seabed core sampling operation has revealed encouraging shows of hydrocarbons. The PSC is for seven years, with the partners committed to acquire seismic in the first two years.

Key Petroleum recently released their 2007 Annual Report. From within this report you can gain some information on the Tanzania potential.

http://www.keypetroleum.com/reports/KEYPETROLEUMLTD2007ANNUALREPORT.pdf


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http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Oil_and_Gas/10163457.html

"Black Marlin plans oil venture in Kenya
By Shakir Husain, Staff Reporter
Published: October 28, 2007, 23:02

Dubai: Black Marlin Energy, a Dubai-based company, plans to search for oil onshore and offshore Kenya.

The company said a joint venture involving its subsidiary East African Exploration Limited (EAX) has signed a seven-year production sharing contract (PSC) with Kenya.

The contract is for Blocks L17 and L18, which lie between the Tanzanian border and the Kenyan coastal town of Kilifi.

EAX holds a 40 per cent stake, while Somken Upstream Kenya and British energy firm Aminex have 35 per cent and 25 per cent interests respectively.

Aminex is the nominated operator of the PSC, which was awarded by the Kenyan energy ministry. Jeff Hume, chief executive officer of Black Marlin Energy, said his company would be looking at new exploration opportunities in Kenya, which relies on imported oil and gas.

With record high crude oil prices, the regions that were not considerable commercially attractive earlier are seeing new exploration activities.

"Our projects are based on domestic consumption economics, allowing us to develop much smaller projects than the majors, yet ones that could be crucial to continuing Kenyan economic growth," Hume said.

Before signing the PSC, the joint venture companies had conducted a geoscientific study of the area.

According to Aminex, a seabed core sampling operation has revealed "encouraging shows of hydrocarbons."

Black Marlin director Eric Fore told Gulf News the company plans to finish seismic and geochemical work by the end of 2009 and hopes to drill a well in 2010.

So far the companies have spent $2 million on seismic surveys and related activities."

......and the share price is quite perky this morning too !!!

;o)

http://www.oilbarrel.com/email_index.html?page=/news/article.html?body=1&key=oilbarrel_en:1193364096&feed=oilbarrel_en

26.10.2007

Aminex Extends Its Corridor Of Interests In East Africa With Signing Of Kenyan PSC

It has taken a while to conclude negotiations but Aminex has finally signed a Production Sharing Contract for near-shore Blocks 17 and 18 offshore Kenya. The London-listed company entered Kenya in March 2006 when it signed up to a technical evaluation agreement (TEA) for an onshore and shallow water area near the port city of Mombassa in a deal that extended its interests in East Africa from Kenya in the north to Tanzania in the south and Madagascar to the east.

Aminex agreed to pay Upstream Petroleum Services Limited US$550,000, comprising US$300,000 in cash plus US$250,000 in new Aminex shares, to secure a 25 per cent interest in the TEA, which commits the partners to seismic and geochemical work reckoned to cost US$2 million. Following the Aminex farm-in, the equity in the TEA was UPSL 50 per cent, Aminex 25 per cent and Mombassa-based Somken Petroleum with 25 per cent. The partners hoped to convert the TEA into a full PSC later that year but negotiations proved protracted.

The PSC has finally been signed, with Aminex acting as operator with 25 per cent of the equity, along with SomKen (35 per cent) and East African Exploration (40 per cent). This is the first time a TEA in Kenya has been converted to PSC status and the first time a Kenyan company (SomKen) has embarked on frontier exploration in the country.

Aminex is no stranger to industry firsts. The company has a history of getting in on the ground floor, giving it first mover advantage in what it hopes will prove to be the next industry hotspot. It was, for example, the first company to sign a deal with North Korea, giving it access to vast tracts of that troubled countrys onshore and offshore sedimentary basins. It picked up its acreage in Tanzania in 2002 and its Nyuni-1 well, which spudded at the back-end of 2003, was the first well in the country for 13 years. During the five years the London- and Dublin-listed firm has held its Nyuni and Ruvuma Basin licences, Tanzania has been gaining support from some of the great and the good of the oil industry: Brazilian deepwater specialist Petrobras has signed up to explore offshore, oil giant Shell is in negotiations for four offshore blocks and French outfit Maurel et Prom is looking onshore while a recent licensing round in east coast neighbour Mozambique saw the industry snap up licences next to Aminexs Ruvuma Basin PSC.

Aminex added Madagascar, the Indian Ocean island off the coast of Mozambique, to the portfolio in 2005, when it signed up to explore the 10,725 sq km onshore Manja Block. Madagascar is also making its mark on the industrys radar: ExxonMobil, Norsk Hydro and Sterling Energy are among those exploring its offshore waters. Aminex may not be the first on the ground in Madagascar but for a small company it has been quick to gain a foothold in an emerging exploration hotspot.

The same goes for Kenya. Aminex is not the first but it is one of very few companies to be exploring these little known waters, which took a heavy blow earlier this year when a consortium led by Australias Woodside Energy drilled an expensive duster in the deep offshore. This was the first deepwater well in Kenyan waters and Woodside has taken time to assess the data before drilling a second well. Although the result was a disappointment, it certainly doesnt write off Kenya, which remains under-explored.

While other countries in the East African region have recently witnessed an unprecedented boom in exploration activity, Kenya has been relatively quiet, said chairman Brian Hall. Our exploration targets in L17 and L18 are a logical extension of the work we are already doing in Tanzania and Madagascar.

The two blocks together cover 5,000 sq km and stretch from the Tanzanian border to the Kenyan coastal town of Kilifi. Aminex and its partners have already acquired new 2D data over the offshore portions and a seabed core sampling operation has revealed encouraging shows of hydrocarbons. The PSC is for seven years, with the partners committed to acquire seismic in the first two years.

For reference :

On Line Limits are :


BUY 25K @ 26.53p

SELL 100 K @ 26.36



L2 is blue and 2 v 1 @ 26.25/27 (just DAVY on the offer)

Still ticking up nicely.

It appears the rig will be released very soon, and the expectation is now a mid-November spud for the first Tanzania well.


This update from one of the partners :

http://www.gtp.com.au/bountyoil/inewsfiles/Kiliwani%20release%2029Oct07.pdf


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Nice post on TMF which goes through some of the US potential of Aminex :

http://boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mid=10768621&bid=51587

"Author: Jimarilo

Hi Gtaval,

Don't forget there is still a chance we will also see some additional drill bit action from the US ;-)

"North America

Aminex is a producer of oil and gas in Texas and Louisiana and its principal interests are:

Alta Loma (gas production)

Somerset (oil production)

South Weslaco (gas production)

Shoats Creek (oil and gas production)

At Alta Loma, Galveston County, Texas, Aminex participates in a single gas well, Sunny Ernst n1, operated by Peoples Energy. Further drilling is planned in 2007.

At Somerset, Bexar County, Texas, Aminex owns and operates stripper production wells.

At South Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas, operated by Kaler Energy Corp., Aminex produces gas from three wells drilled and completed between 2005 and 2007. Two further development wells are planned for late 2007.

At Shoats Creek, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Aminex owns and operates oil and gas production. A major re-evaluation of this property is in progress as current oil prices make redevelopment economic and a 3D seismic survey currently being carried out by Forest Oil over a wise area will become the basis of a development plan."

Paul"