Madagascar Oil in 50.5m AIM float http://www.madagascaroil.com/

StockMarketWire.com

Madagascar Oil Limited, an oil and gas exploration and development company with resources onshore Madagascar, began trading on the AIM market today (November 29).

The company raised 50.5m before expenses through a placing at 95p a share, representing 27.65% of the share capital.

Its market capitalisation following admission was about 182.7m.

Chairman and CEO Laurie Hunter said the placing and admission would help support the company's goals of proving commerciality of the Tsimiroro field area, expanding and upgrading its resource base and further developing drillable prospects on its exploration blocks.

Madagascar shares were trading at 94.5p.

The stock of Madagascar Oil has been suspended on London's AIM exchange, just three weeks after its debut in a 50 million (Dh285.52m) initial public offering.

The development is not only a setback for the company - a minnow that reported zero revenue and a small net loss last year - it could also threaten the broader outlook for developing east Africa's biggest known oil resource.

Despite its current lack of revenue or oil production, Madagascar Oil, which has its head office in Houston, Texas, holds concessions for two huge onshore oilfields in Madagascar, each holding billions of barrels of crude. The oil was discovered more than a century ago but remains unexploited because most of the reserves consist of heavy and ultra-heavy crude, which is technically challenging and expensive to produce.

One of the fields, Bemolanga, is an oil sands deposit, in which tar-like bitumen is found liberally mixed with grit. The oil is near the surface and could be mined rather than pumped, then cleaned of sand using technology pioneered in Canada.

Madagascar Oil had already lined up the French oil major Total to help it do just that. It had also shown in a 2008 pilot study that a so-called in situ extraction technology that has been applied successfully to Canadian heavy oil deposits could be used to pump crude from the island's other big onshore oilfield, Tsimiroro.

Furthermore, the company's drilling work to assess Tsimiroro's reserves suggests the field also contains pockets of light oil and significant amounts of gas.

"Our vision is to be the leading in situ and mining producer of light, heavy and bitumen oil onshore in Madagascar, using superior technology and operational excellence to maximise value for the benefit of our shareholders and the people of Madagascar in an environmentally and socially responsible way," the company states on its website.

"This isn't an exploration play; it's an execution play," Laurie Hunter, the chief executive of Madagascar Oil, said last month as he sought to convince investors to back a larger pilot scheme that would use steam to coax as much as 1,000 barrels per day of Tsimiroro's sticky crude from the ground within a year.

But on Thursday, following another upbeat company presentation to analysts, Madagascar's ministry of mines and hydrocarbons served notice that it wanted to take back the Tsimiroro oil licences.

"The ministry has indicated that it is interested in acquiring from the company all of its licences excluding Bemolanga," said Madagascar Oil said on Friday. "There can be no guarantee that any price agreed for such an acquisition will be representative of the fair value of such assets."

While a Tsimiroro pilot may require more than US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn) of further investment, the business could eventually be lucrative. It could establish Madagascar as an oil exporter, while associated gas could fuel power plants badly needed in a country that is burning its hardwood forests for domestic fuel.

The resultant deforestation is simultaneously destroying the habitat of many animal species, such as lemurs, that are found nowhere else on Earth, robbing the island of a unique ecotourism resource.

For the moment, the more ambitious oil sands mining venture with Total has not been threatened. The French company became the project operator in 2008 by acquiring a 60 per cent stake. It would shoulder most of the costs of the proposed mine if the partners decided to proceed.
But Total has other commercial oil sands opportunities that could take priority over a costly project in an unstable African nation lacking infrastructure.

On Friday, Total announced a "strategic alliance" with Suncor Energy, one of Canada's biggest oil sands players, under which the companies will pool their interests in several large Canadian bitumen projects. The deal includes a "p

The deal includes a "p .... really? .... perhaps it's the uric acid that will free up the latent oil

Well spotted [ pun ]

it's fond memories of a dying prostate

,,,lol ...you really have a keen and sharp sense of humour for an englishman Cynners,,,,,,Tis appreciated . Makes me laugh anyway //............The govt of madagascar dont know what they are taking on in French giant Total who have the full weight of international law behind them and are,in effect financing the MOIL prog.which incidentally is NOT a exploration play -lts an appraisal situ with billions of bbls.- both very heavy and sweet light known to be sloshing around in them thar hills ....../ .....Methinks Chinks have made a better offer..

Not looking good that's for sure....not in but was waiting for an entry point....not for some time now it seems....very, very risky now....

not really ..... plenty of practice pulling frogs' legs - or wings off flies for a bit of variety

RNS Number : 2576D

Madagascar Oil Limited

21 March 2011

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN

21 March, 2011 For immediate release

MADAGASCAR OIL LIMITED

("Madagascar Oil" or the "Company")

Declaration of Force Majeure

Madagascar Oil announces that it has today declared force majeure under the four production sharing contracts for Blocks 3104, 3105, 3106 and 3107 that it operates in Madagascar, in order to safeguard its rights under those agreements.

Force majeure is a contract provision that allows the party making such a declaration the ability to preserve time upon the occurrence of an event or action that impedes that party from meeting contractual deadlines. In this case, the Company has the right to declare force majeure under the Production Sharing Contracts ("PSCs") in response to an "act of state." This is in response to both the stated threat of expropriation made by the Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons and the failure by the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons ("MMH") to instruct OMNIS (the state regulatory authority that is the counterparty to the Company's contracts) to proceed with initiating the approval process for the Company's 2011 work programmes.

These acts have left Madagascar Oil unable to continue to perform under its PSCs. The Company has made repeated attempts at removing the impediments created by the threats of expropriation and the failure to schedule a contractually required meeting for the purpose of approving the Company's 2011 work programmes under the production sharing contracts.

The declaration of force majeure comes only after the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons has persistently refused to engage with the Company in its efforts meet to resolve these matters. The Company is entirely confident that it has complied fully with all PSC obligations and has provided extensive documentation to the MMH regarding activity on all of the blocks. Furthermore, to date MMH has provided no findings from the audit of the Tsimiroro Block announced in January of this year.

Madagascar Oil does not view the force majeure declaration as an act of hostility. Rather, the declaration serves to place the contract terms on hold while the delaying events introduced by the MMH are resolved. The Company hopes that the declaration will encourage negotiation with the government.

Management believes that the declaration of force majeure, while not in itself a solution, is an action that the Company can move to rescind once the government agrees on the necessary steps to allow for a return to work.

The Company is also prepared to assert all necessary legal claims under the PSCs unless the situation that created the force majeure events is rectified without delay.

The Board continues to believe that it is in the best interests of shareholders for trading in the Company's shares to remain suspended. The Company will provide further updates in due course.

Laurie Hunter, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We hope that the force majeure declaration will convince the government parties to enter into meaningful discussions with Madagascar Oil. The Company fully anticipates that the force majeure can be withdrawn once a mutually beneficial resolution of the underlying issues is reached. This declaration is merely a tool to protect existing company rights, to which we are fully entitled under our contracts."

Contact Information:

Pelham Bell Pottinger +44 (0)20 7861 3232

Mark Antelme

James Henderson

Strand Hanson Limited +44 (0)20 7409 3494

Simon Raggett

Angela Peace

-ENDS-

AIM re listing.

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/Article.aspx?id=201106270700091257J

Down 60% but recovering now.

Madagascar Oil shares suffer on return to market
2:01 pm
http://bit.ly/j4Tac8

Shares in Madagascar Oil Ltd (LON:MOIL) plummeted this morning, after the suspension was lifted following the resolution last Friday of a protracted dispute with the government of Madagascar over the Tsimiroro production sharing contract (PSC).

The stock was down by 50 percent to 37 pence midday in its first trading session since the shares were suspended on December 17 last year, when the company revealed that the Ministry of Oil on the island said was interested in buying the company's licences - the Tsimiroro PSC and three exploration licences.

The company had joined AIM the month before with a 50 million placing.

Since the suspension the two parties became entangled in a dispute which led to the declaration of force majeure in March, and the start of international arbitration last month.

On Friday MOIL said that the uncertainty over the status of the Tsimiroro PSC had ended and the government has acknowledged the validity of the PSC.

The government has also acknowledged MOILs right to extend the PSC by two years, therefore the current contract can be extended until August 2014.

Talks were still underway to resolve the outstanding issues relating to the three exploration licences.

As of last week, the company had US$59 million cash on hand to deliver the approved work plan, which is designed to increase resources and prove commerciality of the Tsimiroro asset.

Furthermore MOIL confirmed that the 2011-2012 work programme and budget have been approved.

MOIL now expects to start the Tsimiroro steam flood pilot project in the third quarter of 2012. It also highlighted that its consultant - Netherland, Sewell & Associates Inc is revising the current 965 million barrel Tsimiroro oil-in-place resource.

The update will take into account the successful 2010 work programme which included 18 successful wells (out of the 24 drilled) and the completion of 430 kilometres of Electrical Resitivity Tomography.

Additionally MOIL highlighted that it the current PSC for the Bemolanga joint ventures exploration phase has been extended for one year, and it has the option for a further two year extension.

The group today announced results for the full -year to end-December 2010, which saw the net loss widen to US11.6 million from US$3.9 million a year earlier.

Responding to todays statement broker Westhouse said that despite resolution of the dispute relating to the Tsimiroro licence, it believes there are still fundamental difficulties with this key project.

Westhouse analysts believe that as a heavy oil project in which Madagascar Oil hold 100% equity, any success of the steam flood pilot project in 2011 should be expected to be farmed out to a major oil company with deep pockets.

The cost of steam injection is going to be a major issue for Tsimiroro, as Madagascar has no gas production for the steam production and will therefore have to either import energy for steam generation; or burn some of the heavy oil production for steam generation, with environmental consequences, according to the analysts.

The current steam flood project is a pilot operation and would require huge scale-up to achieve the production rates of 87,500 barrels of oil per day suggested by the company from the contingent oil-in-place resources.

The analysts add that steam flooding is an enhanced oil recovery technique whose application is the forte of just a specialist few oil companies, notably those in Canada such as Husky Oil, Encana, Nexen and Imperial Energy, and Chevron of the US.

They reckon the company would be better placed to deliver the project to bankable status and then seek an exit.

Furthermore, with the companys other main asset, the Bemolanga bitumen project, being put on hold due to economic viability, Madagascar Oil is becoming a single asset risk with respect to the Tsimiroro field. At the time of it

Time to buy I think.

You could be right , i bought to soon at 41p

volume is pathetic and why would you want to buy this anyway? .... i'ld expect the market to be totally unforgiving after their disgraceful con when floated

cynic, this is TFC 's last post to you.


,,,lol ...you really have a keen and sharp sense of humour for an englishman Cynners,,,,,,Tis appreciated . Makes me laugh anyway //............The govt of madagascar dont know what they are taking on in French giant Total who have the full weight of international law behind them and are,in effect financing the MOIL prog.which incidentally is NOT a exploration play -lts an appraisal situ with billions of bbls.- both very heavy and sweet light known to be sloshing around in them thar hills ....../ .....Methinks Chinks have made a better offer..

TFC has disappeared for some reason, but my comment remains .... i can't imagine i'ld want to touch this one

Where is TFC, he made some useful comments and I quite liked his "humour grincant".

I think his now a tax exile

Afren Increase's it's stake in Madagascar - to 90%

9 August, 2011

MADAGASCAR OIL LIMITED
("Madagascar Oil" or the "Company")

Notification of Major Interest in Shares


Madagascar Oil has today received notification from MSD Capital L.P. that following the acquisition of 3,675,000 ordinary shares in the Company, it now has a holding of 18,789,000 shares in the Company, representing 9.77% of the Company's share capital.


Contact Information:

Madagascar Oil Limited +1 (713) 357-4820
Rene O'Neil

Strand Hanson Limited +44 (0)20 7409 3494
Angela Peace
David Altberg

Pelham Bell Pottinger +44 (0)20 7861 3232
Mark Antelme