Right I havent beleived in investing directly in an oil company untill today and in the last few months have been investing in OIL SERVICE companys Hamworthy and Corac, you know the picks and shovels tale.

Anyway after doing a lot of research I really feel that SOCO INTERNATIONAL SIA as been left behind in the mass bull market on oil companies.

Forget, Burren, Regal, Dana and the rest in my opinion this is the one to be on.

So.....why buy Soco now?

Four inter-related reasons:

1) Newsflow is now very much in sight on several fronts. None of it has yet emerged though, so analysts have yet to revisit their old views and recommendations. There was, and indeed remains, a chance to get in before serious interest picks up again.

2) There is, IMO, a decent chance of some very large price rises within the next 6 months, accompanied by increased downside protection. Once newsflow starts, the shares will come back onto institutional radar screens - you can wait for it to emerge, or you can speculate now at what I think will prove to be a lower price -perhaps much lower!

3) The market thinks there is nothing happening and has gone to sleep on the prospects. You can see this in the broadly sideways drift and very low volumes on most days [until this week]. They are wrong. Yemen and perhaps Mongolia should provide some near-term good news.

4) The time to buy is when no-one else seems very interested.

And heres the last results from the company......................

Soco International PLC
02 September 2004

SOCO International plc

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2004

SOCO is an international oil and gas exploration and production company,
headquartered in London. The Company has interests in Vietnam, Mongolia, Yemen,
Libya, Tunisia and Thailand, with production operations in Yemen, Tunisia and
Mongolia. SOCO today announces interim results for the half year ended 30 June
2004.

HIGHLIGHTS

Operating profit of 4.1 million (2003: 4.2 million)

Net profit of 2.0 million (2003: 2.5 million)

Earnings per share of 2.9p (2003: 3.6p)

Cash balance of 26.7 million at half year end

Finalised the sale of an interest in ODEX creating a consortium of SOCO
(34%), Oilinvest (46%) and Gazprombank (20%) in the special purpose
entity to progress initiatives in Libya and other countries

Continued reinterpretation of existing 3D seismic and acquisition of 650
sq km of new 3D seismic in Vietnam prior to commencement of drilling in
Q1 2005

3D seismic programme completed in Mongolia with two wells drilled, both
apparent discoveries, and a third well spudded

First ever deviated Basement well drilling in East Shabwa in Yemen



Ed Story, President and Chief Executive of SOCO, said:

'Following an extended period of quiet preparation, the release of interim
results coincides with the commencement of a very active drilling programme for
SOCO, one that I believe has company transforming potential'

2 September 2004

ENQUIRIES:
SOCO International plc Tel: 020 7457 2020 (today)ENDS.

This could really be a craking stock and is worth getting in at these lowly price figures.

Please DYOR

cheers GF.

Just tried a dummy trade with Comdirect. Can sell 10k at 484 but only buy 100 at 487. Stock shortage again perhaps.

Thought it would be good to bring a chart on to the thread. Shows the breakout well and looks good to me! :-)))

Cracking day today guys, looking forward to many more.

cheers GF.

Another 8 or so wells to be drilled this year in Yemen alone. If they can come up trumps like today then I will be most happy indeed. Hopefully some press over the weekend will start us off to another good week. A good weekend to all.

Cheers

Gav (will be sinking a few lagers tonight!)

Director buying:

Soco International PLC
18 February 2005


SOCO International plc
('SOCO' or 'the Company')

DIRECTOR SHAREHOLDING

The Company was notified today that Mr Ettore Contini acquired an interest in
an additional 40,000 SOCO International plc ordinary shares of 0.20 each
('Shares'). The Shares were purchased at an average price of 4.53 per share
on 9 February 2005 and represent 0.06% of the issued share capital of the
Company. Following this transaction, Mr Contini is interested in a total of
60,000 Shares, representing 0.08% of the issued share capital of the Company.

Contact: Carol Fan, 020 7747 2000


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Couldn't find much in the way of press today, only this from the Independent:

"Soco International jumped 29p to 490.5p after the oil explorer boasted of positive results from two of its wells in Yemen."

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/analysis_and_features/story.jsp?story=612521

Great start to the week

this is an interesting stock....shame i missed it from the 4 mark. any broker notes ideas of targets?

Stonking rise this morning and through 5 quid, nice.

cheers GF.

Just got to my pc and seen the rise, excellent. Through 5 easily. No idea as to brokers targets Prop. Just found this on Oilbarrel.com.

21.02.2005
SOCO Savours Drillbit Surprise In Yemen
While the rest of the E&P industry got busy sinking wells last year, London-based SOCO International had a fairly limited acquaintance with the drillbit in 2004. Thats all set to change this year, with the company planning a slew of wells on its acreage in Yemen and Vietnam.

The 2005 work programme has started on a high note, with the KHA-403 on the western extension of the Kharir field in the East Shabwa Development Area in Yemen exceeding expectations with an impressive 6,500 barrel per day flow rate.

We were trying to find the extent of the field and thought we were drilling on the fringes, explained chief financial officer Roger Cagle. We expected a rate more like the KHA-402 well [which production tested at a rate of 700 bpd] so this was a very pleasant surprise and indicates that the field is much larger than we anticipated.

A further eight wells are planned here, with the KHA-404 well now drilling ahead. Through its majority-owned subsidiary Comeco Petroleum, SOCO owns a 16.785 per cent stake in the East Shabwa Development Area. The project is operated by French oil giant TotalFinaElf (28.57 per cent) with Oxy (28.57 per cent) and the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co (14.29 per cent) making up the rest of the joint venture. In all, the JV produces some 30,000 barrels per day, a number that, pending the outcome of the 2005 drilling campaign, is expected to rise to around 50,000 bpd.

Perhaps most exciting is the prospect of further exploration on the acreage.

We believe we have identified two look-alikes to Kharir on the block and expect to crank up the exploration in the second half of this year, said Cagle. When we got involved in Yemen it was thought to be a marginal field but its turning into a really sweet development for us.

SOCO is keen to pick up more acreage near East Shabwa but was outgunned in the 2004 bid round by the might of the Indian and Chinese oil firms.

We were squeezed out by the big boys and in the current bid round theres nothing that particularly interests us, Cagle told oilbarrel.com. But we see a lot of potential and would like to expand in Yemen.

In Vietnam, where SOCO holds assets in the offshore Cuu Long Basin, the first well in a possible six-well drilling campaign is still drilling ahead. The CNV-3X appraisal well in Block 9-2 is a follow-up to the CNV-1X discovery of 2002, which flowed the equivalent of 4,500 barrels of oil per day during testing.

The appraisal well is a highly deviated well and its going to take about three months to drill and, hopefully, test, said Cagle.

Once the CNV well has been completed, the rig will move to Block 16-1 to start work on an exploration well.

Elsewhere SOCO is hoping to finally extract some value from its project in eastern Mongolia, where it operates three blocks in the Tamstag Basin.

We are in serious ongoing discussions with the Chinese, said Cagle, recently returned from a trip to Beijing. The geology in Mongolia is too complex for us and aerially the project is too large for us. We expect to see some kind of monetization of this asset this year.

The project has been hampered by the realities of working in Mongolia: it is remote, with a limited market, no infrastructure and beset by an unworkable winter season. Its very difficult to keep costs down, said Cagle. If this project was in Western Europe or North America, it would be a cash cow.

A wholesale or partial withdrawal from Mongolia may well be matched by expansion elsewhere. At the moment, the company is progressing possible new ventures in North and West Africa, one or both of which may well come off later in 2005, in what is shaping up to be an exciting year for SOCO investors.

Good volume supporting the rise now and not much sign of a shake (yet).

Long may it continue

Healthy volume indeed Al. At this rate we will hit your 6 long before Easter! :-) An artcile on Citywire about Contini's purchase reported on Friday, but its subscription only.

"After the bell on Friday it was announced that a non-executive director of oil exploration company Soco International recently bought 40,000 shares in the company that now appears to be on a roll; Edmond Jackson takes a closer look."

http://www.citywire.co.uk/News/NewsArticle.aspx?VersionID=72203&MenuKey=News.Home

Edmond Jackson: Soco worth a look after director's purchase
Published: 12:30 Sunday 20 February 2005 < PREV | 1 | 2 | NEXT > TOTAL PAGES: 2
By: Joanne Wallen, Associate Editor Back To Latest News Printable Version

Related Articles
Soco up again on Yemen production tests:
13:01 Fri 18 February 2005 read









After the bell on Friday it was announced that a non-executive director of oil exploration company Soco International recently bought 40,000 shares in the company that now appears to be on a roll; Edmond Jackson takes a closer look.

It was intriguing how, after Friday mornings drilling test result from Yemen (see Citywire archive on Soco), a 5.36pm announcement on Friday afternoon cited Ettore Contini, a 29 year-old non-executive director, having bought 40,000 shares (SIA) at an average price of 453p to hold a total 60,000.

Given that the trades were disclosed as being made on 9 February, the timing of all this looks curious when the test result news noted how the KHA-403 and KHA-402 Yemen wells spudded late last year. As reported on Citywire on Friday, it was then announced that the KHA-403 well had produced more than 6,500 barrels of oil per day when tested this month and has been connected to local production facilities. Socos deputy chief executive described it as extremely exciting news and the shares rose 29p to 487/494p.

This marks an overall re-rating of around two-thirds the groups market value in early December when Soco declared oil and gas shows and a further update would be issued when testing results were available. However one interprets the non-executive director's share trading, Soco has made clear to the market that 2005 would be a key year. Last September, chief executive Ed Story said: Following an extended period of quiet preparation, the release of interim results coincides with the commencement of a very active drilling programme, one that I believe has company transforming potential.

Although Soco shares are hitting fresh highs amid the excitement, and conservative investors may feel it is time to lock in gains, one should be aware how oil and gas exploration/production (E&P) shares can enter a purple patch as key projects are drilled.

We saw this dramatically last year, when Cairn Energy (CNE) tested new share price highs on drilling results from Rajasthan then roughly trebled. This event excited the entire junior oil sector and the search was on for the next Cairn Energy. So be aware how E&P share break-outs can imply both the underlying commercial reality and that investor perceptions are about to be transformed.

When such a powerful indicator coincides with a director snapping up 181,200 worth of shares, the notion of smelling the coffee has a very stimulating aroma!

Some investors find Socos geographical exposure high-risk, for example to Vietnam, where there is a significant multi-well exploration programme. What extent of success by foreign companies is tolerable in a developing country, before politicians start to tinker with agreements etc? Expatriates who have returned from Vietnam have recounted some tough tales of doing business there. In fairness to Soco, it is well diversified geographically, with exploration also in Libya, Mongolia, Thailand and obviously Yemen too. Production originates from Tunisia and Yemen. The company ought to update its website www.socointernational.co.uk, which discusses all this from a 2003 perspective.

Investor expectations have tended to focus on Vietnam as the key exploration driver, but this progress in Yemen has caught the market's imagination. Value targets are a guessing game, but that is often the nature of fast-moving resources exploration; why you often have to accept a speculative aspect in a share like this.

Soco could do more to explain its 2005 exploration in the public domain, so one could feel as confident as Ettore Contini - to make a six figure share purchase - but that trade could well be a leading indicator for this share!

cheers GF.

Many thanks for posting that Goldfinger, makes interesting reading.

From the Times today:

Directors' dealings



"Soco International, the oil and gas explorer, rose 26p to a record 516p as a non-executive bought stock for 181,200 following last weeks upbeat drilling update from Yemen. Ettore Contini disclosed late on Friday the purchase of 40,000 shares at 453p, taking his holding to 60,000 shares. Soco, which has interests in Vietnam, Mongolia, Libya and Thailand, reported a successful production test from two wells in Yemens Kharir field."

I may have missed it, but from what I have found out, the 2004 finals are due on or around the 20th March.

Can anyone shed any light so I can put the date in my diary please?

Nothing on the web site to confirm this.

Thanks.

Back tomorrow evening.

Hi SWW,

Last years finals were released on the 11th March so I would expect them to be released at around the same date. Last year there was no RNS giving a specific date so there might not be one this year again.

Cheers

Gav

Just tried some dummy trades. Can buy 3750 at 520, but sell 15k at 516.85.

gavdfc - yes, tried that myself this morning with same result.

Took a few on CFD yesterday

Al, this seems to be what it was like for the big rise at the end of last year. For most of the time, you could have bought far more than could have sold online. I think one time i tried a dummy trade, Com wouldnt even let me buy online. If the Americans start buying some later then I think we will move up again today.

Could be a well timed move you taking some more yesterday.