Any experts out there with a view to todays RNS on Algerian gas find ?
Looks good to me but sp is down
Thanks in advance nr

Good article in Sunday Business Post last Sunday too.

Seems to me that Iberdrola wish to emulate BG's success as an oil and gas explorer. PCI is it's first step in that direction and with their backing their is no excuse for failure.

$55m investment undertaken in two
tranches:
Tranche 1: Iberdrola
subscribed for 20% Petroceltics
Iberdrola will pay $7.3 mm for an
option to acquire 49% financing
interest in any single Petroceltic
asset for a consideration of $55
current share capital (147m million shares) at 0.13/share for a
total of $38m
Tranche 2: Iberdrola
b ib d f dditi l 68
million, subject to government and
partner consents
Asset must be selected by Iberdrola
within 6 months of agreement date
subscribed for an additional 68m O ti ill i t i d
shares at the same price of
0.13/share for a total of $17m
Option will expire if not exercised on
or before 1st May, 2010
Future operational funding will be
split 49:51 (Iberdrola : Petroceltic)

from Davy today...

http://www.rte.ie/business/2009/morningrep/download/0401davy.pdf

The resignation from the respective Boards of Petroceltic by John Craven and from Petroneft by Des Burke should be seen as part of the natural evolution of these companies. Both former directors were very involved in and played a large role in the initial set-up and subsequent build-up of their respective companies. Both companies are on the cusp of a step change in activity and are likely to see a major scaling up of operations over the coming years.

Baldy will be back elsewhere. BOC is the King now.

I just wonder if this statement sheds light on why Craven left the board. Perhaps he wanted to sell out to Iberdrola but O'Cathain and the rest of the board wanted PCI to reap the rewards instead. Would explain the rumours about being taken over by Iberdrola.

Its been slower in coming than we would have thought, but were beginning to see it now, he said, citing a raft of deals done in the industry in the last month. We aim to be consolidators, rather than the consolidated. Weve got the management team and the shareholder base.
.......
"So after two years of hard work behind the scenes and a change in job title, OCathain is preparing for a higher profile. Were much closer to generating newsflow, which is what shareholders want. This will be a year of very intense newsflow.

There has been a sudden flury of activity late afternoon. Closed at 7p. Are we on our way?

does not necessarily follow as markets will not be logical a until at least next week - i.e. until start of new fiscal year . .... with regard to PCI specifically, there may be more general interest getting under way, even if it's really a bit premature, as if memory serves me right, they should start test drilling in Algeria in 6/8/10 weeks

Re my previous post:

The equipment is moving on to the drilling site in the next few days followed by the rig personnel on the 8th April. They are now hoping be in a position to spud during week 17 (before the end of April) which is earlier than previously thought.

true, but then at least several more weeks before any indications at all ..... still, if the shares go up, should i/we care?

Absolutely!

Craven had to go as he was holding up things. BOC promises to move things along better...

This is a dent buy hermano.

will someone please identify BOC for me?
as far as i am concerned, BOC = British Oxygen Company which was bought out by Linde Gas about 18 months ago

Big Brian aka Brian O'Cathain.

I think that's Brian O'Cathain, the new CEO.

previously the chairman I believe--formerly of BP and lots of experience! It is rumoured that Craven left because he wanted to sell out and Big Brian didn't--he is making very positive statements about 2009 being the year shareholders get their rewards! hope so!

money,Brian ex Shell,Tullow,Enterprise and Afren. A heavyhitter by all accounts.

I'm looking forward to his magic touch! I took profits on TLW far too soon but still hold AFR---exciting times for small oilies at the moment-watch out for GKP next week.

OIL FIRMS IN GEAR FOR THE BIG DRILL



OIL TANKER: Companys are gearing for great finds
Saturday April 4,2009
By David Shand OIL-company bosses are given to waxing lyrical about potential blockbuster discoveries even though there may be a distinct jam tomorrow flavour about many of the prospects.


The glass half-empty is an alien term to them but even this band of natural optimists must have had their confidence tested by the swathe of value destruction among quoted exploration and production companies since the crude price went into freefall from last summers near-$150-a-barrel peak.

Traditional investors such as hedge funds have had their spending instincts curbed, while the companies themselves have had to face up to the possibility of mothballing projects as money dries up.

But the recent stability of oil prices around $50 underpinned by the prospect of Opec (the cartel of leading oil-producing countries) cutting back production and a reawakening of merger and acquisition activity have fuelled hopes of an upturn in fortunes for prospectors in outposts from Vietnam and Kazakhstan to West Africa.

Predators have noted the huge gap opening up between explorers assets and their stock-market rating. Pulses across the industry quickened after the huge takeover premium ascribed to Africa-focused explorer Bowleven by a mystery suitor. Although cynics did not have long to wait before the bidder cut its offer price by a third, consolidation appears to be firmly back on the agenda.

This was exemplified by British Gas owner Centrica buying a 22 per cent stake in FTSE 250 company Venture Production, which could lead to a 1billion-plus takeover.

Backed by this speculative appeal, exploration companies with good stories to tell such as West Africa-focused Afrens exceptional drilling results from the Ebok field by Nigeria offering the potential of 106 million barrels of oil have begun to tempt investors back into the market. Petroceltic International has high hopes for its forthcoming drilling campaign in Algeria, having secured funding from Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, while Xcite Energy has reported outstanding progress in demonstrating the commercial potential of Bentley, one of the biggest proven but undeveloped fields in the UK North Sea.



Xcite shares have nearly trebled this year but the company is still worth about one-eighth of its initial value when it floated on Aim in November 2007. Richard Savage, oil analyst at broker Mirabaud, warned against investors being swept up by hopes of a rising tide of merger activity and buying stocks indiscriminately, pointing out that large integrated oil companies are likely to keep their spending powder dry for maintaining dividend payouts rather than chasing acquisitions.

He said: I would expect to see more consolidation, with funding difficulties leading to lowly valued stocks. The industry is finding it difficult to pay a big premium to farm into an asset (a co-investment arrangement), so why not buy the whole company? The kind of stocks we think are vulnerable have great assets attractive to bigger players but need funding. There will be some that could go under such as Oilexco (the Canadian explorer whose North Sea assets are being bought for 346million by Premier Oil), while others may not be overleveraged, just short of cash.

Savage said: You are more likely to see mid-cap companies acquiring small firms. We have seen banks willing to lend money to businesses they think are sustainable.

The danger of chasing the sector is that you will get flurries of activity, followed by periods where nothing is happening. Investors should be buying specific companies for the long term where you believe in the strategy.

Citigroups Marc Kofler reckoned acquisitive companies would be more likely to cherry-pick assets than target full-blown takeovers. Shopping lists might include FTSE 100 companies Tullow Oil, which has delivered
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Coffee flask and potty out for AM RNS