Edited this from hotcopper, the original from yahoo biz will not load.

Hotcopper

Posted by daski00

INTERVIEW:Australia's Hardman Surges On Mauritania Hopes 15/02/05 19:43:00

By Stephen Bell
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

"Over the next few months we'll move from analyzing the results, to
considering whether we should go to the next stage and move toward a field
development concept," Hardman director Scott Spencer told Dow Jones Newswires.
"We think the appraisal results are pretty good, so it looks like that is the
path we'll be going down," said Spencer.


&

Hardman declined to comment on market speculation that part of its strong
rebound Tuesday may have been due to renewed takeover talk involving U.K.-based
BG Group PLC (BRG), a minority owner of Tiof.
"We hear rumors all the time," Spencer said. At current prices Hardman is
valued at about A$1.37 billion.

Finally

A Woodside Petroleum spokesman declined to comment on the latest Mauritania
success.
"The appraisal results will take several months to analyze," the spokesman
said, adding that Woodside will unveil "contingent resources" for Tiof Wednesday
in its annual reserve statement.
Last year Woodside said that Tiof could become the company's second production
hub off the west African coast by 2008, based on a stand-alone development
costing up to A$2 billion.

Woodside managing director Don Voelte spoke to The Age.

.http://www.theage.com.au/news/Business/Woodside-set-to-step-on-the-gas/2005/02/16/1108500152881.html

Right at the end of the interview he slipped in this note concerning Tiof 6 and Hardman initial estimates.

..............., Woodside's first-pass contingent recoverable reserve estimate for the Tiof oil discovery offshore from Mauritania of 287 million barrels.

Mr Voelte said there was agreement on Tiof being a 1 billion barrel find (in-situ).

The eventual recovery factor could come in higher than Woodside has applied in its initial estimate. Tiof partner Hardman has suggested that 40 per cent - or 400 million barrels - is more likely

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200502170924287159I.html

FOGL's update on seismic surveys.

Hardman own 22.5% I believe and of course a slice of FOGL.


Movement for FOGL but none for Hardman!

Typical.

Unbelievable...sp down .30p again so far this morning.!!!???!!

MS if you are lurking...I tried your tandoori chicken recipe last night...delicious!! thanks for that.

sandrew64

Glad you enjoyed it. I'll post more when I get time.

MS

sandrew64 it's down because tiof 6 was already written into the price so say some who know, and becasue of the fumbling about over how much was found.

Seems Woodside are very conservative with figures and curve up the figure later.

It'll probably drop a bit more and hold around 77p imo.

May be time to have a few more then if you feel so inclined.

Oh all right then, as no one else is buying.

lol

We are being read by Australia. (Must be the famous recipes).

Hello the other side of the world.

Feel free to say hello back, it would be nice to meet you.

Hello from Scotland! Maybe I should post a recipe for haggis! Or will I go out and shoot one instead! ;-)

Found this on Rigzone:

Woodside Petroleum Ltd said it believes the Tiof oil discovery off the coast of Mauritania holds about 287 mln barrels of recoverable oil.

The group's chief operating officer Keith Spence said appraisal work is continuing with a development decision possible by mid-year or the third quarter.

"We don't have a development plan yet," Spence told an analyst briefing Related Products

Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production

Generalized Approach to Primary Hydrocarbon Recovery


after Woodside, about one-third owned by the Royal Dutch/Shell group, reported its full year profit results.

Spence said the estimate is a lower than "perhaps people had been expecting" and different development options will need to considered than if the field contained over 400 mln barrels, adding that the field is likely to be developed as a standalone project.

On Monday, Hardman Resources Ltd, an Australian partner in Woodside-operated project, said Tiof might could contain as much as 1 bln barrels of oil but all of this will not be recoverable.

Hardman said the Tiof-6 appraisal well had an encouraging oil flow but the sands tested are of poorer quality than those at joint venture partners' nearby Chinguetti oilfield, already under development.

Woodside owns 53.846 pct of Tiof while Hardman has 21.6 pct. BG Group Plc has 11.63 pct, the Premier Oil group of companies also of the UK, has 9.23 pct and Australia's Roc Oil holds 3.693 pct.



http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=20424

HDR 1.990 3.11% 1.990 2.010 1.930 2.010 1.910 5,092,734


Up nicely overnight.

bb chat says the profit takers left the building and bid speculation again from BG.

Oilbarrel.com

18.02.2005
Hardman Continues To Impress As Tiof-6 Exceeds Expectations
Hardman Resources, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and Londons Alternative Investment Market, has made something of a name for itself through a single investment made in 1996. The investment was, of course, the decision to sign up for production sharing contracts for large tranches of acreage off the coast of Mauritania in northwest Africa, then a little known country with no history of offshore prospecting.

Times have certainly changed. Along with operator Woodside Petroleum, BG, Premier Oil and ROC Oil, Hardman now has a near 20 per cent stake in one major oilfield, Chinguetti, due on production in the first quarter of 2006, and has racked up a series of interesting discoveries in the deep offshore.

Mauritanias credentials as an oil and gas province gained further lustre this week when the results of the first successful flow test on the Tiof deposit were released. The Tiof-6 appraisal well flowed at a maximum rate of 12,400 barrels per day plus 11 million cubic feet of gas per day, before stabilising at some 9,150 bpd, exceeding pre-drill expectations. It makes up for the disappointment of the Tiof-3 appraisal well, which failed to flow due to mechanical problems.

The Tiof-6 flow rate is good news for the would-be developers of the deposit, as higher flow rates mean fewer wells, which mean lower project costs.

Thats a pretty good flow rate by anybodys standards, said oil analyst Richard Slape of Seymour Pierce.

Tony Alves of KBC Peel Hunt, which has been working on the assumption of 300 million barrels of recoverable oil, also cheered the higher than expected flow rate.

Yet Tiof, which lies 90 km off the capital and some 25 km north of the Chinguetti oilfield in 1,165 metres of water, is still some way from being declared commercial. Hardman Resources puts the oil-in-place number at some 1 billion barrels of oil but admits recovery factors could be an issue. The operator Woodside Petroleum puts the recoverable reserves at some 289 million barrels - a number by no means to be sniffed but perhaps not the bonanza suggested by the initial discovery results. High flow rates do not automatically translate into higher reserves.

Even so, its adding up to a very nice package for Hardman - and, to a lesser extent, fellow London-listed oil companies BG, Premier, ROC and Sterling Energy. A mere 12 months separate the companies from their first cash flows generated by Mauritanian production: Chinguetti is due onstream early next year at a rate of 75,000 bpd. And the Tev-1 discovery, made in October 2004, lies within tie-back distance of the Chinguetti field.

Its also a good time for the new head of Hardman, recently arrived in Perth, former BP executive Simon Potter who took over the reins after long-standing MD Ted Ellyard stood down for personal and medical reasons at the backend of 2004. Under Ellyard the company made its hugely successful foray into Mauritania - and also picked up substantial acreage in Uganda, Guyane and the Falklands - and saw its market cap surge from less than A$5 million to more than A$1 billion. Potter, 47, a Brit with an Australian wife, has a 20-year career at oil giant BP under his belt, most recently working as head of the joint venture between BP and Alfa Group, TNK-BP, in Russia.

Hes gone from reporting to the board of a 113 billion market cap company to running a company with a market cap of 550 million, observed one industry insider on Potters appointment. There are not that many jobs for someone of his level in Perth and this is a very important move and good news for him, good news for Hardman and good news for Australia.

London-based analysts are keen to meet Potter. The CV looks impressive, said Slape of Seymour Pierce, adding: It is an issue that the management team for quite a large E&P company is so far away with an eight hour time difference. It does make it difficult to talk to them and as long as that remains the case, they will struggle to get a lot of analyst coverage.

Yet as long as Mauritania continues to deliver the goods, it seems likely that Hardman will remain on many investors radar for some time to come.

Is something brewing again for tomorrow?

See what you mean.................. trades picking up!

Monday afternoon and they expect an annopuncement tomorrow as usual, but there wont be one as there is nothing new in Mauritania.

ST and WN are both working on Chinguetti as far as I am aware.

Therre is expectation of a 7-9 drill program by Woodside Q3 this year in blocks a & b I believe.

618 at TMF posted an update there, I will put the link in here, then get cooking............

Fish fingers mash and peas.........

yum!

Ooops, wrong thread.

618 knows what he is about imo


http://boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mid=9143575

2005 Update

In light of the latest Information Brochure released by Hardman a few days ago and my discussion with Hardman today, I feel it's appropriate to release an update. Several key events has stirred things up a bit since last update Kathryn Davies being made redundant, Tiof-6 being production tested, the intention to drill 7 to 9 exploration wells as opposed to the 2 to 3 the market had expected, and the bullish research note by CSFB citing possible corporate activities and a target price of 2.30.

There had been a lot of strong buying in recent weeks with a series of higher highs and higher lows now established. Trading volume has risen sharply in recent days, peaking on Thursday at just over 12 million shares changing hands. I read somewhere that CSFB has been a net accumulator of over 4 million shares.

Anyway, to make easier reading, I will only bold headings where changes have been made from the previous update.

* Eritrean MOU declared null and void - Not quite sure what happened or what caused them to pull this stunt, but it's history and time to move on - for now. Afrex Ltd, as operator of the JV, is still seeking clarification with the government and trying to work something out with them, I presume. I won't hold my breath for this one.

* Appointment of new CEO Since taken up his position as Hardman CEO in mid-Jan, Simon Potter has done a roadshow to various institutions around the Eastern states of Australia. Unfortunately, these sessions weren't open to the public. I am currently inquiring about the possibility of a more open session for the average retail shareholders.

* Project Finance For Chinguetti Finalised This has been on the card for a while and for whatever reasons, has been delayed for while. The US$100 million deal, which will be used to fund about 80% of Chinguetti, is very much on par with market expectation.

* Dismissal Of Kathryn Davis Given the unflattering nature of the RNS, I have inquired about it and it would appear that it was a case of a company outgrowing the current corporate structure, which is in need of a reshuffle in preparation for the transition to being a producer, and for the next phase of growth. As RG's concise post pointed out, When the breakthrough comes and the fledgling company starts to spread its wings and get involved in development projects, producing operations and perhaps larger scale exploration, then the game changes completely. You need a strong FD with strategic vision, tactical operating savvy and a lot of brawn and brain. It is common for this to trigger a new appointment. This was pretty much in line with what I was told from Hardman.

* Tiof-6 flow test As we all know, flow test result at Tiof-6 peaked at some 12,400 bpod, and currently stabilising around 9,150 bopd in the main flow period constrained by a 72/64 inch choke. This was a good result, as it should help provide a level of comfort/confidence towards the inevitable declaration of commerciality for Tiof. I believe it should provide a good support for the SP around 1.80. Given the JV's previous intention to explore the option of an Early Development Plan, I was curious as to how they were looking to finance this if such plan is to eventuate. However, I've since been led to believe this an Early Development Plan is no longer likely, with a full Field Production Plan now appears most likely and is expected to come onstream around 2009. Previous estimated daily production was 150,000 bopd. However, with the recent good flow rates, this may well be lifted.

In the mean time, in their half yearly report, Woodside has assigned a contingent resource of 289mbo for Tiof. This figure was put together prior to the results of Tiof-5 and Tiof-6, so it is more than likely that this figure could be upgraded to somewhere between 350-400mbo.

Some of you may ask why is Tiof-5 (23m gross oil column) so important? Well, it was a step-out to the east of Tiof-1, and thus, the presence of oil there has extended the boundary of the entire field. To have a flat structure this wide and flowing like a compressed salt dome structure, one cannot help but feel confident that the recoverable reserves will eventually be upgraded to the order of 400mbo or greater. We have to remember that the only boundary that has been properly defined is to the west with the dry hole at Merou-1. However, there's still a lot of daylight between Merou-1 and Tiof-2 which could still potentially hold a significant amount of oil.

* Timor Sea Appraisal Well I believe this is to expected to go ahead some time this month although I have not had official confirmation as yet.

* Falklands South Basin 2D Seismic Since last update, approximately 85% of the 2D seismic has been performed by FOGL, with the remaining to be completed in March. Analysis of the seismic is expected be available in April.

For more info, check out Superhard's post http://boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mid=9120528

And merecat's excellent post a while back,
http://www.oilvoice.com/m/uploadDetail_public.asp?upload_ID=3037

* Announcement of newly identified targets Since last update, Woodside has announced a 7-9 well exploration/appraisal drilling programme. The final target selection is likely to be known around early to mid Q2, so around April. I suspect the ratio of exploration to appraisal is about 6:3. With the three appraisals between Banda, Tiof (one more to the west of Tiof-2 maybe?) and Pelican.

* Drilling of exploration wells This has since been re-scheduled for May/June. With the Dana JV target in Block 1 likely to be drilled first, whether it be Faucon or Petrel or some other target not known to us as yet. With 3D seismic being shot over PSC A, PSC B, and Block 6, and same has been performed over Block 7, I tend to think that most targets will be in those Blocks, with maybe Sotto in Block 2 being included as a wildcat. Unfortunately, Bogue has dropped off the radar completely for whatever reasons.

* Appointment of CFO I have been led to believe that a CFO may be appointed some time in Q2.

* Farm-in partners for Guyane I posed to question to Hardman as to when we can expect the process to be finalized. They could only say that discussion is still in progress and that the nature of the process means that final agreement will only be reached once the final terms (in terms of equity splitting, funding obligations) are reached. This suggests to me that it is not a matter of no one being interested, but how much equity they want in return of the funding of the drilling costs. This could eventuate anytime between now and June. Realistically, I don't think we will hear of an announcement before June.

* Banda Appraisal This was originally scheduled for March 05. However, it is my understanding that WN will return to Chinguetti duties right through to Q3 when completion process is done for the arrival of Berge Helene, while ST will be off to get some refitting for future exploration purposes after it has completed the current rounds of bottom sections. After which, it will return for duty, and my expectation is that ST will be performing all the exploration and appraisal (including Banda) starting in May until such time when it will be joined by WN after its Chinguetti duties are over.

* Declaration of commerciality for Tiof Barring any major disaster, this is one event that I am now very confident will occur. Most likely to be around Q2/3 this year.

* Completion of Chinguetti wells and arrival of FPSO I had expected the FPSO to arrive at Chinguetti by June/July, but according to SuperHard's up to date information - http://boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mid=9043037 - it may not arrive till August/September 2005.

* Announcement of Lake Albert exploration well Since my last update confirming that a fill in segment of 2D seismic is currently being carried out and Hardman continues to plan towards drilling a well their by the end of 2005. Turaco-3 was found to contain hydrocarbon, but a high level of CO2 has all but eliminated any chance of its commerciality. I asked about the CO2 issue at Turaco-3 and how it affected the prospectivity of the Lake Albert Area 2 acreage. It was said that they are still confident that the CO2 issue may not exist north of Area 1. He also mentioned that with Energy Africa (Tullow) having 50% interests in all three area, Hardman has some access to the Heritage/Energy Africa data, which is fed back into their modelling for a better understanding of the structure in play there. This is a very good advantage, IMHO.

* Drilling of more exploration wells in Mauritania Once all completion operations have been done at Chinguetti, the JV will most likely keep one rig on site to drill further exploration wells right up to Q1 2006, while the other rig may get released.

* Gabon Exploration Drilling As per my earlier post, result of the analysis of the 3D seismic obtained in 2003 has indicated that prospects identified earlier have failed to live up to their expectations. I believe they had been looking for a mean recoverables on the order of 20 mbo for each prospects, which now looks unlikely from their seismic. As such, it has been put on the backburner for now, with exploration drilling pushed back to Q3, and possibly Q4. Having said that, I don't believe they intend to relinquish their acreage in Gabon just yet.

* Chinguetti goes into production Current expectation is March Q1 2006. So far so good, but still a long way to go. Initial daily production rate of 75000bpd (net of about 14250 bpd to Hardman).

* Hedging Policy I believe that Hardman is looking to be slightly over-hedged (being slightly more than 50% hedged) over the first 3 to 5 year period given the current high oil price to lock in some value of their asset. This is partly to satisfy the financing loan from ANZ, which includes a condition to be sufficiently hedged in order to lock in a portion of secured revenue stream.

Good luck and happy investing to all :)

Cheers,
618

Open Briefing.

Should be worth a few pence in the short term.

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200503010700511570J.html

Hardman Resources Limited
01 March 2005




STOCK EXCHANGE / MEDIA RELEASE


RELEASE DATE: 1 March 2005

CONTACT: Simon Potter

TELEPHONE: Within Australia: 08 9261 7600
International: +61 8 9261 7600

RE: OPEN BRIEFING

PAGES: 7


Enclosed is an Open Briefing with Managing Director Simon Potter, which has been
prepared by Corporate File for immediate release.



SCOTT SPENCER
DIRECTOR


Note: In accordance with Australian Stock Exchange Limited listing requirements,
the geological information supplied in this report has been based on information
provided by geologists who have had in excess of five years experience in their
field of activity.

Attention ASX Company Announcements Platform
Lodgement of Open Briefing




Hardman Resources Ltd
Level 1
50 Kings Park Rd
West Perth WA 6005



Date of lodgement: 01-Mar-2005
Title: Open Briefing. Hardman. MD Potter Updates Mauritania

Record of interview:

corporatefile.com.au
Hardman Resources Ltd recently announced that the results of the appraisal
program to date have upheld your initial assessment of the volume of
oil-in-place in Tiof of approximately 1,000 million barrels. Is it still too
early to assess the value of the project? What has to be done before you can get
an accurate assessment of the project parameters including a final estimate of
oil-in-place and, more importantly, recoverable reserves?

Managing Director Simon Potter

It's too early to be discussing the value of Tiof. Clearly the value will be a
function of oil price when production commences, the timing of the development
and indeed the overall development costs. In turn the costs will depend on the
development concept chosen by the joint venture partners, which remains to be
determined. I suspect that it is most likely to be an FPSO, but the key
variables in determining ultimate value will be the type and number of
development wells required.

The next steps in determining the project parameters, including the amount of
recoverable oil, will be to carry out further reservoir tests. I would like to
see more than a further single well test ahead of deciding the development plan.
We anticipate that an additional well test will be incorporated into the 2005
drilling programme.

corporatefile.com.au
Woodside recently released the 'Woodside Reserves Statement - 2004'. This
document reported a Contingent Resource of 114.8 million barrels for Woodside's
40% share of Tiof - implying a Contingent Resource of 287 million barrels for
the total project. How do you reconcile your estimate of oil-in-place in Tiof of
approximately 1,000 million barrels with Woodside's estimate of Contingent
Resource?


Managing Director Simon Potter

Don Voelte, the CEO of Woodside, has recently stated that there's around a
billion barrels of oil in place at Tiof. I agree with that assessment.
Woodside's Contingent Resources, assessed as at 31 December 2004, of 287 million
barrels represents their assessment of recoverable oil, i.e. the proportion of
oil in place that is ultimately produced. Since that assessment date we've
undertaken a lot more appraisal of the discovery including the most recent flow
test. The recovery factor implied for that level of Contingent Resources is
around 29%. Ultimately, again, how much we recover is a function of the
efficiency of the development scheme chosen. Although it's fair to say that the
Tiof reservoir is a relatively complex reservoir, I think the joint venture
partners would be hopeful to lift that implied recovery number given the large
volume of oil in place.

corporatefile.com.au
What does it mean in layman's terms when you say that the Tiof-6 appraisal well
flowed at a maximum rate of 12,400 barrels of oil per day constrained by a 104/
64 inch choke? Can you comment on the well pressure? What flow rates could be
possible if the field is developed?


Managing Director Simon Potter

The choke constrains oil flow which allows comparative pressure measurements on
either side of the restriction. That gives valuable information about the
quality of the reservoir and the flowing characteristics of the well under
development. If we allowed the well to flow unrestricted we'd probably get lots
of debris and fluctuations in flow rate which ultimately wouldn't allow us good
comparative data. Further, when we well test we need to flow the oil into a
temporary storage vessel as we don't yet have any production facilities in the
field. Therefore we need to maximise data collection in a very constrained time
period.

The changes in well pressure during and in building back up after the test is
complete are some of the key indicators of the size of the oil resource. If the
pressure declined rapidly it would imply a small connected oil resource. The
recent Tiof well test results are currently being assessed.

We would usually expect the flow rate to increase considerably under more normal
production conditions when we will have much larger storage facilities and can
draw the well down harder. In Chinguetti for example we're anticipating that we
could roughly double the production rates compared with the test rates.

corporatefile.com.au
What does the flow rate at Tiof tell you about reservoir deliverability and the
size of the field?


Managing Director Simon Potter

We actually expected a much lower flow rate because the reservoirs in this area
are more complex and less permeable than those at Chinguetti. The flow rate
indicated that we've got a better reservoir at Tiof than we first thought and
that's what underpins the higher flow rates.

For this type of reservoir we'd ideally like to do a longer test to fully
understand the connectivity of the reservoir but that's not currently practical
given the limited storage facilities and likely cost.

corporatefile.com.au
Can you explain why the assessment of potentially recoverable oil is more
difficult in these types of reservoirs compared with say Chinguetti?


Managing Director Simon Potter

Tiof sits halfway up a paleo-continental shelf, with reservoirs comprised of
fast moving sediments deposited in channels weaving backwards and forwards in a
broader 2 kilometre wide channel. Chinguetti is actually set at the bottom of
similar channels where the sands are actually emerging out into the less
constrained and wider base of the continental shelf. The Chinguetti reservoir
sands are draped over a salt dome which gives the structure relief with steepish
sides. The sands are of very good quality though unconsolidated, which means
they will need cementing and fracturing to optimise facilities and production.
Producer wells will be placed at the crest of the structure with water injectors
at the periphery to maintain reservoir pressure.

The Tiof reservoir does not have the same vertical relief, thus is a much
flatter, linear structure two kilometres wide by about eight kilometres long.
The sediments are a much more silty, mixed sand composition and more complex. It
is for these reasons we anticipated lower flow rates for Tiof.

corporatefile.com.au
What is the forward plan for Tiof?


Managing Director Simon Potter

This is still under discussion within the venture. The partners wish to maximise
the value of the Tiof reserves and therefore need to think carefully about the
development scheme for this field. I would like to see further well tests to
help guide the decision and anticipate the next one around mid year. Therefore
it is unlikely there will a development decision before late 2005.

corporatefile.com.au
In recent months, Hardman has announced the new Tevet discovery, appraisal
results from Tiof, some unsuccessful exploration wells and confirmed the funding
for its Chinguetti development. You joined Hardman recently as Managing
Director. What is your initial view of Hardman's Mauritanian assets?


Managing Director Simon Potter

These assets have certainly been a company maker for Hardman. The assets are
nothing short of spectacular really. We have two world class rigs contracted for
2005. Development of Chinguetti is underway, we will continue appraising Tiof
and we intend to appraise Tevet. We've yet to appraise Banda but it is a major
gas discovery. We have an ongoing exploration program and we're clearly hopeful
of making some further significant discoveries.

corporatefile.com.au
Can you update progress on the Chinguetti Oil Field development?


Managing Director Simon Potter

We've committed over 50% of the project spend and we're within 5% of the budget.
The floating storage and production vessel is in Singapore being refitted and
that is on schedule. Production and subsea facilities are under construction.
Development drilling is underway and we are pleased with the initial well
results. Further development includes drilling a gas disposal well at Banda
which will minimise gas flaring. We're still on track to produce the first oil
by the end of the March quarter 2006.

corporatefile.com.au
Tevet is estimated by Woodside to contain Contingent Resources of 41 million
barrels. Is it within tie-back distance to Chinguetti? What further work do you
plan at Tevet to assess commerciality?


Managing Director Simon Potter

We need to do at least a further appraisal well and probably a flow test at
Tevet. But there is still a lot of geological and reservoir work we need to do
before we site the appraisal well and determine whether it should be tied back
to the FPSO. The whole channel system intrigues me. Banda sits on top of the
channel, within a buried canyon. Tevet sits further down the same channel system
which continues westward to become the reservoir at Chinguetti. Defining the
separate limits of each of the fields is not simple and there may be more
potential within the overall system than we recognize at present.

corporatefile.com.au
Can you briefly outline your view of Hardman's other exploration activities?
Which do you think have most potential?


Managing Director Simon Potter

The two areas that really interest me and are receiving a lot of focus are the
Falkland Islands and our acreage in French Guyane.

Recently our partners, the Falklands Oil and Gas Company raised around 12
million by listing on the AIM in London, so there is clearly an appetite in the
market for this Falkland acreage. Currently we are collecting seismic where good
images are being received directly off the vessel indicating a number of really
interesting structures. This considerable potential in our Falklands acreage
will be assessed with a well within about two years.

I'm particularly interested in our property in French Guyane. We hold over 97%
equity in the license which covers some 65,000 sq km, the entire offshore to
3000 metres water depth. In hydrocarbon terms it's sandwiched between the
offshore provinces of Trinidad and Venezuela and Brazil so it's a good piece of
real estate. The offshore prospects are well defined and we can see good
structures from the seismic similar to the channel features seen in Mauritania.
There's also a compelling single, huge structure called Matamata. We're required
to drill a well within the next 15 months as a part of the licence obligation.
Our current strategy is to farm down from the 97% and bring in a partner to
contribute to the drilling of that well.

With our Guyane property we've followed the traditional success route that
Hardman has taken in the past, which is to have high equity, early access to
prospective frontier exploration properties. We've traditionally dramatically
farmed down our share, but in future I would like to see us maintain a higher
equity stake (up to 40%). We're now well over a billion dollar company, so can
afford to retain higher equity and tolerate greater amounts of risk. As we bring
in new partners we will look to swap assets rather than simply seek
contributions to funding or a carry.

In March, we will operate the drilling of an exploration well in the Timor Sea -
Marloo-1. This area is relatively mature and is in direct contrast to the rather
more spectacular frontier type exploration that we're doing elsewhere in the
world. With this operation we will continue to build our organisational
capacity.


corporatfile.com.au

On the financial side how do you see Hardman's capacity to contribute to the
costs of the Mauritanian joint venture as well as continuing to develop its
portfolio outside of North West Africa.?

Managing Director Simon Potter

Over the last three years the company has raised $220m from the equity capital
markets and during the same period grown from a market cap of approx $330m to
$1.2bn. We recently secured a US$100m project finance facility for Chinguetti.
Hardman is fully funded through to first production from Chinguetti in 2006. We
are in a very strong financial position and are not constrained in the further
development of our portfolio. Our financial and operational strength has created
a strong platform for us to selectively participate in other leading hydrocabon
projects.

corporatefile.com.au
Can you talk a little about your history in the oil and gas industry and the
strategic direction you might take with Hardman?


Managing Director Simon Potter

I'm qualified as a geologist from the Royal School of Mines in London and I
spent nearly five years on the Copperbelt in Zambia. I did an MBA in the mid
1980s which allowed me to join the commercial department of BP. I negotiated
exploration and development licenses, operating agreements, gas sales contracts
etc. and I think this background of doing deals appealed to Hardman. I have
lived in Australia before where I was responsible for the commercial aspects of
BP's interests in the North West Shelf as a partner to Woodside. Following this
I had a series of operations positions including overseeing North Sea and
Alaskan operations before I completed my education through the executive program
at Stanford. Most recently I have been CEO of joint venture oil and gas
companies for BP in Indonesia and Russia.

Hardman has grown to its current size very quickly over the last couple of years
and we now have a much greater risk capacity. We can manage our assets much more
strategically and hopefully we can attract very good partners and operators in
order to maximise the value of our future developments rather than be driven by
cost exposure. I think one of the key aspects of Hardman's strategy previously
has been its early access to frontier exploration acreage which obviously
illustrates its core skills. It's that exploration of frontier acreage that
actually gives the stock its buzz and my goal is to build on that not to
constrain it.

corporatefile.com.au
As you point out, Hardman has indeed grown quickly in recent years and now has a
market capitalisation of around $1.4 billion and is in a strong financial and
operating position. Does Hardman have the appropriate organisational structure
to operate in the sphere of plus $1 billion oil and gas companies? What broad
changes do you envisage to the organisational structure?


Managing Director Simon Potter

I'd like to improve our internal processes by improving the commercial rigor
that we have within the company but essentially, as I have already said, I won't
be changing our core skills set of accessing frontier plays. Over time, we'd
like to boost our skills sets including improving the capacity of our new
business development teams such that we can turn over more opportunities more
quickly. Whilst Mauritania has been a great success, it's taken 10 years to
mature and I'd like to see that cycle time reduced. That requires additional
technical and commercial skills which we would like to bring into the company.

corporatefile.com.au
Thank you Simon.

For further information on Hardman Resources visit
www.hdr.com.au
or call Simon
Potter or Scott Spencer on 08 9261 7600.

For previous Open Briefings by Hardman Resources visit
www.corporatefile.com.au


DISCLAIMER: Corporate File Pty Ltd has taken reasonable care in publishing the
information contained in this Open Briefing. It is information given in a
summary form and does not purport to be complete. The information contained is
not intended to be used as the basis for making any investment decision and you
are solely responsible for any use you choose to make of the information. We
strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before making any
investment decisions. Corporate File Pty Ltd is not responsible for any
consequences of the use you make of the information, including any loss or
damage you or a third party might suffer as a result of that use.




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

Drilling report.

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200503010700501565J.html

Hardman Resources Limited
01 March 2005

STOCK EXCHANGE / MEDIA RELEASE

RELEASE DATE: 1 March 2005

CONTACT: Scott Spencer

TELEPHONE: Within Australia: 08 9261 7600
International: +61 8 9261 7600

RE: MAURITANIA DRILLING PROGRAMME
WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORT


Hardman Resources Ltd ('Hardman') provides the following progress report on the
Mauritania offshore drilling programme:


Tiof-6 Appraisal Well - PSC B

Progress and Current Status:
Since the last report on 22 February 2005, the Tiof-6 appraisal well was
suspended as a potential future oil production well by the 'West Navigator'
drillship. On 26 February, the 'West Navigator' departed for the Chinguetti
field to join the 'Stena Tay' on the development drilling programme.

Well Location:
The Tiof Discovery is located approximately 90 kilometres west of Nouakchott,
the Mauritanian capital and 25 kilometres north of the Chinguetti Field. The
Tiof-6 well is located 3 kilometres west of the Tiof-1 discovery well and 1
kilometre east of Tiof-3. Water depth is approximately 1,165 metres.

Well Details:
The Tiof-6 well was intended to further appraise the Tiof oil discovery and
continued the evaluation of the Miocene channel sand system within the Tiof
Field area as interpreted with 3D seismic.

Chinguetti Development Drilling

Since the last report on 22 February, the 'Stena Tay' continued operations on
the Chinguetti Development wells and has now been joined by the 'West
Navigator'. Hardman does not intend to provide detailed weekly reports during
the course of the development well drilling programme but will continue to
report significant matters as appropriate and in accordance with its continuous
disclosure obligations.


Other information:

All reported depths are referenced to the rig rotary table (except water depth).

Times and dates refer to Mauritania time (GMT), 8 hours behind Western Standard
Time, Perth.

A map showing the location of the 2004/05 wells is available on the Hardman
website (
www.hdr.com.au
) and will be updated during the course of the 2004/2005
drilling programme.

The joint venture interests in the Chinguetti Field and PSC B are:

Company PSC B Chinguetti Field
(Remainder)
Woodside group companies (operator) 53.846% 47.384%
Hardman group companies 21.6% 19.008%
BG group companies 11.63% 10.234%
Premier group companies 9.231% 8.123%
ROC Oil group companies 3.693% 3.250%
Groupe Projet Chinguetti (Govt. interest) - 12.000%

Sold:-

RNS Number:1782J
Ascent Resources PLC
01 March 2005

Ascent Resources plc

Acquisition of interests in Gabon Production Sharing Contracts

Board Changes

Ascent Resources plc ("Ascent") has entered into an agreement with Hardman
Resources Ltd ("Hardman") to acquire two wholly owned subsidiaries, Gabon
Investments (Iris Marin) Pty Ltd and Gabon Investments (Themis Marin) Pty Ltd.
These companies hold a 12.86% Participating Interest in the Iris Marin
Production Sharing Contract ("PSC") and in the Themis Marin Production Sharing
Contract respectively.

The Iris Marin and Themis Marin PSCs cover two shallow water exploration
concessions offshore Gabon of 902 km2 and 607 km2 respectively.

Gabon is centrally situated in the West African oil & gas province and has a
long history of oil production. It has the third largest reserves and is the
fourth biggest producer in the region. Current production from Gabon is
approximately 250,000 bopd from its onshore and offshore fields.

Both the Themis Marin and Iris Marin concessions are surrounded by proven
oilfields and are close to pipelines and production infrastructure. Since these
concessions were awarded in 1999, a 3-D seismic survey has been acquired and
from these results a number of drilling locations have been identified. The
drilling of the first of two commitment wells is planned for this summer.

The other partners in both PSCs are:

Fusion Oil & Gas NL 20.57%Thats Sterling Energy

Premier Oil Gabon 18.00%

Petro Oil & Gas Corp of South Africa Pty Ltd 22.86%

Sunburnt Downs Pastoral Company Pty Ltd 25.71%


Heres the financial details:-

Initial consideration for the acquisition will be the issue of 12 million new ordinary shares of Ascent to Hardman. Following completion, Ascent shall reimburse Hardman for $515,765 of past costs. Further payments will be made to Hardman of A$500,000 in the event of successful recovery of hydrocarbon on testing from a well in either of the PSCs and A$700,000 on issue of governmental approval for exploitation of either of the PSCs.

KBC Peel Hunt Buy Recommendation plus many more.

Thanks to zooshare on ADVFN for the find.

http://www.kbcpeelhunt.com/pdfs/Oil04Mar05.pdf

Nice rise this pm, no doubt many more to come.

What do you think sww?

I think you are right.

Great opportunity for a long term gain terrific upside, we can't really lose provided we keep a watch on it.

By the way do you talk to yourself?