Why would it fall to 1p dreamcatcher? Do you think really think any chance success is priced in? Also there are another 2-3 back to back are there not?

This has a very good risk/reward ratio at this price especially now as you say, fully funded.

No martinl2 I do not think any chance of success is priced in or failure. The sp has just been in free fall over the past year from a high of 6+ pence. It is fair to say over the last few weeks there has been huge selling. Before I go on, I would love to see this company succeed in its drills as Gerald Orbell said they will be banking cheques.
I feel the market is looking at the company for earnings and I feel this drill needs to come right. Astin have not given cash without a huge reward and some say the sp was walked down over the 40 odd day average for this. I just hope the sp heads North now.

Operations Update
RNS
RNS Number : 2938X
Sound Oil PLC
13 February 2012



13 February 2012



Sound Oil plc

("Sound Oil" or "the Company")



Operations Update - Indonesia



Sound Oil, the upstream oil and gas company with assets in Italy and Indonesia, announces the following update on its current operations in Indonesia.



Citarum PSC, Java (Sound Oil 20%)

Sound Oil has been advised by the Citarum Operator of continuing difficulties on the Cataka-1 exploration well. Progress in drilling the upper section has continued to be difficult due to the unstable nature of the rock formations. Attempts to drill ahead from the 13 3/8" casing were not successful, necessitating a second side-track of the well which was established by milling a window in the casing. Similar difficulties to the first side-track have been encountered in this new section. Consequently the Operator has today recommended to the Joint Venture partnership to abandon the well at the present depth of 1413 ft. The Operator intends to undertake a detailed post drilling evaluation of the operation with a view of returning to the prospect within or at the end of the current drilling campaign. The rig will now be demobilised and moved to the Jatayu-1 location, approximately 20 km to the southeast.



Bangkanai PSC, Kalimantan (Sound Oil 5%, carried)

The Operator on Bangkanai has advised that the rig for the Kerendan drilling campaign is expected to be mobilised from Batam Island, Riau to Kalimantan by the end of this month. It is intended that the rig will commence operations by drilling four development wells on the Kerendan gas field and then begin the exploration programme on the licence.





Gerry Orbell, Sound Oil's Chairman and Chief Executive, commented:

"It is disappointing that we have had drilling difficulties at Cataka and that the well has had to be abandoned before reaching the target. The well was a wildcat located in an unknown geological terrain and we are sure that the experienced Operator did everything to try to get through the unstable formation. Following the Operator's evaluation the partnership will consider returning to the Cataka site.



As soon as operations at Cataka are completed, we are moving straight away to Jatayu which is the next well in the three well program on the Citarum PSC. The Jatayu exploration well will target prospective resources of 290 Bscf (P50).



In contrast, it is encouraging that the rig for the Bangkanai campaign will shortly be on the move after its re-fit for high pressure/high temperature operations. This rig is scheduled to drill 5 to 6 wells which will allow the Kerendan Gas Field to be put on stream and explore the very large prospect at depth below Kerendan."

Not the rns we were waiting for.

dreamcatcher

They never are.

I think you are right driver. Soon as an rns comes you end up with a headache.

And a hole in your pocket.

correct. A wild cat drill

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/stocktube/1058/sound-oil-cfo-says-its-priority-is-to-turn-the-npv-into-shareholder-value-1058.html

This company has been nothing to shout about.

Shares mag says that the fortunes of this one are about to change....sp is rather low....a rebound might come ahead of four wells to be spudded plus something going on in Italy this summer...perhaps one to watch with the incredibly low sp...

rf it wants too. Not been the best share on earth.

I've taken the plunge on their advice.....it seems to be so low.....some wells are successful and good drilling program in motion...

Lets hope it can reverse the trend and go up. A lot of drills due. Can only get better.
Mine are in the bottom draw, now with XTR. :-))

I'm a newcomer here...but up a bit so far....

Starting to climb gently.....

Up again...loads of buys....

Current drill in Indonesia looks to be going well,,i would say there is a strong chance
of a good find at Jutaya. Get em while they cheap

Citarum PSC, Java (Sound Oil 20%)

The Jatayu-1 exploration well commenced drilling at 21:30 local time on 21 March 2012. The well will be drilled to a total measured depth of 8714 ft (2656 m) to target the limestones of the Miocene Parigi Formation. Operations are scheduled to continue for 30 days.

A must read from proactive investor.

The recent share buying activity of directors of Sound Oil (LON:SOU) suggests the company’s prospects are far better than the current stock market valuation suggests.

Rational analysis of its plans for the next 12-18 months reveals this is a hugely exciting period in the company’s development with the explorer fully funded for 10 wells in Indonesia and Italy.

Few mid-cap explorers could boast a programme of this scale, let alone a £23 million market-cap AIM stock.

The depressant on the Sound Oil share price appears to have been the announcement last month that partner and operator Pan Orient had ‘abandoned’ the Cataka-1 gas exploration well in Indonesia (where Sound has a 20 per cent interest) due to technical difficulties.

The word ‘abandoned’ is an emotive one. It suggests Cataka’s potential has been completely written off, which it hasn’t.

In fact Pan Orient could be back drilling at Cataka within two months, depending on the outcome of the next well, Jatayu, some 20 kilometres away.

By this time the operator is expected to have overcome the difficulties that blighted the first Cataka well, which is part of the pair's Citarum production sharing contract on the island of Java.

The markdown of the stock in the wake of the Cataka disappointment was understandable, though the extent of the fall seems a little baffling.

Around £4 million was wiped from the company’s market value in the aftermath of the news, yet Sound’s investment in the ‘abandoned’ well was a little more than £700,000.

Cataka and Jatayu are part of a three-well programme on Java (the third is Geulis).

Elsewhere in Indonesia it has a 5 per cent free-carry on five wells being drilled in Kalimantan by London-listed mid-cap Salamander Energy (LON:SMDR).

There are two distinct facets to this particular project. The first is a re-development of the Kerendan gas field, which was initially discovered by Unocal during the 1980s.

The second is a deeper exploration lying target with a most likely potential gross 1.8 trillion cubic feet of gas to be recovered.

Drilling on the Bangkanai project is expected to begin in July, with four of the wells expected to be completed using the batch drilling process.

The fifth will assess the potential of the mega-target. And this really could be a huge kicker to the Sound Oil valuation even with a 5 per cent stake, said chief executive Gerry Orbell.

“By the end of 2012 we will have drilled the development wells in the Kerendan Gas Field and can look forward to the revenues from there from mid 2013,” he said.

“We should also have got to the big structure that underlies this field and drilled it. This really could be massive.”

The initial focus on Indonesia doesn't ignore the potential of its onshore assets in Italy.

The group has two significant and hopefully value-enhancing projects scheduled this year.

The first, the Nervesa discovery, targeting 21 billion cubic feet of natural gas in the north of the country, is expected to get underway in August.

The total cost is put at £3.75 million, for a project with a net present value of £39.2 million (US$61.6 million).

Strombone is the second, an oil project with a P50 resource of some 6.4 million barrels of crude and an NPV of £83.3 million (US$131 million).

“Together if they come in they are worth 5-6 pence a share,” said Orbell.

“They are both discoveries and Nervesa has even been produced in tiny amounts by the original ENI well.

“And we are going back with the idea of opening up a number of untapped gas sands which are known to contain gas in that first well.”

Nervesa is fully funded, while the group is assessing its financing options for Strombone, where work is expected to get underway later this year at an estimated cost £5-6 million.

“We are actively looking at our options there,” said chief financial officer James Parsons.

“We hope we will be funded for this second key well by the time the summer comes, but obviously at the right price to issue shares in the market.”

In Badile and Zibido, near Milan, Sound has two gas exploration targets with huge potential.

However it will require a farm-in partner with reasonably deep pockets if it is to unlock the value.

With this in mind the group has spent time and money acquiring and interpreting 3D seismic data in order to de-risk Badile as far as it is possible at this stage in the process.

The group has even found a top-hole location for the initial well that is outside the national park under which the gas resides.

This ought to make the development of Badile much easier if the initial drill programme is a success.

“We want to have it ready so a farm-in partner has nothing to quibble about,” said Orbell.

“We have done everything. All they have got to do is make a decision yes or no to drill.”

The plan is to negotiate a joint-venture agreement by the year-end, said the Sound Oil chief.

“The ideal would be a two for one – they pay for the well and take half,” he added.

"The farminee may want to operate the well so we would expect them to have the right capability for this."

Followers of the company will know it has also drilled the Casa Tiberi, where tests are ongoing.

Orbell calls it a “small, but nice” discovery. “I expect it to make us some money but it is not going to be transformational ,” he added.

The real upside is in the 10 wells to be drilled in the next year, 11 if Badile is added to the roster.

Hopefully this will deliver the momentum needed to lift Sound Oil from its current bargain basement price of 1.37 pence, and closer to the target valuation of 5 pence a share set by the firm’s broker, Investec.

Orbell said: “Any one of the wells scheduled this year could have a quite material impact (on the share price).”