From the latest company's drilling update....17 Feb

http://moneyam.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200402170700084897V.html

Can anyone with mining knowledge explain these terms....

What does sidetracking mean? Approx how ong will that take?
Approx. how long will it take to correct a deviated section?
Is 'crude oil in shale samples' a good indication that there is oil?
Is 'Gas-bearing porous sands being logged' a good indication that there is gas?
Basically what does logging involve ?

Any views re AEX potential??

Regards
Stephen

More on Bohai Bay ....

China
Bohai Bay
China's Bohai Bay is Kerr-McGee's newest core area, with eight discoveries to date and continued exploration activities. We operate four adjoining blocks in China's Bohai Bay, totaling 1.7 million gross acres.

China represented 3% of our 2004 reserves and 3% of our 2004 production. Production from two fields in block 04/36 began in July 2004, and at year-end 2004, peak production ranged from 40,000 to 45,000 barrels per day. Kerr-McGee is operator with 40% interest.

The hub-and-spoke development in 75 feet of water includes a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility and two fixed platforms for dry wellheads some 50 miles from shore.

The FPSO, with a capacity of up to 80,000 barrels of oil per day, and related infrastructure allows for the timely, cost-efficient development of future discoveries. The double-hulled vessel stores oil in 10 main tanks and has storage capacity of 1 million barrels for offloading to shuttle tankers.

Read a feature story about production in China's Bohai Bay in Endeavors Magazine.
http://www.kerr-mcgee.com/SiteObjects/files/endvr_story_2004_3q_bohai_bay_pdf.pdf

South China Sea
In early 2005, Kerr-McGee and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) signed a production sharing contract for block 43/11, covering 2.4 million undeveloped acres in the South China Sea, in water depths from 5,000 to more than 10,000 feet. This contract more than doubles Kerr-McGees China acreage and will allow the company to leverage its deepwater expertise and build on its long-standing relationship with CNOOC to explore for additional energy resources in China.

http://www.kerr-mcgee.com/businesses/oilgas/ogassets/bus_og_ bohaibay.htm

Also ....

http://www.kerr-mcgee.com/SiteObjects/files/kmg_location_chi na.pdf

I have been reading the Aminex thread with great interest. I have held shares in this Company for 18 years or so (from the days it used to be called Eglinton Oil & Gas). No matter what has happened to the oil price over the last two decades this company has always managed to not make any money.
Two things have continuously improved over the years - the directors renumeration and the quality and size of the annual reports (all gloss and very little substance).
In the meantime the share price has gone down from 660p in 1987 to the current 9p !!!!
As Gordon Gekko might say not only is this share a dog but a dog with fleas.
Be careful with this one - there are numerous better oil exploration companies you can spend your money on.

sm,

I guess you spend too much time looking at the past, not at the future, like the prospects in DPRK and Tanzania, the broker certainly does not share your negative opinion, neither does oilbarrel.com and resourceinvestor.com, and Lemming Investor are looking at Aminex right now, and they won't be negative either.

If you were in back then you would have got a nice cut of the money they dished out when they sold the Russian areas ???? does that now make all your stock 'free' ????

Of the 'numerous better oil exploration companies', how many have a deal that gives them revenue on every single drop of oil or gas from AN ENTIRE COUNTRY ???? a country with an estimated 73 BILLION BARRELS OF OIL BENEATH IT ???? then add gas ! .... How many have around 10m in the bank to explore such a country with ???? How many have already been pumped and dumped many times, leaving no P.I willing to risk putting money into them (PET, OILQ, ROS, etc) Aminex has never had that, but no doubt it will when the rampers hear Aminex are drilling in DPRK next year, and Tanzania, and possibly Egypt too, so I suggest buying at 8p and holding until they hit paydirt in DPRK, maybe trading on the inevitable pump n dumps, rather than buying at the much higher prices they will create.


Read the brokers note, just register for free access here ....

http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.co.uk/members/register.html

An extract below ....

Valuation
We have calculated the company's net asset value, on a fully diluted basis, is 8.2p excluding the cash settlement from Petrom, and 10.6p including the Petrom cash settlement. This means the current share price includes little value for Tanzania, North Korea, and the other areas Aminex is pursuing" (that was from before the placing and open offer raised 5m)

Outlook
Aminex is pursuing a number of exciting prospects in various parts of the world, any one of which is a potential company maker, the share price is underpinned by the 8.2p NAV, most of which is attributable to it's hydrocarbon reserves in the US. This ignores the managements track record for creating value from remote and risky projects, and the recent cash settlement with Petrom.

DPRK Petroleum Resources
The country does not currently have proven hydrocarbon resources. Nevertheless, there are thought to be seven potential oil and gas basins in the country: Pyongyang Basin, West Sea Bay Basin, East Sea Basin, Onchon Basin, Kyongson Basin, Anju Basin, and Kilju Basin. The West Sea Bay Basin could be an extension of China's Bohai Bay. The West Sea Bay and Anju Basins are currently considered the most prospective areas, with the former basin estimated to contain 5 to 40 BILLION BARRELS OF OIL IN PLACE, in the West Sea Bay Basin, eleven exploration wells were drilled in the 80's, two of which flowed light crude oil under limited test.

Cheers,
PM

I appreciate all the research that you have put in to this. Without my prior knowledge of the Board of this company I would have suggested that everyone should pile in. However this board has managed to make an awful lot of money and assets disappear in value. The money 'dished out' from the russian projects was negligible. Every year since 1988 I have read of potential blockbusting deals in this or that part of the world. However nothing ever seems to come of it that affects the share price in a positive way.
Of course I still have my shares and, heaven forbid, should this be the time that something spectacular happens, then I will stand to benefit. However past experience suggests caution.
I also note that the share price has done nothing at all recently despite the oil price being so high. Just about every other oil exploration stock is doing OK so why not any action at all with the Aminex share price !!

SM,

Aminex only produce a small amount of hydrocarbon, other companies that produce a lot more hydrocarbon would obviously go up a lot more, with the rising oil price. Also companies that are actively drilling, like NOP will be from this/next weekend, will also go up on blue sky potential, but Aminex won't be drilling again until next year probably, so the blue sky potential effect is not happening to Aminex.

As the broker says, Tanzania, DPRK and Egypt are not in the price, and the price is supported by the NAV of the hydrocarbons they are producing in Texas, so therfore the price should at least not go any lower, and the best place to buy a stock is when it has no further to fall, also an MCap similar to PET is a joke for a company already producing hydrocarbons, and that must be seen as value to prospective shareholders, especially with the changes in Texas going on at the moment, that will replace the lost revenue from Vinton Dome, and we have the cash from Vinton Dome to boot.

One oil strike in Tanzania or DPRK next year, and where do you think the MCap will be then ? certainly nowhere close to 7m that's for sure.

I have belief mainly in the West Sea Bay Basin, it has already been shown to have oil, but the new technologies that Aminex have at their disposal, will undoubtedly provide better targetting of that oil, and if there is a continuation of Bohai Bay into West Sea Bay Basin, that would be a huge find for a 7m company.

Before we get that far, I expect the DPRK nuclear issue to go away, talks are going very well, and China has just(today !) presented a draft agreement, which USA and Russia are pleased with, and are backing. Once that is sorted, big oil companies won't be sitting around, they will be applying for acreage in DPRK, and some will become Aminex's partners in the areas Aminex has already cherry picked, ie the BEST areas, and where do you think the MCap will be then ? again, nowhere near 7m.

Aminex is still very unheard of by invesors, but that will change, once they get moving in DPRK. Don't forget, they are still looking at the 20 years worth of data provided by the DPRK, but they will be aquiring acreage, under their own designed profit sharing agreement with DPRK, very soon, and they could also be doing their own seismic before XMas, so what do you think will happen to the MCap then ? again, nowhere near 7m.

Cheers,
PM

PM
Thanks for the info.
I sincerely hope you are correct.
Indeed, assuming St Gobain get their act together and make a proper offer for BPB (thus allowing me to sell my shares and reinvest elsewhere) I will have a nibble at some more Aminex to average down from 660p.
That's a promise.
Regards
Mono

Russian envoy expects nuclear talks to finish this week
MOSCOW, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- The ongoing six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue are likely to finish at the end of this week, Russia's chief delegate to the meetings said on Monday.

In an interview with Russia's official Itar-Tass news agency, Alexander Alexeyev expected the Beijing talks to last a few more days.

http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20050801/410100000020050801200210E1.html

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=2&no=240634&rel_no=1

China proposes new draft of joint statement for Korean nuclear talks

Monday, August 1, 2005 Updated at 6:26 AM EDT

Associated Press

Beijing The U.S. envoy to nuclear talks with North Korea said Monday that China has proposed a new draft of a joint statement after weekend discussions were snarled by the North's demands for what it should receive in exchange for disarming.

The new draft, submitted late Sunday, reflected all sides' modifications to the first Chinese-written draft, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill. He wouldn't give any details, but said, I think the process is going forward rather well.

Full article here ....
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050801.wkorea0801/BNStory/International/

Aug 1 2005 12:36PM
Russia offers electricity, gas if N. Korea ends nuke program

BEIJING. Aug 1 (Interfax) - Russia could offer electricity supplies and natural gas deliveries and the reconstruction of thermal power plants built with Soviet assistance in exchange for North Korea's termination of its military nuclear programs, Valery Yermolov, deputy head of the Russian delegation to the six-nation negotiations on the Korean nuclear problem, said on Monday.

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11356739

Marathon North Korean nuclear talks struggle through seventh day
(AFP)

1 August 2005

BEIJING - Six-nation talks on ending North Koreas nuclear weapons drive struggled through a seventh day with limited progress on Monday as differences persisted on key disarmament issues.

Its been a long day without a lot of progress to report, chief US delegate Christopher Hill told reporters at his hotel late Monday.

I dont see any breakthroughs on the immediate horizon, he added.

The United States and North Korea held two more one-on-one meetings and all sides spent three-and-a-half hours studying a revised document submitted by China aimed at establishing a framework on ridding the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons.

The United States and North Korea, still observing a truce after the Korean war in the early 1950s, have met eight times on the sidelines of the talks in the past week.

We continue to have rather major differences between North Korea on one hand and the other five parties on the other, Hill said without going into specifics.

He said the issue of energy aid to a nuclear arms-free North Korea is one of the several principles to be included in the document.

Full article here ....
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/August/theworld_August24.xml&section=theworld&col=

Koizumi urges efforts be maintained to reach accord in nuke talks

Monday, August 1, 2005 at 17:37 JST
TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called on Monday for delegates to ongoing six-party talks in Beijing to continue efforts to reach an accord on resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Talks have been rough but delegates from the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia should do their utmost to achieve a certain direction "no matter how long it will take," Koizumi told reporters. (Kyodo News)

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/August/theworld_August24.xml&section=theworld&col=

US:S Korea Pwr Offer To North To Be In Joint Statement-NYT

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- An existing offer by South Korea to supply North Korea with two million megawatts of electricity annually will be included in a planned joint statement from nations involved in talks with the North, the New York Times reported in its Monday edition, citing the U.S. chief negotiator in those talks.

"The electricity offer, of course, is in the draft agreement," the Times quoted Christopher R. Hill, the U.S. negotiator, as saying Sunday.

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory

Russia Backs Chinese Stance at North Korea Nuclear Talks

Created: 01.08.2005 15:08 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:22 MSK, 5 hours 47 minutes ago

The Russian delegation to the six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear problem agrees in principle with the China-proposed draft final statement to crown the fourth round, a Russian diplomatic source close to the talks told Interfax news agency.

The draft reflects Russias position on ways to settle the problem of the Korean Peninsula and indicates similarity in Russia and Chinas positions on the issue. We support the draft and are prepared to sign it, the source said.

The new draft, submitted late Sunday, reflected all sides modifications to the first Chinese-written draft, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told Associated Press. He did not, however gave further details. A Japanese news report said the draft calls on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programs and other programs that could potentially produce such arms.

It also reportedly addresses normalization of U.S. and Japanese relations with the North, Kyodo News agency reported, citing an anonymous source at the talks.

http://mosnews.com/news/2005/08/01/northkorea.shtml

Political risk [progress] is one problem in N / KOREA,but trading volume today is only 200 shares traded forAEX,how can we buy shares and take a gamble.

I bought into these at 10p thinking they had reached the bottom,how wrong i was these are going nowhere fast.
Maybe next year you might see a recovery untill then don`t hold your breath.
DB66

MB/DB Hi,

It's a monday, not much happens to a lot of stocks on a monday, or a tuesday for that matter.

I don't expect a big rise for at least a couple of weeks, surely as the broker note states, the price is now supported by the NAV of the hydrocarbons produced in Texas, BUT those hydrocarbons are being increased, back to the level when Aminex was producing from Vinton Dome, this new level of production will be at a LOWER cost than Vinton Dome, thus the S.P should rise on that alone.

Another well is planned for Alta Loma, where Aminex have a 37.5% working interest.

Also Egypt applications could be announced any day, as could DPRK applications for West Sea Bay Basin and Anju Basin as a minimum.

Then we are back to waiting for announcements on the plans for Tanzania and DPRK, there should be announcements within a month or two IMHO, stating the plans to do Seismic in West Sea Bay Basin, and Anju Basin, and in Tanzania at the Ruvuma Basin which is also very prospective, and Nyuni where we have already proven that oil exists.

Write them off if you like, but I prefer to look longer term, as those events above will each push the S.P higher, and by the time drilling starts in Tanzania and DPRK Aminex will already be a long way past 20p

Cheers,
PM

Remember this ????

01 June 2005

Aminex PLC

Texas Gas Discovery


'This successful well is the first in a series of gas development wells planned
on our US properties for 2005 aimed at boosting production and accelerating
revenues.'

And before that ....

'GU#35 is part of an ongoing programme to build up new gas production by
drilling up proved undeveloped reserves in Texas to replace the production from
the ageing Vinton Field in Louisiana which was sold in late 2004. The result of
the well should be known within one month'.

Cheers,
PM

Bounty Oil And Gas are partners in the Nyuni project offshore Tanzania, and sometimes it's beneficial to read the partners reports, and statements, as you will see below, taken from Bounty's "Fourth Quarter Activities & Cashflow Report" issued 29 July 2005 .... http://www.gtp.com.au/gtp/bountyoil/homepage.jsp


Offshore Tanzania Nyuni Block The Joint Venture is progressing plans to acquire up to 500 km of new seismic in the block. Acquisition is expected to commence in September, but is subject to vessel availability and timing. Bounty has the option to pay its way through the work program and the drilling of the next well, and retain its post-Nyuni-1 interest (Bounty originally had a 10% interest in the permit, but we have partially diluted it as a result of the cost overruns at Nyuni final numbers are being calculated), or to dilute to 5% and be free carried for the drilling of the next well. Although we are encouraged by the oil shows in Nyuni-1/1A we will likely dilute our interest and reduce our cost and risk through the next well. Partners in the Nyuni Block are Bounty Oil & Gas NL and Ndovu Resources (a subsidiary of Aminex plc; operator).


I have also e-mailed Aminex, to ask if an update on operations is planned to be released soon.

Cheers,
PM

Hi All,

A few buys today and one sell, one buy of 200,000 looks like a good investment to me, especially at this price.

Other trades added up to 94k bought and 22k sold

Buys went through at 7.83p, sells at 7.75p ( I tried online dummy buys and sells to check, at the time of the trades today)

Maybe someone somewhere is noticing 'lil old Aminex :)

Cheers,
PM