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

Not great news.

That Kim really is a fruitcake!

Stringy Hi,

Don't worry, the Chinese will sort it out .... again :)

Cheers,
PM

As long as the Chinese and maybe Russia are happy to do business with DPRK then I guess there's not too much to worry about there.

Kim is so unpredictable though and at the end of the day, when it comes to the DPRK he IS the law and can do exactly as he wishes on a whim.

I understand that Hill said something to the effect that he expected this subsequent repsonse from North Korea - more a domestic face-saving exercise. This would explain the little price movement yesterday. Whether this really changes anything fundamentally, I'm not sure.

Rita..........oil price............AEX?

-Paul?

It didnt have an impact with Katrina from memory Stringy, I thought the same but the sp didnt seem to budge.

Figures i suppose.

A temporarily higher oil price is good for AEX's current income but does little for it's future prospects which is the main factor driving the sp at the mo.

Stringy Hi,

Dunno, Aminex are producing in Texas, and Rita is heading for .... Texas ....

If your hoping for a rise due to oil shortages, it might backfire :(

Cheers,
PM

============================================

USA

Aminex is currently working on the development of proven and behind-pipe gas reserves in Texas on its Alta Loma and South Weslaco leases.

At Alta Loma, the existing Sunny-Ernst-1 well has been re-completed in another formation and a further development well is planned.

On South Weslaco, a four well drilling programme is in progress.

Aminex will be replacing high cost production lost through the Vinton Dome disposal with new low cost gas production which can be put on stream very rapidly after well re-entry/new drilling.

===============================================


Rita a substantial threat to Gulf oil-EIA
Wed Sep 21, 2005 4:35 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hurricane Rita could have a "substantial impact" on U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, a situation that the nation's already tight gasoline market cannot afford, the head of the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Hurricane Rita was packing 150 mph winds as it churned through the Gulf of Mexico, with computer models forecasting landfall south of Houston on Saturday.

"There's a risk that we could have a substantial impact on further refineries," EIA Administrator Guy Caruso told a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on gasoline prices. "We clearly cannot afford any further disruptions in gasoline production and capacity."

Caruso's remarks echoed worries expressed by oil market traders.

Four large refineries in the Gulf Coast region, which together account for about 5 percent of U.S. capacity, remain out of service from Hurricane Katrina last month.

Soon after Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi on August 29, the nationwide average retail gasoline price jumped to $3.07 per gallon, nearly tying the inflation-adjusted high of $3.12 set in 1981.

Earlier on Wednesday, the EIA said Rita could threaten up to 18 Texas oil refineries that have a combined capacity of 4 million barrels per day, or nearly one-fourth of the nation's total refining capacity.

"While not all of this capacity would be affected under any scenario, it does point out how much refining capacity is at risk," the EIA said in a weekly oil market report.

Texas has 26 refineries, with 18 located near the Gulf of Mexico coastline, it said.

Marathon Oil (MRO.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Valero Energy Corp. (VLO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and BP Plc (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) were among refiners that shut down or reduced operating rates at Texas refineries to prepare for Rita.

Thousands of workers were also evacuated from offshore drilling rigs and production platforms as a safety precaution.

"People were worried post-Katrina, as we have real tight product supply," said Jamal Qureshi, analyst at PFC Energy. "Now we have a hurricane heading for the bigger part of the coastal refinery center, threatening to blow a huge hole in products supply."

Valero, the nation's biggest refiner, said Rita's impact could be a "national disaster" and unleash retail gasoline prices above $3 a gallon.

Wholesale gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $2.0531 a gallon on Wednesday, up 7.65 cents. The futures price hit a record $2.92 a gallon soon after Katrina hit.

Oh dear .... Alta Loma is on the coast right next to Texas City .... near Houston ....

South Weslaco is to the left and up a bit on this picture, so I guess they will have shut down and abandoned ship, hopefully no damage will be done, other than lost production for a week or two ....

Cheers,
PM

Hopefully.

Thanks Paul!

Silly me! -So busy I was only thinking of the oil rigs in the Gulf!

Off to look at the latest on Rita now.

Told a collegue on Tuesday that if/when Rita enters the Gulf she could soon become another cat5 hurricane. Sea surface temp was still 31C last time I checked..........not at all good. Katrina had me very worried before landfall and now Rita has me also.

At least peeps will be better prepared for this one. With any luck it may miss the major population areas.

Once again thanks for the info Paul! -Always appreciated.

Just been looking at the latest data for Rita's path and sea surface temps.

Not good.............the potential for this storm is much greater than it was for Katrina.

Too early yet to call for sure but because of it's path across the Gulf and the surface temp in that area this could be a record breaker.

Predicted landfall very close to Houston and this is another big one which could get a fair bit bigger yet.

The next two days developements will be telling but so far this looks very bad indeed.

I'll be watching daily till the weekend now.

Stringy Hi,

Thanks for the updates :)

I bet they have done everything possible to restrict possible damage, like removing or tying down anything that moves !

All staff will be well away from there too.

Cheers,
PM

Hurricane Rita creates evacuation problem for Houston
By Simon Freeman, Times Online, and Tim Reid

More than a million people were today joining a mass exodus from Houston and southern Texas as Hurricane Rita intensified into one of the most powerful storms on record, threatening widespread devastation across the Gulf Coast.

Evacuees fleeing the threatened regions created bumper-to-bumper traffic jams along all of the major interstate highways as families fled to seek shelter inland.

The 300-mile wide hurricane, which has now intensified into the most powerful Category 5 level with sustained 175mph winds, has pushed oil prices back up to $68 a barrel as it bears down on the mainland.

President Bush, in Washington, said: "We hope and pray that Hurricane Rita will not be a devastating storm, but we got to be ready for the worst."

Three of the country's five largest oil refineries lie in the storm's predicted path before it makes landfall on Saturday in Galveston, Texas. Agbeli Ameko, an energy analyst, said: "What wasnt hit by Katrina is being targeted by Rita. The market is taking the storm very seriously."

As the Texas coast was emptied, officials in New Orleans warned that just 3in of rain could overwhelm the protective levees still not fully repaired from Hurricane Katrina. The city is so fragile that even a glancing blow could bring renewed devastation.

Galveston, low-lying parts of Corpus Christi and Houston, and New Orleans were under mandatory evacuation orders as Rita continued to draw energy from the unseasonably warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Its scary. Its really scary," Shalonda Dunn said as she and her two young daughters waited to board a bus arranged by emergency authorities in Galveston. "Im glad weve got the opportunity to leave. ... You never know what can happen."

Rita also forced some Katrina refugees to flee a hurricane for the second time in three weeks. More than 1,000 people who had been living in the civic centre in Lake Charles were being bussed farther north.

At 2am EDT (0700BST) today, Rita was centered about 540 miles east-southeast of Galveston, moving west at 9mph.

But with its breathtaking size - tropical storm-force winds extending 370 miles across - practically the entire western end of the Gulf Coast was in danger.

In Houston, the states largest city and home to the highest concentration of refugees from Hurricane Katrina, geography makes evacuation particularly tricky.

While many hurricane-prone cities are on the coast, Houston is 60 miles inland, so a coastal suburban area of 2 million people must evacuate through a metropolitan area of 4 million people where the roads are often congested.

Mayor Bill White urged residents to look out for each other: "There will not be enough government vehicles to go and evacuate everybody in every area. We need neighbour caring for neighbour."

back monday see my notice then.aex will take off again.

Tanker Hi,

Thats if it hasn't already 'taken off' .... into Hurricane Rita ....

Cheers,
PM

Rita not looking quite as serious as she was last night. Downgraded to cat4 now.

Passing over some cooler sea but closing on another 'hot' patch shortly which may give another boost. Some cooler water nearer the coast though so by landfall may be cat4 or even cat3. Did expect worse but these things can be a bit unpredictable.

The predicted path is now close to but just East of Galveston.........yesterdays was West which would have been worse. East will give a lower wind speed for that area.

All in all looking less serious but still early days and may yet score a direct hit on Galveston and Houston.......looks like being very close either way.

Tomorrow's data will give a much more accurate forecast.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=1150674

Looks unclear. I went long in US Crude yesterday afternoon but down 70 cents since then and not sure on how Rita is gonna hit. Even if they have prepared well and it reaches the coast as a CAT 3, the industry could be trashed.

I agree Stringy, its gonna be later on today until things look a bit clearer....

Tense times. Cant believe the season this year....real hectic.

Rita heading slightly north-west now, perhaps hitting close to Louisiana border. Currently expecting to hit at Force 4.