Amerisur Resources is exploring for oil and gas in South America, currently in Colombia and later it plans to exploit its licences in Paraguay. It has a new Board of Directors and following a recent Placing at 6p (250m shares) sufficient cash to see through its current drilling plans and carry out some further corporate asset improvement opportunities.

Valuation of Amerisur Resources : 'Rule of Thumb' based on c.800m shares and using 10% DCF on oil at $70/barrel is 0.75p on the sp for every 1m barrels (CHP's share) that is proved in the ground.

Amerisur (formerly Chaco Resources) now has two exploration blocks in Colombia which it is currently evaluating and preparing to drill, one of these in the last quarter of 2007. It has also applied for further blocks in Colombia which are also believed to offer near term production. It also has three substantial areas in Paraguay and is awaiting news on a fourth. The next six months (May-November 2008) should see a steady news flow as it establishes the companys transformation from being an exploration company to becoming a significant oil production company. Set out below are some of the milestones which should produce announcements and have a positive effect on the share price. Any potential reserves are quoted in recoverable oil assets.



Platinillo, Colombia :

100% interest in a field currently assessed at holding 38.1m barrels of light sweet crude oil. Previously this a well flowed at 533 b/d before it was capped.Modern extraction methods may achieve up to double this output/well. Drilling completed for assessment and details of reserve figures and resumption of production daily figures awaited at Dec.2009. (Some guessestimates suggest the field might contain as much as 70m-100m barrels.)

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Tigra/Fenix block

100%% Further 3D seismic is completed; previous drilling has resulted in 30,000 barrels of oil from this block. Other blocks nearby in the Magdalena basin have also produced well. Drilled 11/2009; optimistic RNS (17 leads to follow)but reserve figures awaited

RNS :Expect further news on this block imminently and maybe a JV or other arrangement to speed up the timescale to production



Additional blocks to be announced

New local management team, in particular the CEO, is reputed to have some excellent contacts which will bring some high quality blocks to Amerisur in the coming months.

Curupayty Block, Paraguay :

1.39m hectares in north, close to Bolivia. Two wells previously drilled and both showed oil.

RNS : Expect JV with larger producer.



San Pedro Block, Paraguay :

1m hectares in south-east. Previous drilling showed oil.

RNS : Expect JV with larger producer.



Parana Basin, Paraguay :

Canindeyu block covering 1,789,000 hectares. Bordering Brazil. Oil field on Brazilian side already drilled. Chaco also expect to find oil and, at a deeper level, considerable quantities of gas. Chaco has obtained valuable historic seismic for re-evaluation.

RNS : Presidential Decree received 2/11/06.. Petrobras has announced its intention to increase substantially its effort to exploit Paraguay's hydrocarbons and has announced a farm-in on CDS's adjacent block. Possibility that they or another major will do likewise with Amerisur



Corporate Activity : The new Chairman is believed to have been brought on board to prove some or all of the existing Colombian assets and get these oil producing, arrange a JV on the Paraguayan assets before negotiating a sale of the company as consolidation of explorers in the region continues. An exit sp north of 1.00 over the next 12 months might be a reasonable target provided the drilling programme lives up to expectations, the price of oil remains at/above current levels and an approach is made for the company.

Holding on in there

StockMarketWire.com
South America-focused oil and gas producer and explorer Amerisur Resources posts pre-tax profits of $47.5m for the year to the end of December, 37% down on last time.

Operating profit fell by 7% to $74.3m largely due to the drop in oil prices in the second half of the year.

Revenue for the period was up 18% at $169.2m.

Chairman Giles Clarke said: "2014 was another busy year for the Company with significant progress made across all of our work programmes and portfolio. Our excellent success rate at the Platanillo field continued with further six successful wells drilled in the southern/central lobe.

"Platanillo 20 in particular delivered a significant result for the Company and the future development of the field following the identification of a separate oil reservoir and the potential for production from the T and N sand. 95% of the production currently comes from the U sands in the southern/central lobe with drilling to date focused on developing this sand.

"Combined with the encouraging results of the additional 3D seismic in the north of Platanillo, a number of leads have been added to our forward drilling programme and we are confident that there is further substantial upside yet to come in this highly attractive block.

"Our strategy has remained consistent, to deliver growth through low cost oil production to ensure the free cash flow generated covers the Company's capital expenditure and we remain well financed to progress our key work programmes.

"We have taken several measures to maintain our financial strength and protect shareholder value so that all of our assets remains profitable, despite the low oil price environment and we are well positioned for future growth when the oil price recovers."

I won't be going to the AGM but have decided to vote against the various resolutions except numbers 4&5 which relate to the Accounts. I am not impressed with the Board's recent stewardship of the company and believe that only John Wardle merits being retained. The rest are increasingly superfluous in my opinion and to take the company to a new level I believe we need directors with more appropriate experience and skills. The II's have managed to achieve a welcome reduction and changes to the Board's recent attempt to enrich themselves at our expense but since this is the second time an intervention has been necessary, plainly the director's concerned failed to learn from the previous time when they were pressured into altering directors' remuneration. I hope other PI's will consider taking a similar stand and instruct their Brokers to that effect.

Barclays Capital today reaffirms its equal weight investment rating on Amerisur Resources PLC (LON:AMER) and raised its price target to 36p (from 34p).

Long time, no comments......anyone still holding these apart from myself ?

Yep I have been in and out of these a few times quite successfully, at the moment I am in having paid 19.85p. The sp refuses to move higher despite the buy/sell ratio being favourable

Good luck with your holding Rowsell

Me,too. Just wish the Board would make more progress.

Today's rns was ok with next months output increasing.

Another encouraging rns today sp currently 20.62p

sp now closed at 22p. Wonder if the seller / shorter having 2nd thoughts ?

Any of the other long term holders still around ?

i still hold some in my sipp
bought as a gamble and long term possible

Yes. Long term holders still around.

Good to hear there are others who have hung in there since the Chaco days

And me.

Interims next Thursday 13th. sp currently 14.92p

Anyone know why the sp is in freefall?

A certain HNWI named Rex has been selling his 200M for the past 2 years! But I think he is just about sold out now so we could be into a reversal pretty soon.

if the company does not disappear down the plughole in the meantime

Chances of that happening are very low