anyone got any ideas about the block trades that went through today?

website: http://www.sterlingenergyplc.com/



weather: www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at4+shtml/084938.shtml?50wind120

Hurricane Ivan affectung the rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

They have been emptied aprt from necessary personnel.

I will try to find out the extent of it, but this happened for Hurricane Bonnie too, i.e. rigs empties and price drops.

Worth buying in at these prices if you were thinking about it, if you hold, batten down the hatches and think of something else!

The next one is already forming, Tropical Storm T.S. Jeanne.

What the heck is going on this year????

As far as I can see the reaction to Ivan is misplaced, if that is what has driven down the price.

Sterlings Platforms are not in the track of the storm, see below.

Hurricane Ivan Evacuation and Production Shut-in Statistics
as of Monday, September 13, 2004

Next report will be issued Tuesday, September 14, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. CDT
For Information Concerning the Storm Click on www.gomr.mms.gov

*** This survey is reflective of 15 companies reports.

Districts
Lake Jackson
Lake Charles
Lafayette
Houma
New Orleans
Total

Platforms Evacuated
2
7
6
21
18
54

Rigs Evacuated
0
1
0
12
2
15









Oil, BOPD Shut-in
0
5,775
195
24,807
68,752
99,529

Gas, MMCF/D Shut-In
0
17.8
10.3
181.68
56.30
266.08










These evacuations are equivalent to 7.07% of 764 manned platforms and 12.82% of 125 rigs currently operating in the GOM.

This shut-in oil production is equivalent to 99,529 bbls which is 5.85% of daily production of oil in GOM which is approximately 1.7 million BOPD.

This shut-in gas production is equivalent to 266.08 MMCF which is 2.16% of the daily production of gas in the GOM which is approximately 12.3 BCFPD.

The Minerals Management Service is the federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nations oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in Federal offshore waters. The agency also collects, accounts for, and disburses mineral revenues from Federal and American Indian lands. MMS disbursed more than $8 billion in FY 2003 and more than $135 billion since the agency was created in 1982. Nearly $1 billion from those revenues go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund annually for the acquisition and development of state and Federal park and recreation lands.

MMS Main Website: www.mms.gov
MMS Gulf of Mexico Website: www.gomr.mms.gov

Below, just for interest is the track of the storm.

Getting fed up with this wind! Thanks for posting the above SWW. Emailed the company to see if any of our operations have been affected. Will post the response tomorrow when I get one.

Good steady buys today, including me at 14.85p.

The sharewatch shows over a million sold, the streaming does not. Only buys.

Now the Hurricane path is narrowing away from Galveston, I hope the price returns to normal, what ever that may be!

Thanks Seawallwalker....may be big buys today but price going nowhere as usual.

have faith queen1. SEY will ride out the storm, blow away these sellers and gust its way north with lightening speed. (all puns intended, i need to amuse myself on days like today!)

Got reply to my email. Nothing affected by the storms. Onwards and upwards.

Gavin



I spoke to Jim McBee, Operations Manager at our Houston office.



He assures me that Sterlings operations in the Gulf of Mexico have not been affected.



Let me know if you would like any further information.



Regards



Jo

Well done gavdfc

Perhaps that message will get to the Stock Market?

No probs SWW. Here's hoping that we can start to move upwards again. Seems to me like the latest drop in the sp was just in anticipation that operations might have been affected. Now we have it confirmed that all is well.

I've emailed Sterling quite a few times now and every time have had a reply extremley quick. Very happy with their attitude towards investors. Pity all companies don't have the same attitude.

so true. thx for the info. please keep it coming.
rgds
proptrade

Thanks guys - This certainly looks like a success story and feels like a success story but still worrying that the market at large doesn't seem to think so.

You are most welcome

A snippet from Premier's results today:

Exploration and Appraisal

During the half year three operated exploration wells were drilled - one in each
of the UK (Criollo), Pakistan (Chung) and Guinea Bissau (Sinapa-2). Whilst the
first two of these were unsuccessful, Sinapa-2 was an oil discovery which
recovered good quality 32degrees API oil and proved the play in the area. This
encourages us to consider further seismic and drilling activity on our acreage
there.

We have a 5% interest in Sinapa-2.

From Oilbarrel.com today:

17.09.2004
Sterling Plans To Join Exploration Pioneers In The Waters Off Madagascar
Sterling Energy has added some blue-sky exploration acreage to its portfolio of US and West African properties with the award of two large exploration licences offshore northwest Madagascar, which lies off the east coast of Africa.

The Ambilobe and Ampasindava blocks cover 34,000 sq km of undrilled acreage that has been home to hydrocarbon shows while heavy oil deposits have been recorded onshore. The licence terms include a commitment to undertake seismic acquisition towards the back end of next year, leading to an option to drill an exploration well.

Our business is about trying to find areas that other people have bypassed and using our technical skills to add value, explained chief executive Harry Wilson. Madagascar filled those criteria: its a large unexplored area with quite high potential and we are getting it on a very low commitment basis.

The Ambilobe block covers 20,800 sq km and lies at the very northwest of the island. The acreage has been licensed twice in the last 15 years, once by Maxus and more recently by Triton. A large 2D seismic database exists and leads have been identified on the block, in which water depths extend to 1,000 metres.

Wilson said the previous licence-holders had been keen on the acreage but had succumbed to the pressures of corporate restructuring.

When Triton was merged into Amerada Hess, Madagascar sort of got lost in the consolidation wash, Wilson told oilbarrel.com. But their technical people liked it very much and we now have their old data, which gives us a head start on this thing going forward.

The Ampasindava block covers 13,147 sq km in the northern Majunga Basin and lies immediately to the southwest of the Ambilobe block. The block neighbours Vanco Energys acreage, which was recently farmed-into by ExxonMobil. Water depths here range from shallow to 3,000 metres. This is virgin territory, with only a very small amount of seismic covering the shallow coastal waters.

Things are beginning to hot up in the area, said Wilson. ExxonMobil recently farmed in so they obviously believe it has some potential too.

Wilson said the company already has its geologists working on the existing technical data for the new acreage. It will take at least a year before we have got it clear in our own minds what we have got, he said.

AIM-quoted Sterling, which enjoys steady production from the US Gulf of Mexico, boosted its exploration credentials in May 2003 through the 40 million takeover of African explorer Fusion Oil & Gas. As a result of that deal, Sterling can now boast participation in up to 20 wells off the coast of West Africa at virtually no cost. This includes interests ranging from between 3 and 6 per cent in the waters off Mauritania, which are home to the Chinguetti oil development and the giant Tiof oil find. Not bad for a company formed in October 2002 by the reverse takeover of Lepco plc.

They are getting a finger in every pie.

i feel like adding again. the more i hear and read about this name the more convinced i am that this is one to buy and hold and in time we can live off the dividends.
rgds
proptrade

Lots of fingers, lots of pies, lots of potential upside at virtually no cost! Agreed Prop that this is good time to add, or better to have done so over the last few days. Definitely a medium to long term hold for me. Would take a drastic change in circumstances for me to sell these anytime soon, which I cant see happening.

Just received 2 brokers notes this morning from Sterling. Not had a chance to fully read them yet but after a quick skim look very interesting.

Oriel Securities have 2004E sales at 14.7m and EPS at 0.32p, rising to 2005E 34.1m and EPS of 1.29p.

EVO have 2004E of 14.2m and EPS of 0.31p rising to 2005E of 31.2m and EPS of 1.23p.

On these figures alone I would say it looks pretty good to me.

exactly, and they have probably taken a conservative view on the drill program as well. i would be interested to know how much those numbers would increase if sterling have some successful strikes.