http://www.falklands-oil.com/

http://www.rockhopperexploration.co.uk

http://www.argosresources.com/




Rockhopper was established in 2004 with a strategy to invest in and undertake an offshore oil exploration programme in the North Falkland Basin. It was floated on AIM in August 2005. Rockhopper was the first company to make a commercial oil discovery in the Falklands. Today Rockhopper is the largest acreage holder in the North Falkland Basin, with interests in the Greater Mediterranean region.

Yes, I also heard that, but have searched for any kind of written story relating to it, but have found absolutely nothing. Please post if you find anything.

First Sea Lord to warn against navy spending cuts


Britain must not risk being unprepared for future conflicts by cutting Navy spending, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, the First Sea Lord, will warn today.

Sir Mark Stanhope will warn against cuts in navy spending Photo: PA
He will challenge comments by General Sir David Richards, the head of the Army, that Britain must be ruthless in slashing hi-tech defence spending, claiming that hard power will win future wars.

Sir Mark will say: We must look beyond Afghanistan we must be prepared for surprises and strategic shocks. The Falklands war was such an event. It came in from left-field.

The Following transcript from an Interview from with Stephen Phipps,of DES and also Sam Moody,of RKH, who are both currently down in the Falklands on a visit,has been sent to me just this afternoon.
Rep = Reporter.

I make appoplgy for any spelling errors in this,dictation was never a strong point of mine,however I have done my best to cover what was said.
PP.


Rep-
Oil company reps that are currently visiting the Falklands,say they are pleased with how preperations are progressing in advance of the arrival of the "Ocean Guardian" Oil rig,and said there was a number of reasons for their visit..

SP
We are here just to see how things are going,our 2 supply vessels have arrived,our supply depot is being built by Byron Marine,we came to see it all and see how things are going,obviously we have a new councill since we were last here,we've come to meet councillors,and update the Minerals dept as to where we are with our drilling campaign.

Rep
Yes, so how is all the logistical work going in anticipation of the rig arriving?

SP
Its going very well,it's been an enourmos task which has been done very well by every one here in the Falklands,the 2nd ship that came in was the the biggest ship that has come into fipass for 10 years,its going to take 7-8 days to unload,the firs ship was unloaded quickly,things are going well and its all down to the credit of the Falkland Islander's who are working so hard around the clock to do it.The work effort from the Falklands has been
fantastic,every one is working hard to get us here,and we are looking forward to finding oil.

Rep
Whats the latest with the rig,and where is that at the moment?

SP
Well I cant tell you exactly where it is,that would be..I'm not allowed to umm,but its on its way,lets put it that way,and will be here pretty much on schedule,early Feb.

Rep
Have there been any difficultys so far,I belive it did have to stop off at one point in the trip?

SP
Well I think it was a minor stop for a chain breaking or something,but things that are a normal part of dragging a rig down 8000 mile in 65 days,its just a normal part of that procedure.

Rep
I guess that security is also an issue,is that also something you have been discussing?

Sp
Yes we have been discussing it with the Rig,Diamond,but all rigs have their own security procedures,its nothing untoward about that,I mean people drill in Nigera,and all sorts of places that are difficult,I'm not suggesting that this is giong to be difficult,infact we dont forsee any problems, but we will have and do have an emergency responce plan,which is in the normal operating envoirment we would have.

Rep
There seems to be quite a lot of buzz around at the moment with this campaign,it must be quite an exciting time for Desire.?

SP
We are excited,we have been waiting 12 years to drill,we have done a lot of work in between time,a lot more work on our prospects, 3D, AVO work,
we were lucky to get a rig when the rig prices were coming down,we've not just ourselves,but other oil companys have raised a lot of money on the stock market,and were here,were excited,and looking forward to the next 6-8 months.SP.
End

The Reporter then spoke to Sam Moody of RKH.

SM
Well were planning to drill 2 wells during 2010,useing the same rig as Desire,one of those wells is in the ex-Shell block, its just a few Km from the last well Shell drilled during 98,and that well of course did recover oil,so were very excited about that one,and then were drilling another well called Earnest,which is much nearer to the Islands, about 100Km away from the Islands, in an area that has'nt been drilled before. Both Des and RKH are useing AGR to do the management of the wells,and they are doing a fantastic job down here, and were extreamaly excited about whatas about to happen. This is a defining year for the company,so in my position,clearly this is the culmination of 5 years work,so yes its extreamaly exciting.

Rep
Whats the best case scenario for this campaign for Rockhopper.?

SM
Well the best case scenario is that these 2 wells we drill would be oil discoveries,and that would be an event that would compleatly transform
the company,and of course you've got to remember as well that we are in 3 wells that DES will be drilling,so we've got 5 chances if you like to make it work.

Rep
Yes there must be good co-operation between yourselves and DES with this work?.

SM
Yes, its extreamaly important that we co-operate with each other,because were both operating remotly from where we are based,thats why we've both appointed AGR to manage the wells on our bahalf.

End of Interview.

RKH seems to be slipping downwards quite fast over the last few days.

.

Tip of the day on uk analyst. Evil Knievil opinion:
http://uk-analyst.com/shop/page-article/action-article.show/id-130002857

Broker note from Canaccord today:
"Although this mornings press release provides little in the way of new information it does serve as a timely reminder that the first of five wells that Rockhopper will participate in this year is due to spud within the month. Hence, the group has much to look forward to and, whilst they are not for the faint-hearted, we believe the risk/reward profile associated with the shares remains in investors favour.
We maintain our NAV-derived target price of 103p/share and a SPECULATIVE BUY recommendation."

but why buy the monkey when you can buy the organ grinder?

Because the monkey is cheaper !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

for good reason

Argentina yesterday summoned the British ambassador in Buenos Aires to issue a "vehement protest" about the imminent start of drilling for oil and gas around the disputed British-ruled Falkland islands over which the two countries fought a brief war in 1982.

Shan Morgan, the ambassador, is out of the country so the protest note was handed to Simon Thomas, chargd'affaires. The Foreign Office confirmed he was called in.

Excitement has been mounting for more than a decade that the waters around the disputed islands could contain significant quantities of hydrocarbons, and the forthcoming drilling campaign is seen as the moment of truth.

The Argentine foreign ministry said it had protested against drilling "in areas of the Argentine continental shelf subject to illegitimate British occupation". The government says it will never give up its claim to the Falklands, which it calls the Malvinas.

YARN

All hype...... oil yet to be discovered..... no where for oil to go IF there is any....argi's throwing spanners in the works from now on......not good, best profit has been made by those that have taken it. aimo of coarse

of course argentina is jumping up and down, but even with that sabre-rattling, the situation and the region are certainly less volatile and dangerous than most others - e.g. nigeria, iraq, kurdistan etc

so who you going to sell the oil to......the argi's?? via space ships to quote a phrase??

just as well you dont hold any shares, little boy!!!

rose tinted glasses come to mind........Pikey

meaning dads army, not being offencive.. BB

not at all little boy