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

later 18.7p trades are BUYS, not sells!

HNR down 10%, although just ticked up a tad, so hopefully the slaughter is over.

Now we need some clarifcation of the situation in Mauritania.

Some buying now, and the recent sells have been quite small, so maybe the weak holders have been shaken out?

BBC website has no update on the situation yet, Ould Taya's plane has apparently landed in Niger upon it's return from Saudi Arabia, which may simply be a precaution, or maybe an indication that his tenure is in doubt.

Army council 'ruling Mauritania'

Ould Taya was out of the country at the time of the reported coup
Mauritanian army officers have announced the overthrow of the president and creation of a ruling military council.
The military council said it had ended the "totalitarian regime" of President Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya.

Troops have seized control of state media and main routes in Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott.

Presidential guards earlier blocked off access to the presidential palace and gunfire was heard.

The new Military Council for Justice and Democracy said it would rule the West African state for two years.

A plane carrying President Taya has landed in Niger's capital, Niamey, on his return from attending the funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, officials say.

Troops on streets

Presidential guards moved into state radio and television buildings from 0500 GMT, AFP news agency reports.

MAURITANIA

Dominated by light-skinned Arabic-speakers (Moors)
Black Africans complain of discrimination
Mostly desert
Islamic Republic
Recognises Israel

State media broadcasts were cut and the airport closed.

An AFP journalist in the city said military vehicles equipped with heavy weaponry and anti-aircraft guns were deployed.

Soldiers have taken up position on the streets and are said to have taken control of a key army building.

Unconfirmed reports say a number of senior army officials have been arrested.

Gunfire rang out briefly near the presidency building.

"I saw scared people running away. Civil servants have all left their offices," a witness told Reuters news agency.

A BBC correspondent in the city says he has not heard of any violence since the gunshots.

The capital is calm and people are going about their business normally, Sidi El Moctar Cheiguer says.

Divided state

Rebel soldiers came close to toppling Mr Taya in June 2003.

The government says it foiled two more attempts in 2004.

President Taya took power in a bloodless coup in December 1984 and has been re-elected three times since.

Correspondents say he later made enemies among Islamists in the country, which is an Islamic Republic.

Critics accuse the government of using the US-led war on terror to crackdown on Islamic opponents.

Mr Taya has also prompted widespread opposition by establishing links with Israel.

Earlier this year, nearly 200 people, including former President Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidallah, were put on trial for a series of alleged coup plots.

Mauritania is deeply divided between three main groups - light-skinned Arabic-speakers, descendents of slaves and dark-skinned speakers of West African languages.

"A group of Mauritanian army officers announced the overthrow of the president on Wednesday....."


http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-af/2005/aug/03/080305699.html

So, any doubt as to whether it is a coup or an attempt may well be over.

No doubt things will return to normal, but not today.

If this holds, then Mauritania has a new Government.

im out of mine short term negative sentiment around stock annoyingly only has one direction- will watch with interest. bad timing as we were at important levels.

Of course, the new Government does not have a special relationship with Sterling.

It will be interesting to see if they can buy back in with the new one or if the new one will want all of their 12% of the oil financed by another Company with no ties to the old regime.

This is now a gamble, so I will not be buying back in until things are much clearer.

I think this coup has taken place so that the new rulers can get in on the action before the oil starts pumping, however I have sold my holding until things settle down.

The new government may want all the oil, depriving SEY of royalties. But I do not think they could afford to be seen to default on the 97million loan. So at worst SEY should get their money back by negotiation for which there would be plenty of interesting possible uses around the world currently. My view is they will be prevailed upon by many organisations, not least OPEC, to behave in accordance with contract and international law, if they are to be taken in any way seriously as a liberating movement.

If the ex(?)-president or other ministers/civil servants were lining their own pockets, they may well put a stop to that, but that should not affect SEY.

I'm holding, having missed the news until after the major drop to 18.75 mid SP.

sd

very frustrating though sey were a more solid play than most of my 'higher' risk energy stocks. will remain out for the time being.

lizard,

Well SEY are a solid company IMHO, but sadly political events have changed things, rather than actions of the company.

I remain a holder, and hope that we will soon have clarification of the situation, and if there is a new government, some indication of whether or not they are going to honour deals negotiated and agreed with the previous administration.

So many rats on such a splendid ship. Is it really going to sink and wet your all of your tails?

queen1,

One would hope not!

I'm a little surprised that so many loyal holders have bailed totally, I would have thought a top slice may be prudent, and I must admit I have considered that too.

This statement has been released by the new rulers, and the last paragraph confirms their commitment to honour all deals already done, so hopefully we may see some stability in the morning.

------------------------------------


Mauritania coup: Full statement

Following the coup in Mauritania, a group calling itself The Military Council for Justice and Democracy issued the following statement on the state news agency Ami:

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Gracious.

The national armed forces and security forces have unanimously decided to put a definitive end to the oppressive activities of the defunct authority, which our people have suffered from during the past years.

These activities have led to a severe deviation which has begun to threaten the future of our nation.

The national armed forces and security forces have decided to institute a Military Council for Justice and Democracy.

This council is committed before the Mauritanian people to create the appropriate circumstances for an open and transparent democracy.

This will enable the civil society and all political activists to participate with complete freedom.

Our armed forces and security forces will not rule for longer than the necessary period required to prepare and create the genuine democratic institutions.

This period will not exceed two years at the most.

The council finally confirms Mauritania's commitment to all the international treaties and agreements which it has signed.

morning

business as usual

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4741243.stm



http://www.woodside.com.au/Investors/News+2005/August/20050803+Mauritania.htm


http://www.woodside.com.au/Investors/News+2005/August/20050804+Mauritania+Update+2.htm

Have SEY signed any agreements that are binding ?

What it means is business as usual FOR NOW .

Was out yesterday so missed out on yesterdays events all round. As to the coup, seems to me that we've been down this road before, but this time it looks like it may be a bit different. No one can predict whats going to happen from here on in so I wont even try, too many unknowns and uncertainties. Can't blame anyone for selling and taking a profit, especially under those circumstances. I imagine most who got out yesterday were sitting on profits. Although the message of business as usual is being put out by those involved, I'm keeping a very close eye on things and wont hesitate to sell if I think the situation may or does get worse.

Can see why HNR got hit most due to their overall exposure in Mauritania followed by us. Scratching my head as to why DNX rose so much! A number of factors maybe, investors selling HNR and SEY and buying DNX, new highs for oil, DNX breaking to new highs or upcoming news. Will leave that one to Fundy to try and figure out!

Oilbarrel article on yesterdays events.

Coup attempt

Whatever we all may think will happen now, in that business may return to normal and old agreements honoured etc, for the immediate future I forsee a bail out of retail punters who really do not need the stress of instability like a Military Coup affecting their investments.

All the reassuring words in the World will not make a difference.

I therefore expect selling to continue for the next couple of weeks.

That means I also expect to have that time to finally decide whether to come back into the fold or not.

FWIW Sterling do have insurance against this sort of thing, this was confirmed by Andrew Gross on Oil Barrel, I hope that insurance is far reaching.

Shareholders have limited protection in that case against any nastiness that may result.

I am now watching with interest asa to where Sterling goes from here.

The whole episode is a great shame as I feel they were on the verge of a momouth change for the better, everything seemed to be going just right for the moment.

I'm staying with it. This will blow over in a couple of days and then all those who sold will be locked out and have to pay more if they choose to buy back in.
This is nothing new and was always an ongoing risk in Mauritania.
The oil is 60 miles off shore. It is not at risk.

Pondy

With Mauritanian President Maaouya Ould Taya out of the country, the armed forces on Wednesday said they had seized power to end his "totalitarian regime" and had set up a military council to rule in his place.

Ould Taya, who himself came to power in a coup in 1984 and has withstood several previous ousting attempts, was overseas as troops seized state media, the armed forces headquarters, and positioned themselves outside the presidency building in the capital, Nouakchott, in the early hours of the morning. The airport was also closed.


Later, in a communique broadcast on state media, a "Military Council for Justice and Democracy" announced it would rule the desert nation, which is hoping to get rich from oil, for a maximum of two years.

"The armed forces and the security forces have unanimously decided to put an end to the totalitarian practices of the defunct regime under which our people have suffered so much these last years," the statement from the hitherto-unknown group said. "This council vows before the Mauritanian people to create the conditions favourable for an open an transparent democracy."

An IRIN correspondent in the capital reported that hundreds of people had taken to the streets after the declaration. Convoys of cars were tearing around the city's sandy avenues, with youths honking their horns and shouting slogans like "Down with Taya", and "Long Live the Putschists".

Journalists contacted in several other towns around Mauritania reported similar scenes of joy unfolding.

No individual signed off on the council's statement, but military sources and people who were at the state broadcaster when it was taken over, said that the head of the presidential guard, Col Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, and the head of national security, Col Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, were involved.

The African Union condemned what it called a "coup attempt".

"The chairperson ... reaffirms the total rejection by the AU of any unconstitutional change of government," a statement by the 53-member organisation said. "He firmly condemns any seizure or any attempt to seize power by force."

There was no immediate reaction from opposition groups in Mauritania, but Ould Taya's ruling Social Democratic Republican Party (PRDS) urged all political entities to denounce the coup.

Ould Taya had been out of the Sahelian country, which straddles black and Arab Africa, attending the funeral of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, when troops moved in at around 5:00 am.

Hours later, he arrived in Niger's capital, Niamey, but he made no declaration and reporters at the airport were kept away.

The president has reportedly angered many of Mauritania's 2.8 million-strong and staunchly-Muslim population by establishing diplomatic ties with Israel and launching a crackdown on Islamic fundamentalists groups in the country.

Ould Taya was nearly toppled during a bloody uprising in June 2003, which was put down after two days of heavy fighting in the capital by loyal forces. Mauritanian authorities also said they nipped two coup plots in the bud in August and September 2004.

Four army officers were convicted of masterminding the raft of coup plots and were sentenced to life in prison in February this year, while three leading opposition politicians were cleared of bankrolling the operations.

During the trial, some of the officers explained how they had wanted to put a stop to corruption, tribalism, poor pay and mismanagement in the army.

A diplomat in Nouakchott said on Wednesday that the situation was calm, contrasting it with the coup attempt in 2003.

"Last time there was lots of shooting and everyone was very scared. Today, although certain areas of Nouakchott are closed off, round by the radio and TV stations and the presidential palace, the rest of the city is going about its business as normal," he said by telephone