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.

greek who is going to pay to bring the "estimated" oil to market?

Halifax,

Are you referring to the Falklands or the Yorkshire find.

greek the more exploitive find.

The Yorkshire one then

StockMarketWire.com
Rockhopper Exploration has announced that the 14/15-4 well was spudded on 28 November.

The Well is situated on Licence PL004b in which Rockhopper will earn a 60% interest by drilling 14/15-4. The Well is designed to investigate reservoir presence and hydrocarbon charge towards the southernmost mapped limit of the Sea Lion field .

The Company intends to drill to target depth then subsequently sidetrack to core should significant hydrocarbon charged reservoir be encountered in either the Sea Lion Main Complex or Beverley.

Initial drilling and logging operations are expected to take approximately 20 days and a further RNS will be issued prior to commencing any sidetrack.

The Company intends that 14/15-4 will be the final well it operates during the current drilling campaign.

Holding both at present i can more upside in Desire so thats my largest holding at present.

Appraisal of Sea Lion and exploration of Beverly double yummy

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Marky
Avsec where your stomping ground?

After a few years of debauchery in the NE, I had to move South for the day job!

Now trying to drink all the produce of my cider orchards in Deepest, Darkest Zummerset!

Had a 'Newton' moment today when the apple came down - and Rockhopper went up! 253 at close I think!

Nice to see this climbing as this is my numer uno stock !.....

THat's through 270 - way to go!

An interesting article yesterday......

Date: Thursday 01 Dec 2011


Rockhopper Exploration is, perhaps, the most intriguing stock on the AIM exchange. Taken in isolation this oil exploration company, with a market capitalisation of 745m, is interesting in its own right.

Rockhopper cannot, however, be taken in isolation because its interests in the seas off the Falkland Islands and its success, so far, in discovering perhaps 400m barrels of oil make it politically as well as commercially fascinating.

Rockhopper was formed in 2004 with the express aim of finding oil in the pre-historic river basins which lie to the north of the Falklands Islands and which are now covered by the bitter waters of the South Atlantic.

In April 2010 the company achieved its objective with well 14/10-2 in the Sea Lion basin, the first discovery of oil in the Falkland Islands.

Tests showed this first well flowing at a rate of 2,000 barrels of oil per day. A subsequent well dug two kilometres away then showed possible flow rates of 2,700 barrels of per day. Earlier in 2011 one well was flow tested at 5,500 barrels per day.

The mid case estimate for the amount of oil is now 389m barrels of recoverable oil. With black gold currently selling for around $110 per barrel the Sea Lion discovery could yield a value in excess of $4bn.

Its these numbers which have pushed Rockhopper shares up 435% since April last year. In fact, some might expect Rockhopper to be valued even higher than its current 264.5p. Thus, EVO Securities has a target price of 450p, while analysts at Merchant Securities are aiming at 428p.

The trouble is several questions surround Rockhoppers prospects.

The most significant, according to Andrew Matharu, Head of Oil & Gas at West House Securities, is that a mini Aberdeen would need to be built on the Falkland Islands to handle the vast amount of oil that would be pumped up from the ocean floor.

The construction of industrial grade infrastructure in-and-around Port Stanley may cost 2bn. Finding finance for such a large development will be a particular challenge for Rockhopper in the current climate.

The second problem is that whoever does decide to take on the infrastructure project will face a deafening silence from Argentina which for obvious reasons is not expected to provide any logistical support. Given the isolated position of the Falkland Islands this will increase complexity and cost.

It is also possible (if unlikely) that Argentina may be militarily provoked when it finds hundreds of millions of dollars in oil money being made on its doorstep, in territory it considers its own.

Rockhopper, in other words, is no racing certainty. Raising money could be difficult, putting in the infrastructure will be technically challenging and if the neighbours get shirty then things really would get choppy.

Recent, further discoveries of oil, however, are firming up the belief that Rockhopper could really make it to full production of the Sea Lion basin.

Early in November the company dug well 14/10-9 which firmed up expectations of achieving the mid case scenario of 389m barrels.

Merchant Securities believes this latest discovery was a critical development: because the primary investment thesis for Rockhopper is about value recognition. We do not need more exploration success; we need only to firm-up the mid-case estimate.

I find the following paragraph a very good reason to stick with my FKL shares because the F.I.C. will be the prime mover here - owning the land and resources for the development.

QUOTE
The most significant, according to Andrew Matharu, Head of Oil & Gas at West House Securities, is that a mini Aberdeen would need to be built on the Falkland Islands to handle the vast amount of oil that would be pumped up from the ocean floor.

The construction of industrial grade infrastructure in-and-around Port Stanley may cost 2bn. Finding finance for such a large development will be a particular challenge for Rockhopper in the current climate.
UNQUOTE

Glad you said that Avsec, as i was beginning to wonder why i hold FKL. Now i can see a reason. btw, not far from your cider tree's up here in sunny Glos.

Rockhopper Exploration switches focus to engineering and financing after Falkland drilling success

Rockhopper Exploration (LON:RKH) today said that its Falkland drilling campaign has been very successful as it has established the Sea Lion discovery as a world-class asset.

The appraisal and exploration drilling is now coming to an end, with the final well currently in progress. Subsequently Rockhopper is focussing on engineering and financing as it moves towards a final investment decision for a future oilfield development.

This could involve bringing in a new partner, it said in this mornings interim results statement.

Rockhopper explained that it has prepared a data room for potential industry partners and debt providers to assess Sea Lion discovery.

We continue in the rare position of holding 100 per cent of what we are proving up to be a world-class asset, which makes a range of options available to us, said chairman Dr Pierre Jungels.

Having established that the field is commercial and that it will be developed, we will now look to proving how, and potentially with whom, best to achieve such a development.

Rockhopper said that following the recent appraisal drilling it will revise its oil-in-place estimates for Sea Lion, which currently stand at 1.2 billion barrels in the mid-case scenario. It subsequently plans to complete a new competent persons report by the end of March.

Meanwhile it said that its engineering work is proceeding to plan. It expects concept screening and concept engineering to be completed by year end. This will provide the firm with a sound basis to start the pre-selection of front-end engineering and design early next year, it said.

Furthermore it said that it has made a promising start to the financing process. According to Rockhopper it has been well received by all of the lending banks it has held introductory conversations with.

The company must complete its oil-in-place estimates and come up with detailed development costs and a timetable for first oil before it can progress to the next stage of financing talks, it said.

For this piece to progress to the next stage we need to conclude on our volumes in place and then work up the detailed development costs and timings expected to get to first oil.

Rockhopper chief executive Sam Moody said: The group continues to look at a variety of means of financing the Sea Lion development including lending banks and potential industry partners.

Costs for the development will depend on decisions such as whether a purchased or leased FPSO is used or whether the field development is by a full field or phased approach.

He added: The group has sufficient funds to get comfortably to a final investment decision in relation to the Sea Lion field.

Inevitably as drilling activity draws to a conclusion and the main focus of the group will shift from the field appraisal to the engineering, regulatory and financing aspects of the field development.

.

Surely that's inevitable? The speculators who chase the drillbit will lose interest and the likelihood of increased debt are going to slow things down a bit. Of course they have a very attractive asset which should tempt a potential partener, but the pioneering exploration is done.

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"currently stand at 1.2 billion barrels in the mid-case scenario."....if you include this well they are drilling at present then the last update to this figure above was 2 wells ago so plenty of upside to that figure above.

Also like this quote

We continue in the rare position of holding 100 per cent of what we are proving up to be a world-class asset, which makes a range of options available to us, said chairman Dr Pierre Jungels.

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It does that,glad am going down my mine today far to windy today.

Canaccord note:
Alongside its interim results, Rockhoppper Exploration revealed that recent engineering work suggests the Sea Lion oil field offshore the Falkland Islands should be produced using 18 wells spread across three drill centres. This compares with the companys previous expectation that the field would be developed with 24 production wells from four subsea manifolds and, as a consequence, plateau production guidance has been reduced by approximately 25% to 80,000 90,000 b/d.

At least in part, we understand the reduction in the number of drill centres has been driven by well 14/10-8, which encountered water. Hence, there will be no need for any production wells in that area of the reservoir. Meanwhile, it seems that dynamic reservoir modelling work undertaken by Rockhopper has indicated that ultimate oil recovery from Sea Lion will be maximised if the plateau production rate is reduced

Changes reduce the value of field but not by much.
Even after reducing our capital expenditure forecast by US$600 million, the lower production rate has reduced our estimate of Sea Lions net present value. Using an oil price of US$87.50 flat real allied to a 12% discount rate, we now think it is worth US$4,088 million rather than US$4,553 million. Nonetheless, the new figure still translates into 899p/share, which is considerably more than the current stock price, and Rockhopper retains significant net cash.