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

going down again

I think many limits were broken without warning. It will be healthier now. 72 to come IMO

ahoj, what u mean 72?

Just what we needed on a day like this. errr... not! Just about puts the tin hat on things today.


LONDON (AFX) - Hardman Resources Ltd said production at the Woodside-operated Chinguetti oil field, offshore Mauritania, for the period May 1-10 has fallen to an average of 45 mbopd due to a 'minimal contribution from the two production wells in the northern part of the field and gas and water management issues.'

Production from the field averaged 66 mbopd for the month of March and 53 mbopd for April, according to Hardman

Production from Chinguetti is not expected to increase significantly from the present level until well intervention or additional drilling takes place, Hardman said, adding that 'such remedial actions are currently anticipated by end of the third quarter or beginning of the fourth quarter 2006.'

The company said the failure last week of a gas compressor onboard the floating production, storage, and off-loading vessel Berge Helene will further delay the commissioning of gas re-injection to the Banda field and therefore resolution of gas handling issues, as well as the availability of gas lift to support production.

The group stressed that 'anticipated operating cashflows from Mauritania will remain robust given high current oil price realisations despite the lower production from Chinguetti.'

$72 for oil which might move SEY to 72p. Who knows when, maybe this year.

If you look at the shares that dropped the most today it was the ones which have risen the most recently.Twice as manys sells as buys. I think the post about mm's dropping the price and stop-losses being taken out, which in turn gives the mm's another reason to drop the price i.e. more sells was a good one. However, there's no doubt also some profit-taking. I've been watching sey since about 19p, this current rise seemed to accelerate from about 23-24p so it's been one hell of a rise very quickly. Profit-taking's inevitable I would guess.

I suppose it depends what happens in America today for a start. Optomistically, it could just be a blip which clears out the hype and gives the market a stronger base from which to start its next run up, but I wouldn't like to bet on it. I think as long as the shares one holds have good valuations then they should recover okay.

Yes and no. Oil price risen from average $50 to $70 recently. SEY should move at least 50% to reflect that. I'm not considering future developements.

I assume any rise in oil price is pure profit for oil producing companies like SEY -thier expences won't change with oil price.

Yes, but it depends on whether sey have hedging in place. Most oils do. The only company I know of that doesn't is dana. The rest are locked into agreements where they sell oil and gas at a guaranteed level for a period as insurance against falling prices. Also, it depends if concerted opinion in the oil industry is prepared to countenance long term oil prices of 50 70 $. I think it is only this year that they've begun to base their calculations on oil at 40$. I may be wrong on this point. They want to experience the price at a higher level for a longish time before they're prepared to price it accordingly or make deals, for example take overs based on a higher price.

Remember since the spike of the early 80s when oil was slightly higher than it is now, it has had a long general period in the dolldrums, throughout the 80s and 90s. Even after the 2003 iraq war oil was only about 25$ I think, so it's only been rising for 3 years, not enough for the oil companies to bet on when compared to the last two decades. An interesting footnote to this is how it has affected Britain's oil. During the 80 and 90 s when oil was at 10$ - 15$ a barrell, britain was obviously getting a poor price for its oil compared to now. However, the coming onto the market of north sea oil was ironically one of the reasons why the oil price was so low. The finding of such giant fields plus Norway's flooded the market. In response Saudi Arabia also increased output partly to help America as did Britain. Norway, on the other hand, did not yield to American pressure and extracted the oil more slowly (partly because the population was 90% smaller) so they are now benefiting from the increased price for a barrel of oil. If the leaders at the time had only had a bit of foresight and a more long term view Britain would be reaping the benefits economically now. Ah well...

And just for the record, Saudi is not pumping at remotely full capacity either ...... Aramco are holding off expanding existing sites etc, despite their protestations to the contrary

Lets lay the argument about who has control over the Kurdistan or indeed any other oilfields in Iraq to rest. Article 108 of the constitution states that producing fields come under the Federal government while new fields are the responsibility of the regional government. That means what Sterling have with the regional government of Kurdistan in relation to its MOU and Sterlings right to negotiate a PSA is legal and binding.
If anyone wants to read the full article then follow the following link:

http://www.krg.org/

Otherwise the relevant piece is as follows:

Article-108 of the Constitution of Iraq affirms that the federal government and the oil producing regions together will manage oil fields currently in commercial production. The revenue of this oil is to be distributed equitably among all regions and all people of Iraq.

But new oil fields, those not at commercial production at the time of the drafting of the Constitution, will remain the management responsibility of the regional governments where they are located. These governments will make the management decisions regarding investments and also the contractual arrangements regarding exploration and production.

as chico said

its buy time

well i have and to hold until death (or market collapse) us do part!

in fact, i bought some more MRP this morning when I meant MPH (which I also then bought!), so i hope my stupidity is not highlighted in due course!

fido,

Thanks for the information re Kurdistan.

Nice recovery this afternoon, and this morning's dip may have provided a good buying opportunity for the brave IMO.

May be of a little worth

fido don`t know if you have already but it is worth subscribing to KRG web site for the daily news letter.

Bit more on Kurdistan

Regards

Interesting piece in his speech Dr Square. Indicates that the regional government has the right to ocntrol all new drilling and exploitation. Could be good for SEY. Good post - thanks.

'Article-108 of the Constitution of Iraq affirms that the federal government and the oil producing regions together will manage oil fields currently in commercial production. The revenue of this oil is to be distributed equitably among all regions and all people of Iraq.

But new oil fields, those not at commercial production at the time of the drafting of the Constitution, will remain the management responsibility of the regional governments where they are located. These governments will make the management decisions regarding investments and also the contractual arrangements regarding exploration and production.'

In my opinion the turmoils of the last few days has been more to do with speculators than the companies themselves. With the oil sector having been driven to new highs the speculators decided it was time for a fall and massive shorting positions were built up against all oil companies. The fall duly arrived and as is the norm stocks like Sterling became oversold. We are now seeing a rise back to fair value before the uptrend resumes. On a general note, the oil sector is in a long term uptrend and Sterling has some of the most exciting prospects within this sector. Sterlings fall was more to do with Hardmans projections for the Mauritania operation where they were predicting 75K bopd as opposed to Sterlings 55K bopd. My understanding is that the fall in bopd is more to do with equipment failure and some technical difficulty`which are now being resolved asap. Also our chairman is correct in saying that in any new production there is a learning curve and it takes a little time before flow rates are optimised. As such, what problems there are are only temporary and 75k bopd is still on for the near term.
With regard Kurdistan, there is a lot of international investment coming into that area and it is doing this because the prospects are so good. Sterling are already in position and in the months ahead it will be seen what a fantastic move that was on the part of Sterling. Also Kurdistan proves what excellent dealmakers we have in our board and I am looking forward to more excellent deals to be done. Sterling are one of the best long term plays on the market and are destined to become a much bigger company.

you dont half get around old fido

lol

deadfred, but in terms of buying equities, is this the right time? I just feel that it cant be. and we should stay away until things stabilise. i am desperate to get in sey with next salary. but im not sure whether i will b e stung as i have been over last two bloody days!!!!

jameel06

Listen to your gut feeling. All the information available can not be digested fully so your brain tells you without the light bulb going on sometimes. Just my view. If you are not sure don`t do it. SEY will be here next month / year etc you may miss a bit of profit or a bit of loss so what. Be sure of your investments.

By the way look at the split between assets for SEY. GOM % and Mauritania %

Regards

$ is up, but Oil price hasn't fallen. It's good for oil producing companies IMO