.

FT Alphaville oil 'sector watcher' says:

.......XEL has drawn down a further 6m of its SEDA facility, leaving it with 24m still available. It means the group has now raised 47m in share issues this year as it continues to progress its Bentley heavy oilfield development in the North Sea. The well currently drilling ahead for the group is certainly a crucial one as it will determine whether or not the viscous crude is able to flow to surface, with the results of a test due by the end of this month. With P50 and P10 estimated reserves of 160m and 235m barrels respectively, and a much larger oil column than prognosed, a successful well-test suggests there is still material upside for the group.At an NPV of $5-6/barrel and assuming the P10 reserves case, the company could be worth over 600p/share. However given recent share price strength, I'd retain some amount of caution ahead of the well result. ........

Finished up in Canada last night, hence the spike this morning. Hopefully Canada will pull this up again today as the "buy in" starts for those wanting to be long when results come out.

,,,,lndeedy Mr. P .. ! duly noted that salient point myself Pros; but thank you for bringing it to the attention of thread . Optimism breeds optimism as they say . l do not know if you have noticed but it would seem the bourses and investors alike in typical hi profile mining / resource countries like Canada, Australia and South Africa seem to place greater value and emphasis on these type of stocks than Brit counterparts ..../ momentum of Canada rise reflected in todays mkt ....Loooks like MMS want stock ....,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Good to see it tick up, the weather or should i say the winds up there looking good in the short term.......Am sure the lads dont mind a bit snow!!!!

Intresting week next week with XEL,DES,RKH

Rumour mill says the well is now complete.

If the well completion is done and she is undergoing final checks before calling the tanker it marks a moment when risk is again reduced............. the finish line is now in sight.

15p up.....perhaps a rns coming, ahead of schedule ?...

more likely just the lemmings getting over-frisky

20p up now.....must be very over-frisky...

With flow test due to start Sun or Mon this will be shorters closing. They cannot afford to have shorts on if someone from the rig or tanker "leaks" that the first day she flowed at 2000 barrels or something.

They have to close today and thats why the buying pressure is on.

So much potential for flow leaks next week that shorts will have to be closed of by end of play today.

I would have thought that there would not be any shorts on at all....must be bonkers, or not following the charts at all.

Pro you have played a blinder here so far and called it correct,can you sprinkle your magic dust over Desire as well.I guess my coal dust aint working.

currently, volume is low (<1m) but presuambly MMs are short of stock and hence the disproportionate rise ...... my usual caveat remains on the table, and it was good to see (i thought anyway) that wily bird (old cock?)TFC concurred

marky, DES will be drilling through the target zones Sunday/Monday - I expect wild excitement there from Monday onwards - dust sprinkle over the weekend.

xel currently trading up 27p ......Have you have been feeding those frisky lemmings your viagra again Cynners ....?..{ juste teasing }.............l'oriflamme is in play !

Could easily hit 320p at a guess by monday......most people expect a good result....

Pro

I am a lot more relaxed on this drill than any other, I have not been told of any problems so far and very hopeful of a good oil find.

I will be biting at the bit on Wednesday as I am leaving my mine and going to have a look down another one in Scotland for a few days so will be blind and exposed so I hope your magic dust works good luck

i know what "l'oriflamme" is/was (no 1/4 given in battle) but what is its relevance here?

relavence being that i have decided to see this battle through to the bitter end as opposed to grabbing as much booty and plunder as i can and leaving the battle whilst still in progress ....in other words awaiting the well results and going for bust rather than playing the %'S and fleeing ....and your good self Cynners . You still "in" or sold up on todays nice rise ?

i hope you don't run into the same gory end as your compatriots at Agincourt then, for i think that was last time it was flown - by "your" King Louis too!

as for me, i sold a few this morning for a modest profit but still hold more than i did 7/10 days ago ..... i may sell some more later this afternoon, but assuredly not all as i think a positive result is odds-on

Opened a S/B position here yesterday, awful spread, but then to be expected. Considering switching to CFDs for shares rather than S/Bs which offer DMA, however, commision, interest on long positions and CGT don't really appeal.