Right I havent beleived in investing directly in an oil company untill today and in the last few months have been investing in OIL SERVICE companys Hamworthy and Corac, you know the picks and shovels tale.

Anyway after doing a lot of research I really feel that SOCO INTERNATIONAL SIA as been left behind in the mass bull market on oil companies.

Forget, Burren, Regal, Dana and the rest in my opinion this is the one to be on.

So.....why buy Soco now?

Four inter-related reasons:

1) Newsflow is now very much in sight on several fronts. None of it has yet emerged though, so analysts have yet to revisit their old views and recommendations. There was, and indeed remains, a chance to get in before serious interest picks up again.

2) There is, IMO, a decent chance of some very large price rises within the next 6 months, accompanied by increased downside protection. Once newsflow starts, the shares will come back onto institutional radar screens - you can wait for it to emerge, or you can speculate now at what I think will prove to be a lower price -perhaps much lower!

3) The market thinks there is nothing happening and has gone to sleep on the prospects. You can see this in the broadly sideways drift and very low volumes on most days [until this week]. They are wrong. Yemen and perhaps Mongolia should provide some near-term good news.

4) The time to buy is when no-one else seems very interested.

And heres the last results from the company......................

Soco International PLC
02 September 2004

SOCO International plc

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2004

SOCO is an international oil and gas exploration and production company,
headquartered in London. The Company has interests in Vietnam, Mongolia, Yemen,
Libya, Tunisia and Thailand, with production operations in Yemen, Tunisia and
Mongolia. SOCO today announces interim results for the half year ended 30 June
2004.

HIGHLIGHTS

Operating profit of 4.1 million (2003: 4.2 million)

Net profit of 2.0 million (2003: 2.5 million)

Earnings per share of 2.9p (2003: 3.6p)

Cash balance of 26.7 million at half year end

Finalised the sale of an interest in ODEX creating a consortium of SOCO
(34%), Oilinvest (46%) and Gazprombank (20%) in the special purpose
entity to progress initiatives in Libya and other countries

Continued reinterpretation of existing 3D seismic and acquisition of 650
sq km of new 3D seismic in Vietnam prior to commencement of drilling in
Q1 2005

3D seismic programme completed in Mongolia with two wells drilled, both
apparent discoveries, and a third well spudded

First ever deviated Basement well drilling in East Shabwa in Yemen



Ed Story, President and Chief Executive of SOCO, said:

'Following an extended period of quiet preparation, the release of interim
results coincides with the commencement of a very active drilling programme for
SOCO, one that I believe has company transforming potential'

2 September 2004

ENQUIRIES:
SOCO International plc Tel: 020 7457 2020 (today)ENDS.

This could really be a craking stock and is worth getting in at these lowly price figures.

Please DYOR

cheers GF.

Worth a punt

Cheers.

mickeyskint

Please don't be put off on my account as SIA may have a bright future. Unfortunately, as regards my previous research, I am between houses and it is all stored in boxes, the location of which completely escapes me. ;-(

The fundamentals may have changed since I last took a close look at them, so pls DYOR and make a judgement then. GF seems to have done some.

The only other thing I'll add is that SIA made a monumental recovery, price-wise, since it plummeted in during '98/'99, whereas its "peers" I also took an interest in back then, i.e. JKX, DNX, CNE, etc have only really made that comeback this year. You could argue SIA was well ahead of itself in the intervening years, but you could also argue it was better positioned and the fall well overdone, whereas the rest weren't. The rest have also made some good discoveries, e.g. CNE, or sorted out their problems, e.g. JKX.

I'd like to see it break above 400p, because the past few year's may then be viewed as a long period on consolidation and technically a CNE type re-rating could occur.

Either way, always look at things yourself rather than taking any view on a BB.

Cheers,
Al

"Three ways to sock it at Soco"
GF here is the article

SOCCO int is the oil sectors fogotton stock of 2004, In a sector full of shooting stars, it has improved by less than 10% to 328.5.
The reason is simple. it hit 4 two years ago as hopes soared for its offshore Vietnam drilling on a block between two major Discoveries.
But an important well provided inconclusive and Soco had to go back and puzzle over its seismic studies for clues to the shape of an oil baring reservoir. Now it is ready to return, with up to six wells over 15 months from January. In Mongolia, Soco has 85% of a big licence area and a string of small finds. they add upto a modest 500 barrels a day, but this could be stepped up sharply if it brought in a powerful partner.The reigon adjoins oil hungry China, which is drilling extensively on its side of the border.. A Deal seems sensible. Im Yemen, Soco has prospects it sees as similar to vietnam. The next drilling news is due in November. The pace is picking up and its well- regarded team is due a bit of luck. WORTH A PUNT

Troys

Thanking you very much Troys.

cheers GF.

Pleasure GF

Sudden increase in interest from buyers this morning!

Didnt go up as much as I was expecting, never mind still plenty of time.

cheers GF.

Article from yesterdays Oilbarrel.com:

02.11.2004
SOCO Sticks With Mongolia - And Finds A New Oil Field
Mongolia may not figure in most peoples list of prospective oil provinces but London-quoted SOCO International remains convinced of the countrys hydrocarbon potential. Indeed, the companys latest batch of wells in this rank exploration territory has unearthed further, if modest, amounts of oil, which SOCO plans to put on to pilot production as soon as practically possible in order to exploit the current high price environment.

SOCO, which operates three blocks in the Tamstag Basin of eastern Mongolia, has completed a four-well exploration campaign to the north of the producing Tolson Uul field, resulting in a new discovery, the Tolson Uul North field. All four wells encountered hydrocarbons: two have been completed for a pilot production programme, one has possible formation damage and the fourth will be completed in 2005.

Eastern Mongolia, close to the border with China, is a truly isolated and bleak region with a climate so harsh it forces an operational shut-down during the inhospitable winter months. Yet as the SOCO management likes to point out, the area is home to a proven petroleum system and adjacent to one of the worlds largest, and most voracious, consumers of oil. Besides, the oil industry has a track record of pumping crude from inhospitable corners of the world - Alaska, Sakhalin and the Atlantic Margin spring to mind. The only problem facing SOCO in Mongolia is that it has yet to strike an oil deposit of such scale to justify the extra costs of working in such a remote location.

The discovery of oil in the Zuunbayan formation last year, however, has raised hopes for the regions hydrocarbon potential. The Zuunbayan continues into China where a major discovery was made in the adjacent Hailar Basin in 2003. And in contrast with the Tsagaantsav interval in which SOCOs previous discoveries have been made, the Zuunbayan reservoir is of better quality, with less waxy crude and higher gas content.

The latest SOCO wells were a mix of Zuunbayan and Tsagaantsav discoveries and all four found hydrocarbons. Well 19-20 encountered good oil shows in the Tsagaantsav formation and flowed about 70 barrels of oil per day (bpd). Well 19-21 encountered good oil shows in the Zuunbayan and the Tsagaantsav formations, flowing 120 bpd. Well 19-22 also encountered good oil shows in the Tsagaantsav but downhole problems mean the well will require further evaluation and will be completed next year. The final well of the 2004 programme, the 19-23, encountered good oil shows in the Zuunbayan formation and extended the productive area of the basin some 9 km to the north. The 19-23 well was completed but initial test results indicate reservoir damage and it has been suspended for further evaluation.

The success of our exploratory drilling programme in Mongolia this year increases our confidence in the reserve potential of the Tamstag Basin, said chief executive Ed Story. We will integrate the technical data from this years drilling programme to improve our understanding of the highly prospective but complex area.

SOCO holds 85 per cent of Contract Areas 19, 21 and 22, with its Chinese drilling contractor holding a 10 per cent stake and PetroVietnam, the state oil company of Vietnam, enjoying an exploration free-carry for its 5 per cent share. SOCO has a pilot production project in the area, which pumps around 350 bpd with the crude trucked out to a pipeline terminal at the Aershan field in China. SOCO hopes to lift this number and further develop the Tolson Uul field.

Increased oil flows will give the company the scale to enjoy improved economies and reinvest the increased cash stream in more aggressive drilling and development work. Given neighbouring Chinas burgeoning demand for oil, a large strike here could see SOCO well placed for a highly profitable development. As always, however, the proof lies with the drillbit.

Excellent post gav, this one will perform, its a case of patience as always.

cheers GF.

Goldfinger,

Agree, patience is required here. Next year should be a big year for us. Planning on holding this for quite a while.

An article on Oilvoice from last Friday. Won't post the whole article as not much new in it. But on the same page there are links to other Soco related articles. Makes interesting reading.

http://www.oilvoice.com/m/uploadDetail_public.asp?upload_ID=2804

The ConocoPhillps article re doubling production in block 15-1 in Vietnam to 140k bbopd by 2007 makes good reading.

Cheers

Gav

Thanks gavdfc

Very interesting readin Gav, many thanks.

cheers gf.

Thanks gavdfc.

Personally, I think Vietnam is the key. The massive rise in the share price a few years back was based on that acreage coming up trumps and it remains unproven. A bit more drilling there is the news required IMO and, if good, 4 goes and the world's your oyster!!

BigAL, we will make it big with this one, its just being calm collected and confident.

No Problems.

Cheers GF.

GF

Dipped my toe in last week. Looks a promising stock !! LOL

Glad your on board Troys.

cheers GF.

Drilling & assessment take time
How long?

I can't guess.

Patience should pay off.

Here's a link to Conoco's activities in Vietnam if anyone wants to have a look.

http://www.conocophillips.com/about/reports/factbook/e-p.pdf

Agree with Al that Vietnam will be an important driver in success here. Planned 3 well drilling program early next year with the option of another 3. Taken from this years interims re Vietnam:

"Approximately 650 square
kilometres of new 3D seismic was acquired over several leads and prospects,
which appear similar to recent significant discoveries in adjacent blocks in the
Cuu Long Basin, in both Block 9-2 and Block 16-1. The newly acquired data is
currently being processed and will be available for interpretation in the near
future."

But Vietnam's not the only prospect here, Mongolia, Yeman, Tunisia and Libya are areas that Soco are active in. Plenty to keep the patient investor happy with over the next few years. More detail on these prospects in the interims for this year.


http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200409021507115528C.html

Cheers

Gav

Interesting article on Libya in Oil and Gas Journal.

http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_CATEGORY=GenIn&ARTICLE_ID=215176