http://www.gulfkeystone.com/ The firms exploration programme in Algeria is going well and "the shares look good value", say the Investors Chronicle. Your comments please. goal.

http://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Middle-East/Baghdad-is-Losing-Iraqi-Kurdistan-Empowered-by-Oil-and-Gas.html

With an estimated 45 billion barrels of oil and perhaps as much as 6 trillion of cubic meters of gas, Iraqi Kurdistan is using smaller companies to develop its resources... while gradually luring in the big oil majors, despite threats from Baghdad.

For the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Northern Iraq, it’s all about control:

1. vis-à-vis the central Iraqi government,
2. over the oil and gas resources on its territory, and thus,
3. setting the stage for independence.

And so far, the KRG has the advantage.

How do we know this? Oil majors like ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total are willing to sign deals with the KRG at risk of losing big contracts with Baghdad.

Another indicator is—Baghdad has finally released its first tranche of payments for oil arrears owed to foreign companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan. The situation was untenable for both sides, with Baghdad not paying for past exports and the KRG halting exports to Iraq in April in response. That means less Iraqi oil exports, and less foreign currency coming in.

It is important to keep in mind that when Iraq announced in August that production had reached its highest levels in 30 years, this was in no small part because the KRG had resumed exports from its fields, temporarily.

Map of Kurdistan

In September, the KRG and the Iraqi central government ratified an agreement to this end, prompting the KRG to resume exports, tentatively. On 8 October, Baghdad paid the KRG US$558.9 million, and the KRG pledged to keep the crude flowing.

Whether exports continue to flow will depend on whether Baghdad pays its second tranche—which is about half the first amount—on time.

For now, exports from Kurdistan are at about 170,000bpd, with Turkey’s Genel Energy, the lead producer in the region, contributing 110,000bpd of that output. If the deal remains in place and Baghdad pays the outstanding $857 million owed for foreign companies, the KRG plans to boost production to 200,000bdp for the rest of 2012.

Sorry to say that more downside on the cards, imo.

Whats the bottom going to be here looks to be heading for the 150p mark?..

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a95ad81a-16eb-11e2-8989-00144feabdc0.html#axzz29XkdsNWq

LOL

Unreliable witness ?

GKP themselves say Shaikan and AB are worth "little" ???

LOL


..............Mr Picken told the court that Mr Kozel had opted to withdraw claims that he had dispatched and personally handed letters to Ashti Hawrami, KRG’s minister of natural resources, which made the point in late 2007 that Excalibur should be allowed to participate in its oilfield deals.
In previous proceedings Mr Kozel had highlighted this letter to argue that Gulf Keystone had made efforts to include Excalibur in its dealings.
However, Mr Picken said: “Todd Kozel’s evidence had been that Dr Hawrami required a copy of the letter and that it could not be found.” This led Gulf Keystone to “create” a version of the letter in 2009.
Mr Kozel now accepted that the letter might never have been sent or handed to the minister in support of Excalibur’s participation in the PSC consortium, Mr Picken told the court. He added that Mr Kozel last week amended his witness statement, in that his recollections of writing and delivering a letter to the KRG minister in December 2007 on behalf of Excalibur’s interests were now incorrect.

Mr Picken added that valuations conducted by Excalibur’s own advisers suggested that Gulf Keystone’s main asset, its share in the Shaikhan block in Iraqi Kurdistan, was worth $5.2bn while its share in another block, Akri-Bijeel, was worth $395m more.
However, Mr Picken added that Gulf Keystone had placed a substantially lower value on the blocks but that it had been agreed between both sides that Excalibur would not reveal this alternative estimate at present.......

A couple of snippets from todays hearing?

Courtesy of poster B19400 on iii:

"Afternoon session better attended. Todd and others from GKP here (only JBG here this morning).

SP finishes his opening. Not surprisingly Exc is asking for 30% of everything. The bottom line valuation from their expert is quite a healthy figure!! It did not include the deeper assets of Sh. SP was obliging to requests to be careful, and so I won't reveal the figure - sorry.

MC opened for TKI. Showing that Exc were a one man band, with neither financial or technical abilities to be a party to a PSC. He is showing that some of conclusions that SP arrived at are misconceived.

Might be 10am or 10:30 tomorrow. No sitting on Friday."

and


Judge to Pickens

"seems like you want to have your cake and eat it "

How odd, Proseleneses and grannyboy appear on the same thread on the same day within hours of each other. No secret proseleneses is not a supporter of this company.

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2012/10/17/Maliki-mulls-ditching-Exxon-for-Russians/UPI-23581350488674/

Exxon getting kicked out of West Qurna soon ?

Russians coming in and Iraq buying lots of Russian military hardware....... all to be used on Kurdistan before too long ?? We shall see.

Certainly this will really piss the USA off, as if the Russians come in and with Iranian support then Kurdistan is pretty powerless and will be "sorted" out by the Iraqi's with nothing the USA can do about it if Russia get involved now.

from imitch37 on iii who attended court today:

Evening all. Was there today with at least 20 others. Don't know how many where BB members. Spoke to few investors, but didn't know who they were. Please make an effort to go if you can.
Yes, TK new Rex well, had exchanges mainly through e-mails. Name of EXC. was on draft contract initially. However, the KRG didn't want them a party to the contract because Rex didn't have the financial or the technichal ability. Contracts were changed to exclude Exc. and by his own admission to TK, Rex was not bothered at the time.
When the lawyer for Texas started, he cut straight to the chace, he was very direct and confident. He even asked the Judge to dismiss the case (Anyone that was there, please correct me if I misheard).
Honestly speaking, I think GKP has a very very strong case as there was no wrong doing. KRG didn't want Exc. Period.
The figure that was mentioned apart from the 5.2 is lets say double figures. How and why they arrived at that, I have no idea.
Exc. no cake and no eating am afraid.


Proselenes Sqelched for being pathetic.

yet more tosh i'm afraid ..... it's as intelligent a prediction as saying that al qaeda will give maasive support to argentina to invade FI once more

LOL.

Russia already sold over 4 billion worth of arms to Iraq from early October - FACT.

Another big deal very soon for much much more military hardware - FACT


Some people really do not like facts.


Next you will be saying the invasion of Iraq was all about WMD and not about oil.......... ;)

Get with it...........

USA companies invade Kurdistan to grab the oil after USA leaves Iraq with no military hardware.

Makes sense therefore to slam the USA plan and get in bed with the Russians and Iranians and kick the USA companies out by force........ a la take Kurdistan by force....... its part of Iraq and therefore an "internal issue".

The Russian arms deals is all over the news........ perhaps just ignored by the Kurdy rampers........ ???

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/10/201210105153985484.html


.

It will go below 200p... around 150p.

get a life P! ...... the russians and chinese and americans for that matter have been supporting various factions in the region for at least the last two decades .... before that, uk and france did similarly ...... now al qaeda does its bit too, though they will assuredly be strongly supported by other outside nations

hyleo - you continue to gob off as usual, without even a sentence to support your prognostication .... for sure if GKP lose the current court case, their shares will tank, but i doubt if you have any clue at all, other than pure guesswork, which way the judgment will go ...... while accepting that the law is rarely just let alone logical, the bits and pieces i have read + the history of the action, indicate to me that excalibur is nothing but a bunch of carpetbaggers who look much more likely to lose than to win

http://www.iraqoilreport.com/oil/production-exports/exxon-to-start-drilling-in-disputed-kurdish-blocks-9062/

Exxon to start drilling in disputed Kurdish blocks
Contrary to Baghdad's claims that Exxon's KRG contracts are "frozen," the company is spending a quarter-billion dollars and will spud its first well this year.


The view from the drilling platform at Shaikan 5 exploration well, operated by Gulf Keystone Petroleum. (SEBASTIAN MEYER/Metrography/Iraq Oil Report)
By Ben Lando of Iraq Oil Report
Published October 18, 2012 ExxonMobil has signed contracts to drill in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region by the end of this year, despite claims by Baghdad officials that the company has vowed to "freeze" its controversial contracts.

Exxon has spent or allocated a quarter-billion dollars for exploration, drilling and other work and supplies in Iraq's Kurdistan region, according to an official with knowledge of Exxon and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The company "will start moving dirt in December,"...

A couple of posts about this mornings CC.



Re: Court 15 - IV

B19400
21UP
MC spent the morning going over that various clauses of the CA, moving on to post PSC conduct. By not having funds, any funds, Excalibur are in material breach of the contract.

As an observation, the judge questioned a number of SP's arguments in the previous days. Conversely he has agreed with points that MC has made.

Todd Kozel, John B. Gerstenlauer and Tony Peart together with Strand Hanson’s Simon Raggett in attendance this morning. Both Wempen brothers here too. NB RW was not present to hear MC open yesterday.

Lunch break now. Back in at 14:05.

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



from iii....came out just before the lunch break at court (2 different posters).

______

...Rex, when confronted with the timeline for raising his 30%, ended up trying to negotiate with Todd, a buyout of his 30% share in the following terms- todd/gkp pay 5million for 85% of the 30%,leaving Rex with 15% of 30%. Then his brother asked him how they would manage to fund this remainder. Apparently, the discussion continued with Rex lowering the 5million. Struggling to raise even a relatively small amount it seems?

At the same time, Rex was also trying to get MOL to buy them out of their supposed share... For 5million...at which point Todd was hastily summoned for a meeting with MOL.

_____


It has also come out just before the break for lunch that they tried to sell their interest knowing that they could not raise the necessary funds in time, evidence contained within emails between the wempens states, to gkp for 5 million but unknown to todd, they got their lawyers to contract mol re: same sale, this peed off mol as they had had doubts re exc. Which todd had tried to address.

Addition: Forgot to add the wempens did not look happy as they came out for lunch, and they went straight into the consultation room with Simon picken (goodness that man has an unusual voice)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/18/gulf-keystone-court-idUSL5E8LIO4O20121018

And NO they're not being throw out.


UPDATE 1-Exxon seeks to quit Iraq's W.Qurna oilfield project -diplomats
18 Oct 2012 - 15:38

LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil wants to leave its flagship Iraqi oil project after upsetting Baghdad by signing a deal last year with the autonomous northern Kurdish region, which the central government deemed illegal. It wants to leave its contract to develop the giant West Qurna-1 oilfield in southern Iraq , diplomatic sources said on Thursday, because of concerns over the profitability of the project. Exxon has informed Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani and the U.S. State Department of its intentions, said two U.S. officials. "Exxon is telling Baghdad: 'We are letting you know we're looking to leave,'" one of the diplomats said. "They are shopping around and looking at all the options. Shahristani declined to say whether Exxon was pulling out, but told Reuters in an email that Baghdad was sticking to its line that all contract signed with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) without the approval of Baghdad were illegal. "All companies that entered in such contracts were asked to cancel them or pull out," Shahristani said. "Exxon Mobil can be contacted about their decision." Exxon declined to comment. Royal Dutch Shell is the minority partner in the oilfield project. (Reporting by Peg Mackey and Timothy Gardner in Washington; editing by William Hardy) ((peg.mackey@thomsonreuters.com)(+44 207 542 7714)) Keywords: EXXON IRAQ/ URGENT

Exxon kicked out :

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Middle-East/2012/Oct-11/191031-iraq-wants-russians-to-replace-exxon-at-west-qurna-report.ashx#axzz29hTHHms1

Iraq wants Russians to replace Exxon at West Qurna: report

October 11, 2012 03:46 PM..................

Obviously the "PR" departments are trying to obliterate the 10th / 11th October breaking news of Exxon being kicked out - with 16/17/18 October news leads saying Exxon leaving, but in fact no, it seems the Iraq's are kicking them out and replacing with the Russians.............. as well as buying billions of Russian weapons, ready for use on internal breakaway provinces in a year or two.

exxon will already have worked out the %s on whether they prefer to work in kurdistan or southern iraq

are you really so stupid to think that the russians - and almost certainly the chinese too - do not already have a presence in iraq?

you really are like david ike's twin at times

You are missing the point cynic.

The USA does not want want to sell weapons to Iraq, as they fear they will be used against Kurdistan - where their oil companies are moving to.

Iraq has now circumvented this by getting billions of dollars of weapons from Russia, at the same time allowing the Russians to come in and run their southern oil fields.


The most likely next "negotiation" will be for the sale of multiple billions of dollars of more weapons, on the "covert" agreement that the Russians can move into Kurdistan and take control of all the oil licenses once the "province" has been liberated with the help of the newly supplied Russian weapons.

Looks to me like Iraq is gearing up to sort out the "rebels" in Kurdistan and kick them out and take control of the oil fields there again. The more you see them buying Russian weapons, the more likely it is that force will be used against Kurdistan.