New Projects and good prospects. will be the winner in 2004. IMO
25p in early 2004

The Times

Admittedly, there were more pressing events in oil this week, such as the continuing deterioration in the price, the resulting collapse of the rouble and some daft idea that Royal Dutch Shell might buy BP, but events in the oil-rich Kurdish province of Iraq seem to have been overlooked.
There are four quoted UK companies there. The problem has been getting the oil to the outside world and getting paid for it. The first is well under way; the second logjam appears to have been unblocked.
There were two linked pieces of news. In November, the Kurdish regional government in Erbil, in a largely symbolic gesture, said that it would make a first payment to producers, with further regular sums to come in the new year. This was designed to reassure them, as the province’s oil industry ramps up and capacity in the pipeline into Turkey increases, that further investment would be rewarded.
This week that first payment arrived, $15 million for Gulf Keystone Petroleum for its Shaikan field and $24 million to Genel Energy for its Taq Taq and Tawke fields. Simultaneously, Erbil and Baghdad agreed on a deal to share the country’s oil revenues.
Baghdad would get the revenue from 300,000 barrels a day (bpd) from the Kirkuk field and another 250,000 bpd of Kurdish oil, all exported through the pipeline. Erbil gets a 17 per cent share of the national budget and can keep revenues from however much more it can sell. Total production from the province could hit 500,000 bpd next year.
In the background is the war between both and the Islamic State — as one commentator put it: “There is nothing like a common enemy to get people to settle their disagreements.”
Shares in Gulf Keystone and Genel jumped after the news. The two others are much smaller players. Petroceltic has interests in two blocks, but these are still at the exploration stage. Afren, better known for its African operations, has interests in two fields, including Barda Rash, but production is limited, averaging about 500 bpd in the first half of 2014.
For Gulf Keystone, the breaking of the deadlock allows it to push ahead with its Shaikan field. Production is running at about 40,000 bpd and is taken in lorries north to the town of Fishkhabur on the Turkish border. There are plans to link with the pipeline, perhaps in 2016; the oil from Shaikan is heavy crude and is likely to need some processing.
Shaikan should be producing at 100,000 bpd within a couple of years, but the field will need hefty investment. Some analysts believe that Gulf Keystone will have to raise fresh funds on the stock market. The alternative is bringing in a partner or even an outright bid.
This has been made easier by the Erbil-Baghdad agreement, because big oil companies already operating in the south of the country will be able to take a position in the Kurdish region. One might question, on glancing at the oil price, whether they are in the mood to buy assets.
DNO, the Norwegian company, is also producing in Kurdish Iraq. The biggest British player is Genel. Its cost of production is startlingly cheap, less than $2 a barrel. Genel, where Tony Hayward, the former BP boss, is chief executive, has the most to gain from recent developments. Its oil is high-grade light crude. It is producing, from the two fields, about 250,000 bpd and is owed $180 million for the oil it has exported already. The company has a market capitalisation of £1.7 billion, which would put it in the FTSE 250 index and mean that index-tracking funds would have to invest.
However, because Kurdish Iraq has not hitherto been recognised by Baghdad, the UK Listing Authority has said that the degree of political risk this raises precludes this. The outbreak of amity between Iraq and its breakaway province means this will probably happen in the new year. Genel has set three pre-conditions for a return of excess capital to shareholders. Once payments come through regularly, all three will have been achieved. That return looks likely next year . . . and one day M&A activity will return to the sector.

StockMarketWire.com
Worldview Capital Management has issued legal proceedings in the High Court against Petroceltic International Plc, in which it holds more than 27 % of the share capital.

The proceedings are in relation to Petroceltic's alleged breach of a corporate governance agreement entered into between Worldview and Petroceltic which was announced by Petroceltic on 16 June 2014.

The agreement included provision for the Board, following the appointment of new independent non-executive directors on 7 July 2014, to undertake and complete a strategic, business and operational review of the Company prior to 30 September 2014.

As part of the agreement Worldview committed to support Petroceltic's $100 million placing that required a special shareholder resolution to be passed by 75% of the shareholders.

The placing was subsequently successfully completed in reliance on this support from Worldview.

surely this company is dead meat?

180p!

more like flat-iron than fillet steak :-)

Certainly tough on de digestive system!

By Amy McLellan

With the share price still reeling from Dragon Oil’s decision to retreat from a mooted bid, there was more bad news for Petroceltic International on Monday when its largest shareholder said it was initiating legal proceedings against the group. Worldview Capital Management, which has a 27 per cent stake in the AIM-quoted E&P, is suing Petroceltic for what it calls a breach of a corporate governance agreement agreed over the summer and called for the immediate resignation of CEO Brian O’Cathain.

The latest standoff between the dissident shareholder and Petroceltic management centres on an agreement entered in June which committed the Board to complete a strategic review by the end of September in return for Worldview supporting a US$100 million placing, a transaction that required a special resolution to be passed by 75 per cent of shareholders. That placing duly closed in June.

Now Worldview has accused O’Cathain of having “no intention of complying with the obligation to carry out the Review at the time the agreement was entered into”. Worldview capital management partner Moskov said over the weekend that this “gross breach of corporate governance” meant his group was withdrawing its support from the management team and reserved its right to sue the executives.

Petroceltic boss O’Cathain, however, speaking to Oilbarrel.com at Monday lunchtime, said the group had not yet received any paperwork about the legal challenge and was somewhat taken aback by Sunday’s statement. O’Cathain pointed out that the company is in very regular contact with its largest shareholder, on the phone, via email and in meetings.

He said that the review had been undertaken and a capital markets day to present the strategy and future plans for the business had, before the deadline of September 30, been scheduled for November. This had to be postponed, however, when the company was under offer from Dragon Oil.

“As soon as the offer lapsed last week, we rescheduled the capital markets day presentation for 28 January 2015 as it would have been nonsensical to have it in December when everyone is busy and away,” explained O’Cathain. “I honestly do not know what all the fuss is about.”

The Dublin-based company’s shares are trading at 126.25 pence, having taken a sharp hit after Dragon Oil decided not to proceed with an offer for the company, citing the turbulent market conditions. O’Cathain believes the sell-off was an over-reaction and bought, as he puts it, “quite a lot of shares” as a result: he bought 106,660 shares priced at 115.8 pence as Dragon announced its withdrawal from a process that had priced the company at 230 pence per share.

As we pointed out last week, the irony in this is that Petroceltic is actually better placed to weather the downturn in the oil price than many of its peers: the gas-heavy company is a key player in the Ain Tsila gas-condensate development in Algeria, due onstream in 2018 and thus unlikely to be affected by current price volatility.

This is a world-class project that is underpinned by long-term contracts that will see the gas sold into energy-hungry gas markets in Europe. What’s more, Petroceltic’s current production is also protected from near-term oil price volatility with its Egyptian gas sold at a fixed price into the domestic market.

“Value will come back into the sector, which has been very out of fashion this year,” noted O’Cathain. “Everybody is feeling a bit beaten up.”

It’s a sentiment shared by many in the oil sector, with many companies, both large and small, hoping the New Year brings better news.

BOC is taking the piss! Off the premises I say....

StockMarketWire.com
Petroceltic International has now seen the legal proceedings issued by Worldview Capital Management and said it believed them to be "totally without merit and misconceived."

The proceedings allege Petroceltic has failed to undertake a review of its business and seeks direction from the Court as to the manner in which the review is undertaken.

As announced previously, Petroceltic will host a capital markets day presentation on Wednesday 28 January 2015. This will ensure that all shareholders are given the opportunity, at the same time, to hear about the Company's assets, strategy and plans for the business.

The Chairman of the Board has written to Worldview offering to meet with its representatives to discuss the matters raised in the legal proceedings. This was in addition to the number of offers of meetings or calls that have been made by Petroceltic to Worldview over the last number of weeks.

"The Company would clearly prefer to avoid the significant costs of litigation and to ensure that management time is focused on the day to day running of the business for the benefit of all shareholders," Petroceltic said in a statement.

"Nonetheless, if Worldview decides to pursue the proceedings, the Company will be obliged to vigorously contest and defend them and to seek to recover from Worldview, to the maximum extent possible, all costs incurred by the Company in so doing," it said.

The focus of the Company and its management continues to be the day to day running of the business for the benefit of all shareholders.

Focus of the company only on top of table and Worldview know this too.

Brian et al feeding at the trough once again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

StockMarketWire.com
Vidacos Nominees Limited is seeking to oust Petroceltic International chief executive Brian O'Cathain.

Vidacos Nominees, the registered holder of 25.7% of the issued share capital of the company, of which the beneficial owners are certain funds managed by Worldview Capital Management SA, has requisitioned an extraordinary general meeting to remove O'Cathain and appoint Angelo Moskov and Maurice Dijols as directors.

An announcement on the date and timing of the EGM will be made in due course.

Battle of words continues between PCI and Worldview!!!!

Print
Alert
TIDMPCI

RNS Number : 3600I

Petroceltic International PLC

25 March 2015

Dublin

25 March 2015

Petroceltic International Plc

Kurdistan Region of Iraq Operational Update

Petroceltic International plc (AIM: PCI) ("Petroceltic" or the "Company"), the oil and gas exploration, development and production company focused on the Middle East, North Africa and Mediterranean regions, today provides an update with respect to its operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

As previously announced on 15 January, drilling operations on the Shireen-1 exploration well in the Dinarta licence (Hess Middle East New Ventures ("Hess") (Operator) 64%, Petroceltic 16%, and the Kurdistan Regional Government 20%) encountered significant operational challenges since the resumption of drilling on 2 October 2014. The well reached a maximum depth of 1430m in Jurassic formations on 26 December 2014 before being suspended while forward options were reviewed by the Operator. This review concluded that an additional well would be required to further evaluate the exploration potential of the Shireen prospect, and that further operational difficulties could not be ruled out.

In light of the current low oil price environment, lack of conclusive well results to date and the limited time remaining in the current period of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for the Dinarta licence, Hess and Petroceltic have jointly elected to withdraw from the Dinarta licence without any further drilling. All PSC work program obligations have been fulfilled other than the required final remediation of the well sites.

Brian O'Cathain, Chief Executive of Petroceltic commented:

"Petroceltic's strategy remains clearly focussed on delivering from its core producing and development assets, whilst maintaining balanced exposure to longer term exploration led growth wherever possible. In light of this, and the current oil price environment, the decision to withdraw from Kurdistan is the right one for the business."

Ends

Action at last here!

Any news or hope for this company?

doesn't look that way, and most certainly not in TW's view

StockMarketWire.com
Skye Investments regards Sunny Hill's proposal to make a cash offer for Petroceltic International at 3p a share as substantially undervaluing the company and will not mull any further offers unless significantly improved.

Skye owns 19.2% of Petroceltic. Sunny Hill is a company wholly owned by Worldview Economic Recovery Fund.