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Africa Oil : Results / Update

Satellite image of Africa, showing the ecologi...

Satellite image of Africa, showing the ecological break that defines the sub-Saharan area (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nov. 27

Africa Oil

(AOI : TSX-V : $8.50)

Africa Oil released results from its Twiga South-1 exploration location on Block 13T in Kenya.

The well encountered 30 metres of net oil pay in the primary Tertiary sandstone reservoirs, versus 143 total metres at Ngamia-1. With seismic showing a potential sedimentary-basin thickening versus the Ngamia-1 discovery, there were expectations of significantly higher pay. The market responded negatively to the news, despite the announcement of a new fractured play below 2,272 metres, where oil and wet gas was encountered over a gross interval of 796 meters. Over the next 4-8 weeks, a series of flow tests will be conducted at Twiga before the rig returns to Ngamia-1 for testing.

It will be difficult to analyze the fractured section unless the company is setup for longer-term production testing, and with such a large gross interval, results will depend on what is isolated over the test period, as well as equipment limitations on volumes. The Paipai-1 well on Block- 10A is drilling, with results expected by year-end.

This higher-risk Cretaceous/Jurassic prospect spudded on September 29, 2012 and TD is expected at 4,112 metres. The company estimates a 10% chance of success and gross prospective oil resources ranging 45-315 mmbl. However, Canaccord Analyst Brown believes faulting may have aterswept the zone. The Sabisa-1 well on the South Omo Block will commence drilling in Ethiopia by year end. Sabisa is testing the ”North String of Pearls” concept.

Africa Oil has identified over 100 significant prospects and leads and will have three rigs active throughout 2013. Brown believes financing will be required by Q1/13 to keep pace with drilling.

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by jackbassteam on November 27, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by jackbassteam on November 27, 2012

http://amp2012.com/2012/11/27/africa-oil-results-update/

Tullow Oil update ( Morgan Stanley )

Tullow oil camp, Uganda

Tullow oil camp, Uganda (Photo credit: Conservation Concepts)

Nov. 16

Shares in Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) were higher in early deals after what Morgan Stanley called a re-assuring update.

The broker pointed to upcoming drill results as offering a real and significant near-term kicker to the share price.

In all there are four wells underway, including the eagerly anticipated Zaedyus Deep, which has major implications for Northern Petroleum (LON:NOP) and  Wessex Exploration (LON:WSX), which have a combined 2.5 per cent.

Morgan Stanley reckons the Guiana project is worth an additional 96 pence on the Tullow share price.

Overall value from the current drilling campaign is worth over 15 per cent of the current share price, it added.

Significantly, Tullow is reviewing offers for its Asia business unit, which could also unlock value and has implications as the explorer moves forward.

“While relatively small, we think more significant and greater value disposals are conceivable as management has discussed focussing on assets where it can add significant value via the drill bit,” Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients.

It remains ‘overweight’ on the stock, which it reckons is worth 1,780 pence a share.

At 10am the stock was changing hands for 1,391 pence, up 6 pence on the day.

Earlier, Tullow said its financial performance was in line with City forecasts and it remains on target to deliver average net production of 80,000 to 84,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) for the full year.

The group’s interim management statement covering the second half of the year said operational and financial performance has remained strong.

In Ghana, the production capacity of the Jubilee field has been ramped up and is expected to exceed 90,000 bopd (gross) by the end of the year, while in Kenya, the second exploration well in the Lockichar Basin has successfully encountered oil, which has further de-risked the exploration prospec

ts in the basin. Additional exploration drilling and testing results across Tullow’s Kenyan and Ehtiopian assets are expected before the end of the year.

Forecast capital expenditure for 2012 remains in the region of $2.0bn. As of October 31st, net debt is around $0.9bn and unused debt capacity is in the region of $2.2 billion.

“Growing production and cash flow from the Jubilee field continues to strengthen Tullow’s financial base as we look forward to further significant exploration and development programmes in 2013,” the group said.

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by jackbassteam on November 16, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by jackbassteam on November 16, 2012

http://amp2012.com/2012/11/16/tullow-oil-update-morgan-stanley/

Africa Oil – Kenya Raises Risk Profile

The Coat of arms of Kenya

The Coat of arms of Kenya (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Nov 15

Africa Oil (AOI : TSX-V : $10.01)
Kenya became the latest country to raise its country risk, announcing plans to boost profits from natural resources exploration.

According to a Reuters article, Kenya is seeking a 25% stake in the production activities of oil & gas companies operating in the east African nation. The proposal, announced by Kenya’s energy minister, i s one of several the government has put forward in the past month to increase the state’s take from oil and gas resources, including new capital gains tax rules, a more competitive licensing process and higher fees for petroleum explorers.

Currently, most of Kenya’s contracts with oil explorers give state-owned National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) a 10% stake in the production business once commercial quantities of oil or gas are found. Under the current structure, this means that NOCK contributes 10% of production costs and receives 10% of profit. However, according to the article, Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi told reporters that the government now wants companies to give NOCK an initial 10% stake, increasing to 25% once production has started.

An oil & gas expert at PricewaterhouseCoopers, commented that it is unclear whether the rule would scare off potential producers because contracts are based on one-on-one negotiations with companies and the Ministry of Energy. He believes that “It depends on how it’s structured and how it’s sorted out” and that he thinks “people will get wary if it’s getting something for nothing. If there’s a fair share of whatever somebody has spent…I think people will be pragmatic and see it as something reasonable. Kenya’s oil and exploration boom has been fuelled by gas discoveries in Tanzania and Mozambique and oil discoveries in Uganda. Notably Tullow Oil and Africa Oil discovered oil in the Ngamia-1 well in Kenya in March. The Ngamia-1 exploration well in Kenya encountered an initial 20 metres of net oil pay, followed by another 80 meters in deeper zones.

Canaccord believes successful flow testing on Ngamia-1 may open up a “string of pearls” of look-a-like geological anomalies that could exceed the 2.5 billion barrels discovered in Uganda.

In October, Tullow and Africa Oil encountered oil in a wildcat well known as Twiga-1 on onshore Block 13T, about 30km west of the Ngamia-1 well. The commercial viability of both finds has yet to be ascertained. Also in Kenya, Tullow and Pancontinental Oil & Gas announced in September that their license consortium’s operator Apache (APC) had found gas in the shallow offshore well Mbawa-1.

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by jackbassteam on November 15, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by jackbassteam on November 15, 2012

http://amp2012.com/2012/11/15/africa-oil-kenya-raises-risk-profile/

Africa Oil Confirms Discovery

Twende Twiga!

Twende Twiga! (Photo credit: rogiro)

Nov . 1

Africa Oil  (AOI : TSX-V : $9.92)

 The company and Tullow confirmed that the Twiga South-1 well on Block 13T encountered oil. Results are expected in early to mid-November once target depth has been reached and necessary sampling and analysis have been completed.

The African news source stated that Twiga South encountered 30 m of net pay. Africa Oil and Tullow have not confirmed any net pay figures. However, Canaccord  Analyst Christopher Brown believes the oil encountered to date is most likely from intervals within the Upper Lokhone sand section, versus the primary-target lower zone. Twiga South is a follow-up prospect to Ngamia-1, which encountered 100 m of net pay over several intervals in the Upper Lokhone Sand section, as well as an additional 43 m in the lower zone (although the company stated that net pay in the lower zone was interrupted by faulting).

Thus, Brown believes the market is anticipating results from Twiga South that are as good as, if not better than, Ngamia-1. He also notes that the target formations at Twiga South-1 are deeper than those encountered at Ngamia-1. Brown expects that the company is currently drilling through the Lokhone Shale and should penetrate the deep zone shortly. Twiga South-1 is a key prospect in demonstrating the repeatability of the Ngamia- 

Estimates are  at 59 mmbbl. Once net pay has been assessed and publically released, Brown expects Africa Oil to announce a secondary equity issuance. He believes the company will issue a minimum of $200 million. Flow-test results from Twiga South- 1 or Ngamia-1 will likely follow the equity issuance. The higher-risk Paipai-1 Cretaceous and Jurassic prospect is currently drilling. Paipai-1 spudded on September 29, 2012, and TD is expected at 4,112 m. The company estimates a 10% chance of success.

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by jackbassteam on November 1, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by jackbassteam on November 1, 2012

http://amp2012.com/2012/11/01/africa-oil-confirms-discovery/

Tag Oil :Interview With CEO Update

New Zealand 2007

New Zealand 2007 (Photo credit: Szymon Stoma)

 (received from Cannacord  August 31 )

 

Tag CEO Garth Johnson

DP: Production numbers are currently a lot less than some people had expected. Some of that has to do with wells not being on stream. But if you could give us an update on production numbers and what you foresee for the future…

GJ:

We were actually quite close to meeting what analysts had projected for Q1 2013 production. We had some delays bringing Sidewinder compression online and this was combined with the need to get the planned artificial lift installation project completed for our Cheal-B5 and B7 wells. In the oil business, sometimes these things do take a little bit longer than anticipated, however if these projects had been completed when first thought we likely would have met or exceeded analyst production estimates in Q1. We have made some personnel changes on the ground recently to oversee these projects and I feel we have upgraded significantly in that regard. Over the past few days, we have produced anywhere from 1500 boepd to 2300 boepd including some flaring that is occurring at Cheal

DP: The reason many people are involved in TAG Oil is still the potential for the shale play. You have found an interesting ally in Apache who works everywhere around the world from Argentina to the United States to wherever, but they don’t expect to start that until next year. Any details about how soon next year?

GJ: We expect to be drilling in Q1 of the 2013 calendar year and we can’t wait. Some investors have asked “Why the delays?” but when you have an exploration play contained within our JV permits with Apache that is comprised of the most prospective lands in the East Coast Basin, a few months “delay” is not significant and the majority of our shareholders have been very supportive and encouraging. A large amount of work is ongoing to prepare for the JV’s activities in 2013 and I feel great about the results I am seeing from those efforts. I feel the work we have done as a JV in recent months will benefit us and all stakeholders for many once we prove the concept of the play in 2013.

DP: Any other items we should know about New Zealand…we know there are environmentalists that are everywhere these days, asking hard questions, but some people joke that the dairy farms create more of a mess than oil and gas ever would…

GJ: Environmentalists are everywhere and that is good as it helps get people engaged in the discussion, to ask questions and to get involved to make sure companies operate to best industry practices. The most vocal opponents of industry in New Zealand are a small group that are not willing to accept the available information related to our industry in order to have a balanced discussion nor are they readily willing to accept that we can’t just turn off the oil and gas taps tomorrow. We are all fully dependent on hydrocarbons in our society and that is not going to change overnight.

DP: It’s a different world out there these days with Europe looking like it’s falling apart, a weaker Chinese economy, etc. What do you see for oil prices in New Zealand over the next while?

GJ:

We are still enjoying Brent prices over $110 per barrel which is great as we have more oil production coming soon that will have the added benefit of being produced essentially with brand new, efficient infrastructure at Cheal and Sidewinder. We are all confident that oil prices will remain over $100 per barrel being so close to the Chinese economy, even if it’s looking a little weaker.

DP: If you could suggest one stock to watch or be nibbling at these days (other than your own) what would it be?

GJ: In our last interview I believe I picked Africa Oil when it was in or around the $2.00 range that now trades around $9.00 so this time it will have to be Coronado Resources as we wouldn’t have invested in the company if we didn’t think it would have some great growth potential.

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by jackbassteam on August 31, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by jackbassteam on August 31, 2012

http://amp2012.com/2012/08/31/tag-oil-interview-with-ceo-update/

Africa Oil – Q2 Update – Financing Needed

Track mounted Reverse Circulation rig (side view).

Track mounted Reverse Circulation rig (side view). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Africa Oil* (AOI : TSX-V : $8.97)

August 29

Africa Oil released its Q2/12 financials, with the main highlight being its cash position. Cash and cash equivalents were US$85 million as of June 30, 2012. Excluding cash attributable to subsidiary Horn Petroleum (HRN) , Africa Oil held approximately US$60 million in unrestricted cash. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities at quarter end amounted to  US$31.7 million.

This story has captured investor’s attention, with a massive share movement (shares traded below the $2 a share market up until March 2012). This upswing was driven by speculation that the company’s Ngamia-1 well in Kenya could be a “basin opener” (the well is operated by Tullow Oil who holds a 50% working interest). The Ngamia-1 exploration well encountered an initial 20 metres of net oil pay, followed by another 80 meters in deeper zones.

The follow-on well, Twiga South-1 exploration well is located in onshore Block 13T in Kenya. The well is planned to a total depth of 3,114 m and targets the same structural trend and reservoirs as the recent Ngamia-1 oil discovery 23 kilometers to the south. Drilling at Twiga South-1 has commenced and initial results are due in September or October. This will be an important potential catalyst in determining the repeatability of the Ngamia-1 play, which is expected to have 6 additional follow-up locations on Block 13T (including Twiga South-1). In its quarterly release, the company reiterated Tullow’s commitment to bring in two additional rigs before year end. On Block 10A, a drilling rig is currently being mobilized to Paipai-1, which is scheduled to spud in September.

 

The first Ethiopia well (Sabisa-1) is expected to commence operations in late Q4/12 on the South Omo block. At Block 9 in Kenya, a well is planned for 2013. The Marathon farm-out is still awaiting government approvals in both Kenya and Ethiopia.

Canaccord analyst notes that with two rigs expected before year end, the pending Marathon farm-out simply postpones cash demands for the company. Thus, a significant equity issuance will likely be required to support 2013 rig commitments .

 

 

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by jackbassteam on August 29, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by jackbassteam on August 29, 2012

http://amp2012.com/2012/08/29/africa-oil-q2-update-financing-needed/

Africa Oil – Concerns Over Testing

Twende Twiga!

Twende Twiga! (Photo credit: rogiro)

Africa Oil   (AOI : TSX-V : $8.95)

August 21
Africa Oil pared back earlier losses stemming from concerns surrounding its investment in Horn Petroleum (HRN) after announcing that it has spud its Twiga South-1 exploration well located in onshore Block 13T in Kenya.

The well is planned to a total depth of 3,114 m and targets the same structural trend and reservoirs as the recent Ngamia-1 oil discovery 23 km to the south. The well is operated by LSE-listed Tullow Oil who holds a 50% working interest and will be using the Weatherford 804 rig that was used to drill Ngamia-1. An extensive coring and testing program is planned if the well encounters similar pay sands as at the Ngamia-1 discovery.

Investors are anxiously awaiting the results from Twiga as AOI’s share price hit a high of $11.35 in recent months (shares traded below the $2 a share market up until March 2012) on speculation that the company’s Ngamia-1 well in Kenya could be a “basin opener”. The Ngamia-1 exploration well encountered an initial 20 m of net oil pay, followed by another 80 m in deeper zones. Tullow sampled light waxy oil with an API of 30 from six formations after successfully retrieving samples to the surface.

Although the company has shown that the chance of geological success is high, commerciality cannot be assessed until the formation is flow tested. Pressure data confirmed multiple pools with porosities of 23-29%. Canaccord  recently initiated bullish coverage on AOI, noting that
successful flow testing on Ngamia-1 may open up a “string of pearls” of look-a-like geological anomalies that could exceed the 2.5 billion barrels Tullow discovered in Uganda.

Alongside an update on Twiga, the company also indicated that in onshore Kenya, the Paipai-1 well in Block 10A, is on track to spud in early September using the Sakson PR-5 rig which is in the process of final mobilization from Mombassa to the well site. In onshore Ethiopia, rig contract negotiations by the operator, Tullow, are nearing conclusion for the commencement of the exploration drilling campaign which will commence with the Sabisa-1 well in the South Omo Block by the end of this year.

AOI’s story is far from an overnight success; the company made its Kenyan debut in 2009 and management’s message has been consistent for years: multibillion barrel potential in underexplored regions. The company focuses on areas with basin analogies to Uganda, Sudan and Yemen.

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by jackbassteam on August 22, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by jackbassteam on August 22, 2012

http://amp2012.com/2012/08/22/africa-oi-l-concerns-over-testing/

Africa Oil – Pipeline Announced

kenya 170

kenya 170 (Photo credit: Mister_Jack)

Africa Oil* (AOI : TSX-V : $8.30)

August 14
As reported in the Globe and Mail, speaking in Kenya, South Sudanese Finance Minister Kosti
Manibe announced that the country plans to build a 2,000 km pipeline to ship oil from South Sudan to the Kenyan port of Lamu.
The plan will help South Sudan end reliance on its current pipeline route that goes through its rival Sudan. Officials expect the
pipeline to cost $3 billion with construction to begin by June 2013 and last two years. The pipeline will be able to transport
between 700,000 and 1,000,000 barrels of Southern Sudanese crude per day. It could also transport crude from Kenya’s Turkana
area, where British explorer Tullow Oil and Africa Oil found oil deposits in March, should it prove to be commercially viable,
said Kiraitu Murungi, Kenya’s energy minister.

After success at Ngamia-1, AOI and Tullow have moved their drilling rig over to their Twiga-1 target. Twiga-1 is 30 km northeast in Block 13T along the western basin bounding fault on trend with Ngamia. Once this drilling has completed it is planned to use this rig to return to Ngamia-1 for the above mentioned flow testing.

Two additional rigs are being sourced, one for the Pai Pai prospect in Kenya Block 10A and one for the Sabisa prospect in the South
Omo block in Ethiopia. These wells are expected to spud late in the third and the fourth quarters of 2012, respectively. Three
seismic crews are now active in the Teritiary rift trend and a proposal to acquire 3D seismic over the Ngamia discovery is under
consideration.

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by jackbassteam on August 14, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by jackbassteam on August 14, 2012

http://amp2012.com/2012/08/14/africa-oil-pipeline-announced/

Horn Petroleum and Africa Oil Update

English: Coat of arms of the state of Puntland...

English: Coat of arms of the state of Puntland in Somalia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Horn Petroleum* (HRN : TSX-V : $0.77)
Africa Oil* (AOI : TSX-V : $7.45)

Horn Petroleum provided an update on the Shabeel North well in Puntland, Somalia.

Based on the positive evidence of oil shows and the presence of good quality reservoir in the Jesomma, the partnership has decided to deepen the well in order to evaluate the potential of the Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic sections. The current revised total depth will be approximately
3,400 metres and is expected to take an additional 15-20 days to reach that depth. The Jurassic section in the nearby Shabeel
well had thin reservoir sands with oil & gas shows, but this section was determined to be not thick enough to warrant testing.
These sands are expected to thicken basinward towards Shabeel North.

There was also evidence that there may have been faulting in the well which could have cut out a significant portion of the basal reservoir section, which is not expected in Shabeel North. HRN President and CEO David Grellman stated, “While we are obviously disappointed that the Jesomma sands tested wet, the overall results of the two wells drilled during this campaign are quite encouraging in the long term prospects for
oil potential of the basin. We have confirmed a working petroleum system, good quality reservoirs and thick impermeable
sealing rocks.

The two Jesomma structures drilled to date appear, subject to final petrophysical analysis, to have issues with the
integrity of the trapping mechanism. We are still hopeful that the lower zones in the Shabeel North well may have favorable
trapping geometries against the deeper thick carbonate and anhydrite sections seen in the original Shabeel well.” Africa Oil
holds an approximate 45% equity interest in HRN.

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by jackbassteam on July 30, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by jackbassteam on July 30, 2012

http://amp2012.com/2012/07/30/horn-petroleum-and-africa-oil-update/

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