PCL - Pancontinental Energy

[smalltimer]

Mapping of oil exploration sites heralds race for blocks

Kenya faces a scramble for oil exploration blocks as multinationals seek licences for newly demarcated areas.

The licensing committee has mapped out eight new blocks , according to Ministry of Energy commissioner for petroleum Martin Heya.

The new blocks are to be auctioned “within weeks” and are expected to be snapped by other oil majors as demand for exploration blocks in East Africa, enhanced by discoveries of petroleum along the coastlines of Tanzania and Mozambique, increases.

The country has also drafted new petroleum exploration terms, which will apply to the new blocks, he said.

The expected licensing of the blocks comes as the ministry plans to switch to bidding rounds in oil exploration deals, moving away from one-on-one negotiations with firms as interest increases after several big discoveries, including Kenya’s second ever oil find announced by British explorer Tullow Oil and Canadian venture partner Africa Oil last October.

Four blocks are in Lamu basin while Blocks 10BB and 13T are in the Tertiary Rift.

“All the blocks will have a minimum proposed PSC (production sharing contract) terms for new petroleum exploration blocks,” said Mr Heya on telephone.

“Block L5 produced three new ones. Block 1 was also surrendered. Others are blocks 10BB and 13T.”

Block L26, previously held by Norwegian state firm, Statoil is also up for grabs. The company had planned to start drilling the offshore block in January.
He said that the terms of block L6 in Kipipini Conservancy are also being renegotiated and would be awarded to the same owners.

“We will divide block into two and award the same company but under new terms. We will renegotiate afresh,” said Mr Heya.

Block L6 is an onshore/offshore area on the Kenyan coast where initial seismic programmes have defined a number of significant prospects. The L6 licence area is adjacent to L8.

All of Kenya’s mapped blocks have been awarded.

Some of the latest entrants include French oil major Total and Eni of Italy. Under the PSCs, the exploration company must cede 25 per cent of their licensed acreage should they fail to do work on blocks after two years if the site is onshore or three years for offshore one.

This rule prompted Tullow Oil to surrender two blocks while Anadarko of US, Afren Plc of UK and Statoil gave up a block each.

The Ministry of Energy expects explorers to drill at least a dozen more wells this year, onshore and offshore. Kenya’s oil search attracted more than 24 players during 2012.

Investors, however , believe the new terms of and gas shall offered by the Government are reasonably attractive, at least for an oil discovery.

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/...670/-/view/printVersion/-/vo4si3/-/index.html

 

[smalltimer]

Middle Eastern oil explorer gives up licence in Kenya
Jan 28 2013 4:42PM

Edgo Energy, the exploration unit of Jordan's Edgo, has relinquished a licence to explore an area offshore Kenya, citing the technical difficulties of drilling in very deep water.

The licence area, a triangular block off Kenya's southern coast known as L26, lies in "ultra deep water" - meaning the ocean floor is more than 1,500 metres beneath the water's surface, which makes drilling complicated and expensive.

"Edgo Energy has agreed with the Kenyan Ministry of Energy to relinquish block L26 due to the technical challenges of its location in the ultra deep waters of the Lamu basin," said the company in an email sent to Reuters on Monday.

East Africa and the continent's Horn of Africa region have become hot spots for oil and gas exploration in recent years, spurred on by new finds in countries including Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique.

Edgo obtained the L26 licence jointly with Qatar First Investment Bank in July 2012, according to the company. It has one additional licence with the same bank in onshore block L14 where it has already began preparing for seismic work.

Edgo said it was still interested in an upcoming licensing round offshore, which will be composed of an estimated five blocks within Kenyan waters.

"We will be looking at that ... we're interested," said Mazen Masri, managing director of Edgo, in a phone interview with Reuters last week.

With Edgo's surrender of L26, Kenya has additional acreage to licence to interested explorers, who flocked to the country in 2012 after U.S. explorer Apache Corp found non-commercial quantities of gas offshore and Tullow Oil discovered oil in two separate onshore wells.

Masri said last week a maritime border dispute between Somalia and Kenya was also a challenge in L26 -- which sits squarely in an area both countries claim to be part of their offshore commercial acreage.

However, a spokeswoman for the company said in a phone interview on Monday it was not the main factor in Edgo's relinquishment.

Currently one company, Houston's Anadarko Petroleum, is drilling offshore Kenya - in a non-disputed block called L11-B - while the UK's Tullow Oil is in the midst of drilling two onshore wells. BG Group, Ophir and Afren also each plan to drill offshore in 2013, though they are not drilling in contested territory.

http://www.thenewage.co.za/mobi/Detail.aspx?NewsID=80586&CatID=9

 

[smalltimer]

Tullow strikes natural gas deposits in the north
By Zeddy Sambu
Posted Sunday, February 3 2013 at 18:06

Tullow Oil has discovered deposits of natural gas at a well in northern Kenya, whose drilling is set to be completed later this month.

The deposits were struck at 4,100 metres, less than a kilometre to the target depth of 4,900 metres at the Pai Pai 1 well in Block 10 A. The block is half owned by Tullow, 30 per cent by Africa Oil and the rest by Afren Plc.

“They are now testing to see output at that high pressure,” said an official conversant with the progress.

Tullow declined to comment on the status of its operations in Kenya.

“It’s still status quo, nothing has changed since the last update given. The well is still drilling,” said Evelyne Serro, Tullow’s communications officer for Kenya. “You will receive an update as soon as this is concluded at total depth”.

Industry analyst George Wachira said commercial natural gas deposits interrupt the momentum in the continued search and testing at the Twiga 1 , Ngamia 1 well and also the Mbawa natural gas prospect off the coast of Lamu.

“Finding of gas also delays commercial confirmation of already discovered oil which, hopefully, the drilling of “Sabisa-1” in Ethiopia will help to confirm,” he added.

Kenya is working on laws for exploration, production, logistics and monetisation of natural gas

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/...e-north/-/539546/1683450/-/lc1n9/-/index.html

 

[smalltimer]

sorry , news a bit old now, but still worth a read.
Moron was asking for some news a little while ago;

US Firm Starts Oil Exploration Off Kenyan Coast
By Mwakilishi | Fri, 01/18/2013 12:07AM -0500.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, a US firm, has started exploring for oil and gas off the Kenyan coast in Lamu. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed firm plans to drill two wells, continuing Kenya’s surge of exploration activity.

“Anadarko has told us they were to spud the well yesterday (Thursday),” said Martin Heya, commissioner for petroleum at the Energy ministry.

The two wells, known as the Kiboko prospect in block L11B and the Kubwa prospect in block L7, will cost about Sh8.6 billion ($100 million) each.

The firm is the operator of blocks L7 and L11B and holds 45 per cent stake in each.

French oil major Total has a 40 per cent stake, and UK’s oil and gas company Cove Energy (recently acquired by Thailand’s Exploration and Production company) holds the remaining stake.

The Kiboko and Kubwa prospects will be Anadarko’s first wells in Kenya and follows significant gas discoveries offshore Mozambique early last year.

Anadarko will be utilising some of the equipment used by US explorer Apache Corporation which drilled a well offshore earlier this year.

Apache’s well, known as Mbawa-1, encountered small, non-commercial quantities of gas instead of oil.

Anadarko which will drill Kiboko first has said it hopes to find oil, rather than gas, because it is cheaper and easier to produce.

The wells will be drilled to a total depth of 6,750 meters.

The US prospecting firm has also mobilised a drilling rig from its Mozambican operations, Mr Heya said.

The Ministry of Energy expects to drill at least 12 more wells onshore and offshore this year as Kenya aims to stake a bigger claim on profits from its natural resources exploration boom.

Anadarko’s vice-president for International Exploration, Frank Patterson recently said two three-dimensional surveys have been acquired and have already been processed “two months earlier than expected.”

“Drilling was dependent on rig availability,” he said.

In recent filings to the NYSE, Anadarko said it planned to spend Sh10 billion prospecting for oil and natural gas in one well in the Lamu basin, where it operates offshore deep-water blocks.

The country has been a hot bed for exploration following reports of oil find by British explorer Tullow Oil in 2012 within the Lokichar sub basin on the floor of the Rift Valley.

Anadarko made gas discoveries offshore Mozambique in 2012 and has moved into other regions of Africa. - Business Daily Africa

http://www.mwakilishi.com/content/a...-starts-oil-exploration-off-kenyan-coast.html

 

[smalltimer]

Kenya Ongoing Wells

Anadarko – Kubwa 1 – L7 – Spudded. On 16 January 2013, Anadarko started operations with the Deepwater Millennium D/S, spudding exploration well Kiboko 1 in deepwater block L11B (Lamu Basin) and drilled the top-hole section. The rig then moved north some 180km to the Kubwa 1 location, in the south-east corner of block L7, and spudded this well on 27 January. Operations are continuing on Kubwa 1; the group hopes for an oil result. The operating group is Anadarko (50% + Operator), Total (40%) and Cove Energy through PTTEP (10%).

http://info.diiinfo.com/2013/01/announcements/east-southern-africa-dii-scout-70/

 

[smalltimer]

Kenya's oil firm seeks seismic data in its exploration block 14T
Posted Tuesday, February 5 2013 at 14:25

Kenya's State-owned oil firm has said it plans to acquire over 400 km of 2D seismic data in its Block 14T exploration acreage located in the Magadi Basin south of Block 10BB within the tertiary rift sedimentary basin in southern Kenya.

The National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) has placed an international tender for the acquisition of 2D Seismic Data and its Processing Services as well as Magneto Telluric (MT) survey in the southern part of Block 14T. "The contractor for the 2D seismic data acquisition and processing program shall provide all equipment, personnel, consumables and complete project management for data capture and processing,"

NOCK CEO Sumayya Hassan-Athmani said in a statement issued in Nairobi on Monday. Kenya's energy ministry officials have remained optimistic about possible oil finds following the ongoing exploration by Tullow, which is also engaged in activities around the Mandera region in northern Kenya.

Exploration experts say the semi-arid regions of northern and north-eastern Kenya, have the curvy rocks, formed millions of years back, when the region was an ocean.The creation of the deep sea blocks is meant to attract new investors into the country, especially along the Indian Ocean.Hassan-Athmani said the work shall include maintaining and operating a vibrator set and portable land 2D seismic reflection crew capable of providing National Oil with high quality 2D seismic data. The acquisition of the data is part of the ongoing preparatory works in readiness for drilling in the area. Kenya's first oil discovery was made at the Ngamia one well within Block 10BB by Tullow Oil in March 2012.

The acquisition of seismic data and Magneto Telluric survey for Block 14T is a key step in establishing the hydrocarbon potential of the block and its outcome will be utilized to improve basin study related hydrocarbon exploration models of the region.Kenya and the entire East African region have witnessed intensified exploratory activity since 2003, which led to the discoveries of oil and gas in Uganda and Tanzania. There is also ongoing exploration in Ethiopia. The East African nation has also tendered for the exploration of natural gas in Kilifi, near the coastal city of Mombasa. Analysts say one of the contributors for slow exploration of minerals in Kenya has been lack of mapping of the resources.

Experts say countries in East Africa and on the seaboard from Ethiopia on down to Mozambique have all begun to benefit from the success of Uganda as it made it easier from smaller companies to raise funding for exploration in the region.A 2D seismic survey is an exploration method used to create a map of the structures beneath the earth's surface by sending energy waves into the Earth. The different rock formations then reflect the waves back to the surface, where they are recorded over a period of time and converted into a seismic image.

Seismic data helps geoscientists in identifying possible hydrocarbon deposits in an exploration area.Hassan-Athmani said the Magneto Telluric (MT) survey will be undertaken in altitudes ranging between 600 meters and 1,800 meters above sea level. "The survey will cover an estimated 6,000 square kilometers. MT is an electromagnetic geophysical method of imaging the earth's subsurface," she said. In May 2012, the oil firm entered into a geophysical survey for the evaluation of hydrocarbon potential of onshore Kenya by undertaking geophysical surveys including Full Tensor Gravity Gradiometry (FTG), 2D Seismic, Magneto Telluric and Time Domain Electromagnetic studies.

As part of its strategic efforts to become Kenya's first indigenous company to discover oil in the country, NOCK acquired Block 14T in November 2010 and has so far successfully completed Geochemical studies using Gore Sorber technology and ground gravity studies in the Southern part of the block as well as FTG studies over a significant part of the block. These studies have been important in the geological mapping of the block which previously lacked geological profiling.Prior to its acquisition of the acreage and subsequent entry into active exploration for oil and gas in Kenya, National Oil was involved mainly in the marketing of Kenya's exploration acreage and the management of the national petroleum data centre and petroleum laboratory. National Oil's entry into active exploration is in line with its strategic objective of becoming one of Africa's fully integrated National Oil Companies (NOC's) and helping Kenya realize her development objectives as outlined in Vision 2030

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/World...ck-14T/-/688340/1685250/-/qg6yid/-/index.html

 

[smalltimer]

Looks like that Sub 10c is on the way again with the sell order momentum picking up.
Could see sub 10c within the next few days.

 

[smalltimer]

Kenya to Offer Nine Oil and Gas Licenses by April, Minister Says
By Eduard Gismatullin - Feb 13, 2013

Kenya will offer as many as nine oil and gas exploration licenses in the first quarter, said Patrick Nyoike, an official at the Energy Ministry.

Chevron Corp. and Eni SpA have said they may bid for the licenses, Nyoike told reporters in Nairobi today. Some of the acreage was relinquished by explorers, and the blocks will be repackaged for the sale.

Tullow Oil Corp. and Africa Oil Corp. made Kenya’s first oil discovery last March. The country has no proven oil reserves, though Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron found gas in the Anza Basin in 1976.

The licenses will be offered “as soon as we get the coordinates right,” he said. “I am talking about this month. Many companies have showed interest.”

East Africa has become one of the world’s most active exploration areas since Anadarko Petroleum Corp. made the decade’s biggest gas discovery off Mozambique. An oil find would be a boon for Kenya as the commodity is easier to sell than the gas found in neighboring Tanzania and Mozambique, which will require spending at least $50 billion on export plants.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...-and-gas-licenses-by-april-minister-says.html

 

[smalltimer]

Our Oil Dreams Have Just Been Re-Ignited
By Daniel Steinmann, 15 February 2013

A flurry of excitement added some push to the usual summer afternoon wind battering Walvis Bay from the south west with the arrival of a drill rig intended for HRT's two prospecting blocks on the northern fringe of the so-called Orange basin.

As far as I know this is the first time ever that a rig of any kind has actually entered the harbour itself. The odd rig that passed the port en route from either Cabinda or Nigeria to Cape Town, always laid moored a fair distance off. Granted this is a drill rig and not a proper oil rig, so it is a much smaller animal, and that is the reason why it fits smack inside the harbour.

But rig design and engineering are not what tickles my fancy. The ultimate riddle that has to be solved is whether commercially viable oil fields exist in the offshore seabed, and if they do, where are they? So far, two holes have been drilled by London-listed Chariot Oil, and both still only contain seawater, so the immediate expectations are not good.

But HRT is not entirely clueless where oil prospecting is concerned. The company is financing its oil exploration activities through several paper issuances on the Bovespa in Sao Paulo focussing on HRT's oil exploration projects in the Amazon basin where conditions are easier than 1000 metres below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. The offshore exploration in Namibia is prospected as an additional benefit should oil be discovered here. So it is actually the better expectation for discovering oil in the Amazon that is papering over HRT's operational costs in our Exclusive Economic Zone.

Nevertheless, the rig has arrived last Wednesday, very early in the morning setting of a chain of responses from the ports authority, the chamber of commerce, and other interested parties who, hopefully, were not involved last year when an elected in parliament announced we have already discovered oil and that there are so many billion of barrels of the stuff.

I assume, purely from an investment point of view, the people working for HRT know what they are doing, although I am also not fully convinced of this. Whether one thinks the HRT launch was in good style or not, is irrelevant. What was very obvious is that this company knows how to play the politics and will not shy away from actively doing so. Remember the posse of Samba dancer that moved Windhoek that evening and the slightly embarrassing situation when some of them ended up on the laps of the high brass.

Nevertheless, the HRT rig is here and will stay in the harbour for another two weeks. It is the Transocean Marianas, an Earl & Wright Sedco 700 semi-submersible drill rig and it will be towed to the drill site after completion of the mandatory inspection. Actual drilling is expected to start around the end of April and within another month, we should know if HRT found the black gold.

Fortunately, as far as I know, Petrobras has been co-opted as HRT's technical partner so whatever results are obtained from the drilling, can be deemed reliable. Petrobras, the Brazilian state oil utility, is the discoverer of the Tupi oil field in the South Atlantic, the first significant deep sea oil discovery anywhere in the world.

Perhaps the most important elements in HRT's work of the next two months is the locality where they will drill. Their acreage is spread over two prospecting blocks, 1801 and 1802 on the rim of the Orange Basin which is considered to be the same geological structure as the Kudu gas field. So, in a sense, one can argue that hydrocarbons have already been discovered in this morphology, as far back as 1974, and that now it is only a matter of pinpointing the more fluid pockets of this seemingly consistent subterranean complex. That is the positive take.

The negative reality is that since 1974 a myriad of seismic surveys that created the plethora of proprietary 2D seismic data, as well as a small number of holes, have only confirmed the presence of gas, and in some cases, of nothing.

Whether you staunchly believe there is oil, I suppose depends to a large extent on how deeply your are committed to this project either financially or politically. But there is nothing in the models that precludes the existence of oil. It may be there or it may turn out to be more gas. The South African government desperately wanted to find oil in the Kudu gas field but never did. The sole reason why they drilled the holes in the first place was to find oil, not for anything else.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201302151112.html

 

[smalltimer]

Tullow Finds More Oil in Turkana
By Solomon Kirimi, 14 February 2013

TULLOW Oil yesterday released a set of well test results on Wednesday that it said could lead to Kenya's first commercial production.

Tullow said the Twiga South-1 exploration well in Turkana is likely to be profitable after tests showed the "first potentially commercial flow rates achieved in Kenya."

Four flow tests were carried out on Twiga South-1 in January and early February and a fifth test is ongoing, predicting a total combined flow rate of over 2,850 barrels of oil per day, said Tullow.

"There will be more focus on Kenya as a potential oil producing country," Energy ministry PS Patrick Nyoike told Reuters.

Five of Tullow's oil blocks are within a similar basin in the Rift Valley to the Lake Albert Rift Basin in Uganda where over billion barrels of oil deposits have been discovered and the southeast extension of the geologically older Sudan Rift Basins trend where oil is already being extracted.

Kenya will get the result of the Paipai-1 well later this month, according to Tullow Oil's 2012 financial results released yesterday.

Paipai-1 has been drilled to a total depth of 4,255 metres, deeper than the planned 4,112 metres and has encountered light hydrocarbon.

"We have been unable to obtain samples conventionally due to difficult hole conditions," said Tullow Oil chief executive Aidan Heavey.

The report said the drill at Paipai will be moved to Block 10BB to start drilling the Etuko-1 well in the Lokichar basin where Ngamia-1A well which recorded 100 meters of net oil pay is located. The drilling is programmed to start in the second quarter of 2013.

Etuko-1 Papai will be the fourth well drilled by Tullow since its drilling programme was rolled out with Ngamia-1 well in January last year.

In November 2012, the Tullow announced that the Twiga-1 well had encountered 30 metres of net oil pay and an additional tight reservoir rock section with hydrocarbon shows over a total gross interval of 796 metres.

Two deeper tests conducted at the well reconfirmed the presence of moveable oil. "These tests provide the first potentially commercial flow rates achieved in Kenya and provide real encouragement for the Ngamia test," said Heavey.

With the conclusion of the Twiga South-1 testing programme, the rig will move to Ngamia-1A to re-enter the well and perform four flow tests.

Given the positive results so far, Tullow oil announced that it plans to deploy more equipment to accelerate works in Lokichar basin by drilling 11 exploration and appraisal wells as well as as carry out up to five well tests to understand the potential scale of the South Lokichar discoveries.

"The discoveries at Ngamia and Twiga South demonstrate that substantial oil generation has occurred in the South Lokichar Basin, one of more than 10 Tertiary Rift Basins in the Kenya-Ethiopia acreage, each of which is similar in size to the Lake Albert Rift Basin in Uganda," the full year 2012 report said.

Tullow said these tests are expected to deliver rates similar to Twiga South-1. Tullow also owns 15 per cent of the Mbawa-1 well that encountered 52 metres of net gas pay in the the first hydrocarbon discovery in Kenya in the Lamu basin.

The well was plugged and abandoned because it not commercially viable but it confirmed hydrocarbon in offshore Kenya.

The basin bears the same geological formation as Mozambique's coast where large volumes of gas have been discovered.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201302141635.html?viewall=1

 

[smalltimer]

Not PCL or East African related, but if your into Oil - Worth watching this video (but read the story attached as well). At bit of a sales pitch, but good info.

http://moneymappress.com/pro/ECLAus...1638&s=937070&u=52134857&l=542933&g=96&r=Milo

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$20 trillion ... not: reality check for Linc oil find
Date January 24, 2013

Big but not that big ... Linc Energy chief Peter Bond.
Linc Energy is distancing itself from estimates in today’s media that it may be sitting on $20 trillion worth of oil in South Australia’s Arckaringa Basin.

Linc’s shares rocketed more than 30 per cent to an 18-month high of $2.82 today after it told the stock exchange yesterday that two independent consultants estimated there was an ‘‘unrisked prospective resource’’ of up to 223 billion barrels of oil equivalent in three shale formations within its 100 per cent-held Arckaringa exploration permits.

Media outlets including the Adelaide Advertiser appear to have multiplied the resource estimate by the prevailing oil price - above $US95 a barrel - to arrive at the $20 trillion figure.

But Linc chief executive Peter Bond told BusinessDay: ‘‘That’s not our valution. I don’t know who did that but someone’s got a calculator out and come up with that number ... but we wouldn’t put a valuation on it at this stage. It’s too hard.

Advertisement ‘‘Obviously if you want to stand up there and come up with $US100 times 100 billion barrels, you’ll come up with a big number. That’s not how you value oil resources anyway.’’

Petroleum resources are classified into booked reserves - proven, probable and possible - or resources which may be contingent or prospective.

The estimates released by Linc on Wednesday were classified by the consultants as unrisked prospective resources - the lowest category of certainty - because of their ‘‘lack of commerciality or sufficient drilling’’.

As the consultants wrote: ‘‘There is no certainty that any portion of the prospective resources estimated herein will be discovered. If discovered, there is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the resources.’’

Mr Bond explained that industry rules of thumb guided valuation of reserves, with good quality 2P (proven or probable) or 3P (proven, probable or possible) reserves valued at between $US1-$US2 a barrel.

‘‘Once you get to 1P (proven reserves) you get to $US10/barrel, or $US100,000 per flowing barrel.’’
Shale plays tended to be valued on an acreage rate, ranging from $US1000-$US2000 an acre at the low end, to $US20,000 an acre at the high-end.

But Mr Bond did not walk away from the potential of the shale play at Arckaringa, where Linc has 16 million acres of which 2-3 million acres could be ‘‘sweet spot’’ territory.

‘‘No matter how you look at it, it’s big,’’ he said.

Mr Bond said Linc paid $104 million for its exploration acreage at Arckaringa four years ago, and spent $30 million on drilling 15-16 holes, of which half targetted shales, and 1000 kilometres of 3D seismic.

But Linc is now looking for a ‘‘farm-in’’ partner to spend up to $300 million to develop the resource and prove up reserves.

Mr Bond said Linc’s consultants estimated there was a minimum of 3.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent at Arckaringa.

‘‘It’s a multi-billion barrel opportunity, and that’s a good news story. OK it’s not $20 trillion. But 3, 4, 5 billion barrel resources are virtually unheard of these days, so even stressing this number down to the minimum number the experts stress it down to, it’s still a big story.’’



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/20-t...nc-oil-find-20130124-2d8zf.html#ixzz2LfZOlLHf

 

[smalltimer]

Kenya oil, gas investment on hold

February 26 2013 at 06:55pm
By Kelly Gilblom

Turkina Basin, Kenya - Potential investors in exploring Kenya for oil and gas are holding back to see the outcome of next week's presidential election, worried about the potential for instability and for policy changes under a new leadership.

Huge discoveries in eastern Africa from Mozambique to Uganda have attracted bids from international oil companies for exploration and drilling rights.

Kenya's sector is the least developed, with medium-sized companies heading the search for commercial reserves. These firms are more vulnerable than majors to the risk of post-election violence, which five years ago knocked the $35 billion economy flat and forced political rivals to form a rocky coalition.

With President Mwai Kibaki barred from a third term, Kenya's forthcoming change in leadership is also creating concerns that the government may alter contractual terms. Promising discoveries have given east African governments an advantage in negotiations.

Canada's Simba Energy estimates its block in northeast Kenya sits atop 1 billion barrels of oil, but it needs investors to help stump up the cash.

“I really, really want to drill in 2013. I was prepared to commit to 2D seismic but had to consider feedback from some of our potential farm-in partners,” Hassan Hassan, Simba's chief operating officer said in an interview.

“We've decided to wait, but believe me it pains me to wait,” he added.

The uncertainty is affecting new money. Explorers already licensed in Kenya are locked into spending agreements and still releasing capital.

In another development that raises the spectre of a trade embargo, a front-runner in the race, former Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, faces trial for crimes against humanity linked to the election violence in 2007/2008.

If Kenyatta is elected, western governments will face a dilemma over how to balance a principled stance with diplomatic, security and trade ties with Kenya.

The United States, without naming Kenyatta, cautioned “choices have consequences”. Officials in other Western capitals have said any talk of economic sanctions is premature, but some investors are anxious.

“You want to go in when you think there is certainty. If sanctions were to be placed on Kenya, I don't think we would survive two years,” said Don Riaroh of Nairobi-based Bahari Resources. The small firm, which is already exploring in the Indian Ocean's Comoros archipelago, has targeted Kenya.

The stakes are rising. British explorer Tullow Oil this month announced Kenya's first potentially commercial flow rates, taking it a step closer to production.

Tullow's venture partner, Africa Oil, estimates there are 23 billion barrels of oil beneath two onshore basins that extend from southern Ethiopia to the southwestern tip of Kenya.

If proven, that would make Kenya the 13th-largest holder of oil reserves in the world, above the United States. At today's oil prices the reserves would be worth $2.6 trillion, more than 60 times Kenya's 2012 gross domestic product.

Two additional basins have hardly been explored.

Kenya's next president will probably oversee multi-billion dollar investments and new legislation to govern production agreements and how to spend hotly anticipated petrodollars.

In his manifesto, Kenyatta says 5 percent of energy revenues will go into local communities and another 5 percent will fund renewable energy projects. Oil will “benefit all Kenyans”, the manifesto says, but gives no details such as tax structures.

The manifesto of his rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, does not even mention oil. He has stated at campaign rallies in Turkana that he would seek to avoid the so-called “oil curse” that has befallen African countries, where the wealth has not been used to fight poverty.

Some oil players are concerned that both presidential hopefuls have not laid out more detailed plans for infrastructure, taxation and the handling of oil proceeds.

“I was surprised that oil didn't get brought up in the debate, really surprised,” Africa Oil Chief Executive Officer Keith Hill said, referring to Kenya's first ever televised presidential debate on February 11.

If Kenya is to produce and export oil, it will need a pipeline network stretching hundreds of kilometres to link inland oil fields to the coast. It will need a new refinery to supply the domestic market from its own crude. The existing facility in Mombasa is dilapidated and runs only at partial capacity.

And while there are laws that set out how oil revenue is spent, they are old and vague. The 13-page Petroleum Act became law in 1986. Back then, few expected a serious oil find.

Nine oil companies operating in Kenya including Tullow, Anadarko and Africa Oil have formed the Kenya Oil and Gas Association. It wants the government to legislate faster.

“We're very keen on fiscal stabilization. It's very key that investors know terms are going to be fixed. Investors and oil companies don't like the idea that terms will be changed after the fact,” Hill said.

They point to neighbouring Uganda, where commercial production is finally slated for 2017 after being delayed almost a decade by rows over tax and infrastructure projects, and hope Kenya avoids such setbacks.

The major oil companies are poised to come in once the small-caps do the dirty work, they say.

“Barely a week goes by when I don't get a call from one of the super-majors who say: 'How do we get in?',” Hill said.



http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/kenya-oil-gas-investment-on-hold-1.1477407

 

[smalltimer]

Stock Trend Analysis - Buy, Sell or Hold "PANCONTINENTAL OIL & GAS NL" (PCL.AX)?

PCL.AX is in a long term downtrend and it has traded about 52% of the time below the 200 day moving average in the last 52 weeks on daily average volume of 2.6M shares changing hands.

For the medium term, the 50 day moving average is generally in a trading range with a bearish downward bias. The 20 day moving average is very weak as PCL.AX has been trading below its 20 SMA for 87.5% of the time in the last 8 weeks.

PCL.AX may be overdue for a small relief rally but it has to be noted that as PCL.AX is still in a downtrend characterized by the 200 SMA, currently at 0.13, the most likely scenario is that rallies will be sold into until the 200 SMA is convincingly taken out. Click here for the latest support & resistance levels to help you finetune your entry into or exit out of "PCL.AX".

The analyst consensus estimates for the 1 year price target for this stock is $0.27* (*source: Yahoo Finance)

http://au.bannronn.com/stocks/trend-analysis.php?symbol=PCL.AX

 

[Dixiedodo]

Our Oil Dreams Have Just Been Re-Ignited
By Daniel Steinmann, 15 February 2013

A flurry of excitement added some push to the usual summer afternoon wind battering Walvis Bay from the south west with the arrival of a drill rig intended for HRT's two prospecting blocks on the northern fringe of the so-called Orange basin. Etc

http://allafrica.com/stories/201302151112.html

The Transocean Marianas is making its way to the drill site..in addition interest in all the licenses is starting to light up. As is PCL : http://helioschariot.com/namibia-pcl-pancontinental-oil-and-gas/ there are also links to other explorers in Namibia. Good luck to HRT !!

 

[smalltimer]

I think that we hit the current cycle low last week at 8.4 cents and are currently on the next trend up.
Looking forward to the 10++ again.

Very little volume today and the sellers are drying up....We hope !
Now that Drilling has started close to the PCL blocks ;

The semi-submersible drilling rig Transocean Marianas arrived at its drilling location some 160 kilometres west of Walvis Bay last night, and is expected to start within days with the sinking of two exploration boreholes in Namibia’s much anticipated search for oil.

we may see a bit of action in our share price again -- Good luck all.

 

[smalltimer]

Junior goes extra distance
by: Barry Fitzgerald
From: The Australian
March 26, 2013 12:00AM

Source: The Australian

AUSTRALIA'S oil and gas juniors have always been prepared to travel far and wide to secure their shot at the big time. Melbourne-based Far Limited (FAR) -- headed up by a geophysicist capable of spiking a volleyball from great heights, Cath Norman -- is a case in point.

Far as been under the radar for the past couple of years accumulating big acreage positions in what have become oil and gas exploration hotspots offshore from East and West Africa.

It is a fine example of what juniors do best -- move in early to an area with promise, work up a bunch of exploration targets and entice in a major partner with deep pockets to put the prospects to the test with the drill bit, preferably with the junior's ongoing exposure being on a free-carried basis for as long as possible.

That Far has had some success is reflected in its market capitalisation now topping $100 million, even if its share price yesterday of 4.2c might give the impression it is a penny dreadful. But it is now a question of where to next for Far thanks to Norman securing British-listed independent Cairn Energy as a farm-in partner for Far's oil play off Senegal.

...The deal is as good as a junior could hope for, with Cairn to acquire a 65 per cent working interest in Far's three offshore blocks by fully funding 100 per cent of the drilling and test costs of an initial exploration well, plus reimbursing Far $9.4m for past costs associated with its trail-blazing work on the three blocks.

It doesn't sound like much until it is realised that Cairn's exploration well commitment comes with a cap of $US80m ($76.5m).

So Cairn obviously rates highly the potential that deep-blue waters off Senegal just might contain the sort of big oilfields it is after.

Far has previously crunched the data from a 2000sq km-plus seismic survey across the blocks.

It came up with at least 11 potentially drillable prospects over various "play" types. More to the point is the estimated potential for 3.58 billion barrels of oil (unrisked best estimate, on a 100 per cent basis) across the prospects. The assessed potential of the prospects range in size from a handy 58 million barrels to some 632 million barrels, giant-sized in industry parlance.

All that means nothing until put to the test by the drill bit. The wait is not expected to be long, with Far saying that the Cairn-operated exploration well is expected to start spinning away early next year.

Needless to say, it will be one watched well, given the potential impact on a company the size of Far.

After Far is carried through the initial well, its exposure -- and share of ongoing exploration costs -- will be 27.8 per cent, with Cairn at 72.2 per cent, leaving Senegal national oil company Petrosen with its free-carried 10 per cent stake (through the exploration phase).

While the Senegal play is all very interesting, followers of Far will tell you that it is actually its East African acreage where the excitement lies with the stock.

Maybe so, but at least Senegal is now a done deal, and the drilling of the first well is in sight.

As for East Africa, there has been chatter that Norman is not all that far off from securing a Cairn-like deal for its 60 per cent-owned and operated Block L6 permit (ASX-listed Pancontinental Oil & Gas holds 40 per cent) off Kenya.

It is the East African margin, particularly offshore Tanzania, that has already produced a host of multi-trillion cubic feet (tcf) gas discoveries, with energy-hungry India across the waters the natural home for future production.

Whether the East African gas discoveries represent yet another challenge to Australia's LNG ambitions is another story.

Far has so far matured three prospects in the L6 block. If they are oil-filled, the prospective resource has been estimated at 130 million, 178 million and 327 million barrels. If they are gas-filled, the range is from 388 billion cubic feet up to 807 bcf.

Across the block, the combined prospective resource has been estimated at 3.7 billion barrels of oil or 10.2 tcf of gas.

Those sorts of figures have a certain appeal to would-be farm-in partners given the discoveries being made elsewhere up and down the East African margin.

Robust Resources (ROL)

THERE has been much discussion about what gold's rebound to more than $US1600 an ounce means for the the shell-shocked local market in gold equities.

Gold equities remain down a thumping 35 per cent on their level of a year ago and there is a feeling that the raid on bank accounts in Cyprus might just be the tonic needed to convince investors it is time to stock up on some gold equities as a hedge against what might come from Europe's ongoing debt nightmares. Given the shell-shocked nature of local equities, it should be a case of easy pickings. But braver folk are going a step further and starting to dabble in gold stocks with Indonesian exposure.

As a sub-group of the ASX, they have been smashed something shocking thanks to the on-going saga at Intrepid Mines. It was done over last year by counterparties after spending $100m or so on its Tujuh Bukit gold-copper project. Tough for Intrepid, but even tougher for the other Indonesian players that don't have the same counterparty risk that befell Intrepid.

Robust Resources (ROL) is one such company. Its share price has been anything but robust in the past 12 months, tumbling more than 70 per cent to the 34c seen yesterday. There is a general gold equities sell-off component in that share-price dive, but it is mostly the dumping of anything with an Indonesian flavour on the ASX post the Intrepid saga.

It is a source of frustration to Robust chief executive Gary Lewis. As he said last week, subtract Robust's $25m cash from its $30m market cap and the company is basically being valued at the cost of a Kirribilli apartment.

For its current enterprise value of some $5m, Robust comes with its 1.18 million-ounce gold equivalent project on remote Romang island, also home to a potential low-cost, early-cashflow manganese opportunity.

The plan is to get in to production inside 18 months, initially from the Lakuwahi (oxide) gold project. None of that would be interesting if not for Robust having what Intrepid lacked -- clean and clear tenement status.

More than that, Robust has aligned its interests in Indonesia with the country's fourth-richest businessman and global noodle king, Anthony Salim. Salim owns 19.8 per cent of Robust and 22.5 per cent of the Romang island projects

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...s-extra-distance/story-fnciil7d-1226605822183

 

[smalltimer]

Press Release:March 27th, 2013

$77.3 billion Expected to be Spent on Offshore Drilling in the Middle East and Africa Between 2012 and 2016

Global Information Inc. would like to present a new market research report, "Offshore Drilling Industry in Middle East and Africa to 2016 - Pre-Salt Potential in West Africa and Significant Gas Finds Off the East African Coast Driving Exploration Activity" by GBI Research.

Between 2007 and 2011, a total of $63.5 billion was spent on offshore drilling in the Middle East and Africa region. As a result of increased exploration activities in offshore Middle East and Africa, total offshore drilling expenditure for the region between 2012 and 2016 is expected to reach $77.3 billion, a 21.7% increase over the previous five year period.

The growth of drilling expenditure is expected to spread to all major countries in the region, with countries in West Africa leading in terms of exploration activity. Increased drilling activities in countries such as Sierra Leone, and Liberia will see the emergence of relatively new players competing with seasoned veteran countries in West Africa such as Angola and Nigeria. Following a number of large discoveries, countries in East Africa such as Tanzania, Mozambique and Kenya are also driving operator activity. In the Middle East region, the development of the Manifa, Arabiyah and Hasban fields in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, South Pars in Iran and North Dome in Qatar will result in increased drilling activity over coming years.

The figure below illustrates offshore drilling expenditure in the Middle East and Africa between 2000 and 2016.

Ghana Expected to Emerge as Most Promising Exploration Region in West Africa
An abundance of offshore reserves have enabled Ghana to emerge as one of the most prominent countries in West Africa for the exploration of oil and gas. Between 2008 and 2012 period, 16 offshore discoveries were made in Ghana, second only to Angola, where 22 discoveries were made during the same period. Of the 16 discoveries made in the country, 13 were made in the Tano basin and the remaining three were made in the Cape Three Points basin. Other countries in West Africa where substantial discoveries have been made include Equatorial Guinea with seven, Cameroon with four, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Cote dIvoire with two each, and Mauritania with one.

The Kosmos Jubilee discovery in 2007, which is considered one of the largest discoveries in West Africa in recent years, resulted in substantial changes to Ghanas production assets. The companys success at the Jubilee discovery led to a number of other successful discoveries at the West Cape Three Points and deepwater Tano blocks, including Mahogany, Teak, Akasa, and Banda. Kosmos plans to increase its acreage position in offshore Ghana and further accelerate its exploration activities in coming years. In the second half of 2012, Tullow and its associates submitted a Plan of Development (PoD) for the Tweneboa, Enyenra and Ntomme (TEN) project to the Ministry of Energy. The drilling of the Okure exploration well to the south of TEN is currently in progress. Hess Corporation made their first discovery in offshore Ghana in 2011. Later, in June 2012, Hess concluded drilling at the Hickory North-1 well and discovered approximately 100 net feet (30 meters) of gas condensate pay.

Offshore Blocks of Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya are Driving Operator Activity in East Africa
The geological conditions in East Africa support the possibility of abundant oil and gas reserves being located in the region. Oil was assumed to be present beneath parts of East Africa as far back as the late 19th century, when thick, greasy sediment was discovered on the shores of Mozambique. Moreover, various seismic studies have revealed that countries up the coast of East Africa possess vast natural gas resources as well as substantial offshore oil deposits. Major new gas discoveries in the offshore region of East Africa will result in the emergence of new countries such as Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania as active players, alongside other oil producing countries.

Over the past two years, exploration activities in offshore Tanzania have resulted in a number of gas discoveries. Some of these discoveries include the Pweza-1 gas discovery in block 4 at water depths of around 1,400 meters in 2010, the Chewa-1 gas discovery in block 4 at water depths of around 1,300 meters in 2010, the Chaza-1 gas discovery in block 1 at water depths of around 950 meters in 2011, the Jodari-1 gas discovery in block 1 at water depths of around 1,150 meters in 2012, and the Zafrani-1 gas discovery in block 2 at water depths of around 2,562 meters in 2012. A number of offshore wells are planned to be drilled, including one well in block 1, three wells in block 2, one well in block 5 and one well in block 6. These recent discoveries have made the country a prominent destination for investment in the range of $10-20 billion for exploration and production activities over the coming decade.

The exploration activities of major players in Kenya have also increased over recent years. Anadarko has been the first major player to enter Kenya; the company has operating interest in blocks L-5, L-7, L-12, L-11A and L-11B. In June 2011, Apache Corporation acquired block L-8 in the country. Following this, companies such as BG, Camac and Total have entered the country for exploration activities. In offshore Kenya, various companies are in the initial stages of exploration. Apache drilled its first exploration well, Mbawa 1, in block L-8 in Q3 2012, and discovered natural gas reserves. The company and its partners Origin Energy Limited, Pancontinental Oil & Gas NL and Tullow Kenya BV are analyzing the well data in order to determine further exploration activities in the block. Total, Ophir and BG plan to drill their first Kenyan wells in 2013.

In February 2010, Anadarko announced that the Windjammer exploration well in the frontier Rovuma Basin in offshore Mozambique had resulted in the discovery of more than 480 net feet of natural gas. This was followed by the discovery of Ironclad, the first well to encounter the presence of liquid hydrocarbons in offshore East Africa. Together with its partners, Anadarko has drilled 11 successful wells (nine in the Prosperidade complex, two in the Golfinho/Atum complex) to date in offshore area 1. The Prosperidade complex contains an estimated 17-30+ trillion cubic feet (tcf) of estimated recoverable natural gas resources, and the Golfinho/Atum complex contains an estimated 10-30+ tcf of recoverable natural gas resources. Anadarko has continued to make discoveries along with the group companies, and has identified 20 additional exploration prospects on this block. Global energy major ENI SpA is also planning to drill an additional five wells in area 4 in order to fully assess the blocks potential. Both ENI SpA and Anadarko are aggressively involved in exploration activity with the aim of exporting gas reserves to lucrative Asian markets.

Increasing Trend towards Deep and Ultra-Deep Water Exploration and Production Drives Growth of Offshore Drilling Industry

In the recent past, offshore oil and gas exploration has rapidly spread to deep and ultra-deep waters in the search for fresh oil and gas reserves with attractive production potential. This marks a shift in trends from shallow water offshore drilling activity, which was popular until the 1990s. In the Middle East and Africa region, deepwater activities are concentrated in Angola and Nigeria. There has been a substantial increase in deepwater discoveries in these countries in recent years. Natural gas production, which was the mainstay of shallow water activity in Qatar, has registered a steady increase in recent years. Technological advancement has also paved the way for increased activity in deep and ultra-deep waters in the country.

Geological similarity between subsalt areas in Angola and Brazil has increased hopes of discovering substantial subsalt reserves in the continental shelf areas of Angola. As shallow water resources decline, deep and ultra-deep subsalt areas are expected to play an increasingly prominent role in offshore oil and gas production. As exploration and production activity moves into deeper water depths, the market for the services of offshore drilling contractors, especially major and technically strong companies, is expected to register strong growth.

Report: Offshore Drilling Industry in Middle East and Africa to 2016 - Pre-Salt Potential in West Africa and Significant Gas Finds Off the East African Coast Driving Exploration Activity

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

http://www.giiresearch.com/press/7765.shtml

 

[smalltimer]

It's been a bad run of late, but will we re-test the $0:080 mark this week and turn for the next run up ?
Hit $0:081 on the last trading session before closing at $0:084.

Hope we see a turn soon, good luck all.

 

[smalltimer]

April 18, 2013, 7:15 a.m. ET
Anadarko Provides East Africa Exploration Update

Discovers New Natural Gas Field Offshore Mozambique; Encounters Oil Shows Offshore Kenya

HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwired - Apr 18, 2013) - Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC) today announced the discovery of a new natural gas accumulation fully contained within the Offshore Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin of Mozambique. The Orca-1 discovery well encountered approximately 190 net feet (58 meters) of natural gas pay in a Paleocene fan system.

"Discovering another large, distinct and separate natural gas accumulation in the Offshore Area 1 continues our outstanding exploration success offshore Mozambique," said Sr. Vice President, Worldwide Exploration Bob Daniels. "We are designing an initial two-well appraisal program to define the areal extent of the Orca field, which will commence immediately after drilling our Linguado and Espadarte exploration wells. Orca is a single large Paleocene column, and its proximity to shore provides additional options and flexibility for potential future development."

The Orca-1 exploration well was drilled to a total depth of approximately 16,391 feet (4,996 meters), in water depths of approximately 3,481 feet (1,061 meters).

Anadarko is the operator in the Offshore Area 1 with a 36.5-percent working interest. Co-owners include Mitsui E&P Mozambique Area 1, Limited (20 percent), BPRL Ventures Mozambique B.V. (10 percent), Videocon Mozambique Rovuma 1 Limited (10 percent) and PTT Exploration & Production Plc (8.5 percent). Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, ep's 15-percent interest is carried through the exploration phase.

Anadarko also completed drilling its Kubwa well in the L-07 Block offshore Kenya, which encountered non-commercial oil shows in reservoir-quality sands.

"We are very encouraged with our first test of Kenya's previously unexplored deepwater basin, in which mudlog and well-site evaluation of core data indicates the presence of a working petroleum system with reservoir-quality sands," Daniels said. "The Kubwa well tested multiple play concepts and provided useful data regarding the prospectivity of our six-million-acre position offshore Kenya. The rig will now mobilize south to drill the Kiboko well."

Anadarko operates the L-07 Block with a 50-percent working interest. Co-venturers in the L-07 Block include Total E&P Kenya B.V. (40 percent) and PTT Exploration & Production Plc (10 percent).

A map of Anadarko's position in Mozambique's Offshore Area 1 will be available under the "Media Center/Anadarko News" tab at www.anadarko.com.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation's mission is to deliver a competitive and sustainable rate of return to shareholders by exploring for, acquiring and developing oil and natural gas resources vital to the world's health and welfare. As of year-end 2012, the company had approximately 2.56 billion barrels-equivalent of proved reserves, making it one of the world's largest independent exploration and production companies. For more information about Anadarko and APC Flash Feed updates, please visit www.anadarko.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Anadarko believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions. No assurance, however, can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this news release, including Anadarko's ability to drill, develop and commercially operate the drilling prospects identified in this news release. See "Risk Factors" in the company's 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other public filings and press releases. Anadarko undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
.

 

[smalltimer]

Share price looks like it well and truly broke through the last resistance level (0.080) so no telling now where its going to bottom out this time. Currently down 40% since its last mini rally back in Feb 4th,5th. Other companies must surely be looking at PCL's assets by now.

You can only wait and perhaps pick up a few more when it gets lower to average out your holdings if you got yours at a higher level.

In the mean time, looks like that Somalia is finally getting their act together next door which may pull in a bit more interest into the area and perhaps a bit more stability and confidence as well. Wonder if PCL try for a few more blocks there as well ?

**************************

Tuesday, 23 April 2013 11:22 Somalia targets Shell, Eni for oil, gas output-sharing contracts

Somalia plans to sign 30 oil and gas production-sharing contracts this year, starting with companies that operated in the country before its government was toppled more than two decades ago, an official said.

“All prior holders have been contacted and three are ready to continue,” including Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA), Eni SpA (ENI), and ConocoPhillips (C), Hussein Ali Ahmed, managing director of the state-owned Somalia Petroleum Corp., said in an interview on April 18 in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. BP Plc (BP/) has indicated an interest in returning, while Chevron Corp. hasn’t formerly answered the Somali government’s call to come back, he said.

Somalia is one of the last frontiers for oil and gas in eastern Africa as it recovers from a two-decade civil war that shattered the economy and left the nation as one of the world’s least developed. In the region, companies including Eni, BG Group Plc (BG/) and Statoil ASA (STL) have discovered more than 100 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves in Mozambique and Tanzania, while London-based Tullow Oil Plc (TLW) has found oil in Uganda and Kenya.

Somali lawmakers in September elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud as the country’s president, marking the 16th attempt to establish an effective central government since 1991, when the former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown. The country’s security forces, backed by regional peacekeepers, are still battling al-Qaeda-backed Islamic militants who control parts of southern and central Somalia, after fleeing the capital, Mogadishu, in August 2011.

Exploration Blocks

Somalia plans to increase the number of oil and gas exploration blocks to 300 of 5,000 square kilometers (1,931 square miles) each, after sub-dividing the existing 25 areas, according to Ahmed. Some blocks are currently as big as 200,000 square kilometers, Ahmed said.

“We want to sub-divide because they are too big to award to single companies for exploration in good time,” Ahmed said. Shell had five blocks before Barre’s government fell, he said.

The area available to explore for oil and gas in Somalia is equivalent to about one third of the country’s surface, Ahmed said. The country expects to complete legislation under which oil and gas activities will be managed within in months.

“We had drafted a law in 2008, but the new government asked to review it, and we expect they will send in to parliament soon, and the whole process should be complete in a few months,” Ahmed said


http://www.heemaalnews.com/index.ph...hell-eni-for-oil-gas-output-sharing-contracts

***************************

Stock Trend Analysis - Buy, Sell or Hold "PANCONTINENTAL OIL & GAS NL" (PCL.AX)?
PCL.AX is in a long term downtrend and it has traded about 63% of the time below the 200 day moving average in the last 52 weeks on daily average volume of 2.4M shares changing hands. For the medium term, the 50 day moving average is generally in a trading range with a bearish downward bias. The 20 day moving average is very weak as PCL.AX has been trading below its 20 SMA for 100% of the time in the last 8 weeks. PCL.AX may be overdue for a small relief rally but it has to be noted that as PCL.AX is still in a downtrend characterized by the 200 SMA, currently at 0.11, the most likely scenario is that rallies will be sold into until the 200 SMA is convincingly taken out