The statement comes as more than 3,207,000 shares traded in the first 70 minutes in of trading in ERHE today.
Market makers seemed determined not to let the stock rise to its natural level. Sellers who only wanted $0.50 for shares that would have commanded $0.55 dominated the market, again leading to calls for an investigation of trading in the stock by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.
"It's one of those mornings that make you want to call the SEC," one Raging Bull poster lamented as huge trades went through without any movement at the bid or ask.
Violations of SEC regulations governing market maker activities, which are already under scrutiny, can be requested via e-mail to enforcement@sec.gov.
JDA to announce winners of 2004 licensing bid
by Bassey Udo
Energy Editor
LAGOS -- The Joint Development Authority (JDA) may soon announce winners of the 2004 Licensing Round result of the Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Zone (JDZ).
Authoritative Presidency sources said on Monday in Abuja that ExxonMobil was at the weekend notified to take steps to exercise its pre-emptive rights in any of the oil blocs put up for bids during the licensing round held last December.
Following the 2001 treaty signed between Nigeria and Sao Tome creating the JDZ, multinational exploration and production (E&P) companies that operated in the territorial waters in years predating the agreement -ExxonMobil and Dangote-Energy Equity Resources and Environmental Remediation Holdings Corporation (ERHC) were assumed to possess pre-emptive rights over the area, an arrangement that conferred on them substantial rights of preference on some of oil blocs in the zone.
ExxonMobil alone has pre-emptive rights granted it in any three of the nine blocs on offer in the 2003 licensing round as well as in the five blocs on offer in the 2004 round provided it matched the highest price offered by the bonafide bidders.
ERHC, on the other hand, has preferential option rights in the JDZ as well as the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
On the basis of the result of the 2003 licensing round, which they won with $123 million offer, the two firms were granted licences to jointly operate the Premier oil bloc-1 in the zone along with ChevronTexaco on 51:40:9 percentage equity ratio.
Announcement of the result of the 2004 Licensing Round bid has been hanging for more than one month to create room for the resolution of some issues surrounding the interests of the parties involved in the exploitation of natural resources in the zone.
Daily Independent gathered that with the notification issued to ExxonMobil to move to exercise its preferential rights within the next 30 days, the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC), made up of Ministers of Petroleum and senior officials of the two countries, will meet to give a final appraisal of the 26 bids that featured in the exercise before making public the winners.
No comments:
Post a Comment