The much-delayed awards would immediately follow the exercise and a meeting of the JDA's Joint Ministerial Council, which must approve the awards and reportedly has already decided who will win. That would likely mean sometime between April 11 and April 15, a Friday.
The Dow Jones story was apparently keyed to a press release ostensibly issued by the JDA on March 22 but which only appeared on the JDA Website (www.nigeriasaotomejda.com) on Wednesday, March 30.
No mention of ERHC Energy appeared in this article. ERHC has the same kind of preferential rights as ExxonMobil but has already exercised them and had them validated by the JDA.
Scott wrote a 1,500-word feature on ERHC Energy's prospects that ran repeatedly ion the Dow ones wire in late January. Here is the latest effort, first posted by mrken11 on Raging Bull's ERHE message board:
Sao Tome, Nigeria Set Deadline on Rights
by Norval Scott and Vincent Nwanma
Wed, Mar 30, 2005 19:56 GMT
LONDON - A firm deadline of April 9 has been set for ExxonMobil Corp. to decide whether it will exercise its preferential rights in the Sao Tomean-Nigerian Joint Development Zone, Sam Dimka, a spokesman for the Joint Development Authority told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.
That should allow the JDA to move forward in concluding the drawn-out licensing process, which has been ongoing since April 2003. The licensing round closed on Dec. 15 2004, with 26 bids from 23 companies for the five JDZ oil and gas blocks on offer being received.
However, the round has been delayed somewhat as ExxonMobil has still to decide whether to take up the preferential rights it was awarded as a result of contracts it held in the region before the JDZ was created. The company now has a deadline of April 9 by which it must make its decision, Dimka said.
ExxonMobil can exercise its rights on any two blocks from those on offer, and would gain equity of 25% in each if it does so. It has already taken a 40% interest in Block 1, considered to have the best prospects and awarded by the JDA in 2004.
6 comments:
Final boarding call! The price of poker is about to go up sharply!
DJ Goldman Sachs: Oil Markets In Early 'Super Spike' Period
03/31/2005
Dow Jones News Services
(Copyright © 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Goldman Sachs believes the oil markets have entered the early stages of a "super spike" period, which analyst Arjun Murti defines as a band of oil prices that could be high enough to reduce energy consumption substantially and create a spare capacity cushion that could reduce energy prices return.
Murti increased his super spike range to $50 to $105 per barrel from $50 to $80 per barrel. He also increased his 2005 forecast for West Texas Intermediate oil to $50 per barrel from $41 and his 2006 estimate to $55 per barrel from $40.
Murti recommends adding to positions in the oil sector "at current prices, on a pullback, or even after rallies," and raised 2005 and 2006 earnings estimates across the board.
His top picks in the sector continue to be Exxon Mobil (XOM), Amerada Hess (AHC), Bill Barrett Corp. (BBG), Devon Energy (DVN), EnCana Corp. (ECA), Murphy Oil (MUR), Newfield Exploration (NFX), Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), Premcor (PCO), Questar Corp. (STR) and Suncor Energy (SU).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-31-05 0934ET
Very good news, Joe! And thanks for adding some perspective.
As a recent - and accumulative - investor in ERHC, I've begun following both your blog and the RB torrent. Both are interesting, helpful - each in its own way. But I find your syntheses especially rewarding.
I make a point of showing my appreciation by clicking the adverts.
Good show!
Actually the deadline for Exxon should be April the 8th,since March has 31 days and the announcement was on March 9
Very good news, Joe! Thanks for adding a bit of perspective to the sometimes confusing flow of news.
Since recently discovering and investing - accumulatively - in ERHC, I've begun following both your blog and the RB torrent. As a novice to this environment, I find both interesting - but yours especially helpful.
In appreciation, I make a point of clicking the adverts.
Good show!
Homeport, many thanks for the clicks on our ads. On two occasions last week, we made $13 on two consecutive days. Now it's down to about $2.75 a day, but even that is better than nothing! I appreciate your readership and your kind words.
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