Friday, March 25, 2005

JDA Press Release Spells April 9 Deadline for ExxonMobil

The still-unpublished press release offered by the Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Authority to counter widespread doubts about the integrity of its second licensing round has been made available to several Nigerian newspapers and obtained by ERHC On The Move.

Although it was dated March 22, it still has not appeared on the JDA Website among its other press releases. JDA officials explained that they sent the press release to London to be posted several days ago.

The JDA site is http://www.nigeriasaotomejda.com.

The limited release of the statement raised questions about whether those who were able to obtain it directly from contacts at the JDA were trading in regulated "insider" information. That would require that those who received the early copies traded on the information and that the information had a material effect on share price. There is no indication it did.

Here is the press release, obtained from the Raging Bull Message Board:

PRESS STATEMENT

JDZ 2004 LICENSING ROUND


The JDA has observed with a deep sense of appreciation the level of interest its activities, especially the 2004 Licensing Round has generated in the industry, the media and amongst stakeholders.

2. In recent times the media and the industry have been awash with many reports on the status of the awards of the five blocks put on offer under the 2004 Licensing Round.

3. While appreciating the interest shown, it is imperative to state that the JDA as a responsible corporate body is handling issues pertaining to the round with the settlement of third party interest agreements reached with all the parties concerned.

4. For the avoidance of doubt, the agreement with ExxonMobil stipulates when the company is notified to exercise its option, it can ask for additional information. From the date the JDA provides all the materials and information required it has up to 30 days to exercise its options. In this instance, in response to the request made by ExxonMobil, all relevant materials and information were made available to the company on the 9th March 2005.

5. As soon as ExxonMobil exercises its options, the Joint Ministerial Council will convene immediately to approve the awards which will be announced accordingly.

Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe
Joint Development Authority
22nd March 2005

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Joe, have you gone to the erhc chat yet? It is on paltalk. Just wondering.

...Joe Shea said...

I couldn't get PalTalk to work for me. I did try to go.

Anonymous said...

Joe despite all the grief you get you are a pal lol.

Anonymous said...

It's his right to come to paltalk, but officially inviting him is a mistake. ERHE and the investors will do mnuch better without him and his babbling. Sorry that I am posting anonymously.

Anonymous said...

This press release seems to bear out what I suggested the other day: the JDA is indeed acting professionally and within the legal framework established by the 2001 JDZ Treaty settlement, the Feb. 22, 2003, agreement between the JDA and ExxonMobil, and the April 7, 2003, administrative agreement between the JDA and ERHC. So let's just see what the coming days bring. Barry Morgan's report last night was encouraging.

Anonymous said...

You have the wrong link to the JDA site. The correct link is below:

http://www.nigeriasaotomejda.com/

Anonymous said...

KenG - What RB posters are you talking about? Making a statement as such, indicates you think ERHE is a 'scam' - not because any SEC filing, JDA statements, articles, etc. but because two posting on RB. Newflash: RB should not be used for any investment decisions - you must followup with your own DD, which appears you have the capability in doing. Have you done any research at all into ERHE at all - and not found its situation compelling? Curious.

Anyway,

Anonymous said...

This is KenG

Yes I've done the research, and I wouldn't go as far as to say that I think ERHC is a "scam." On the surface, as evidenced by press statements and news articles, it appears the stock is set to do some impressive things when ERHC actually starts turning a profit. The main thing that concerns me is that the company has made no efforts to grow in preparation for what should be a massive undertaking. Shouldn't they be putting into place some kind of infrastructure to handle this project? I think so - but there's none...only one employee! And also, like I mentioned, I spotted two characters that I know are 100% pumpers/scammers. Even if they are just daytraders trying to manipulate volume it is still disturbing to me that they are even aware of this stock. Nevertheless, my greed has gotten the best of me and I plan on investing several thousand dollars sometime next week. If it works out, then wonderful, and if not..well, I knew better.

Regards,
Ken

Anonymous said...

Ken,

As long as I have held shares of ERHE, I've noticed that Mr. Offor is very conservative in both words and deeds. Given his partners in this endeavor, he has -for the immediate future- secured the necessary 'staff' (if you will) to get the ball rolling once awards are announced. I also think that any hiring of new ERHE staff before awards are announced would be fiscally irresponsible, seen as displaying a level of arrogance as to how sure he is in winning their bids, or might start false speculation as to Mr. Offor knowing something before he legally should. Of course, all of that is just speculation on my part, but logical enough for me. We're dealing with Nigeria here, not the US where such corporate hubris is S.O.P., and culturally cultivated in board rooms from sea to shining sea.........JB

Anonymous said...

Ken- while nothing is a sure thing and the OTC is filled with garbage, a lot of evidence points to ERHC being one of those rare stocks that will make it's investors very happy. Yep, it's a gamble but one where the odds this time are on the investors side. Good luck.