Britain's Guardian: Reports Of Chevron Strike In Block 1 Boost Afren

Britain's venerable Guardian - not to be confused with the Nigerian publication of the same name - is alerting investors tomorrow in Neil Hume's well-read "Market forces" finance column that they should "keep an eye on Afren," the partner of Dangote EER in Block 1 of the Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Zone that stands to profit handsomely from any oil strike in that block, where Chervon is the operator and is partnered with ExxonMobil.

This particular mention is the first in the mainstream press of Chevron's rumored strike, which ERHC On The Move first reported last Tuesday. Since that time, the very reliable Mutwadadi has also confirmed a strike.

Here is the comment from the Guardian's Tuesday morning editions:

Finally, keep an eye on Afren, an oil exploration company focused on west Africa. Its shares gained 4.25p to 66.25p, excited by reports that Chevron has encountered a substantial oil-bearing structure during drilling at the Obo-1 exploration well in Block 1 of the Nigeria-Sao Tome joint development zone. Afren owns a 4.4% stake in the block.

It's the last item in the column, so a lot of readers will have it first on their mind when they log into their trading accounts.

Again, we caution that neither ERHC Energy (OTC BB symnbol: ERHE) or Chevron has not confirmed a strike nor any talks betwen the two firms.

Disclosure: I own 72,000 shares of ERHE and wil probably sell at least 1,000 shares today for personal needs. My family also owns a substantial stake in ChevronTexaco.