News, News, News: Oil Daily Says Sao Tome's NPA Chief Predicts Awards This Week, And So Does China's Xinhua; MDFM Responds To MLSTP Letter; EEL Falls

Oil Daily, a respected industry journal, claims it managed to get an interview with the head of Sao Tome and Principe's National Petroleum Agency, and - good news for ERHE investors - he says awards will be made this week.

China's Xinhua News Agency also quotes a Nigerian official saying the awards will be this week. Rigzone publishes that Tuesday story from the official Chinese news agency in which an Abuja-based official from the Dept. of Petroleum Resources also promises that awards are to be anounced "before the end of the week," but the official who tipped them off "refused to be identified."

And in the latest of the back-and-forth from the two major-party coalitions, there's now a response on Tela Non to today's 9-point message from the MLSTP/PSD from the president's MDFM/PCD.

That message talks about a debate on Thursday on issues including oil, and promises a regular weekly Q&A session as in Britain's parliament thereafter. If the debate is the end of the road, awards could indeed come Friday, we suppose.

The Oil Daily said the NPA chief told them President Fradique de Menezes would not "reject" the awards, as he has the power to do, and as the Energy Compass article of May 13 also suggested he might do.

The NPA executive director said instead that De Menezes is likely to sign the awards document and allow them to go forward sometime later this week.

Here is the paragraph of relevance, from a post by kerry_lass on Raging Bull's ERHE message board:

"Luis dos Prazeres, executive director of Sao Tome's administrative National Petroleum Agency (NPA), told Oil Daily Tuesday that the latest developments might bring delays. But at this crucial stage of the process, he said de Menezes was unlikely to reject the awards recommended by the JDA. "A decision will be taken to finalize the process by the end of the week," dos Prazeres added. De Menezes was expected to appoint a new natural resources minister late Tuesday."

Here is the story from Xinhua:

Nigeria, Sao Tome to Announce Winners of Oil Blocks
Xinhua News Agency
Tuesday, May 17, 2005

The Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Authority (JDA) is to announce winners of five oil blocks put on offer last November this week, an official from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) of Nigeria said Tuesday.

"The winners will be announced before the end of the week," said the official who refused to be identified.

"Exxon-Mobil has exercised its 40 percent option right on Block One and reserved its 25 percent option on two blocks for the next licensing round," he added.

According to the source, the winners are chosen based on competence and wherewithal to operate in the deep offshore waters.

The Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) of the JDA met in April and decided the winners that had been approved by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and his counterpart Fradique Des Menezes of Sao Tome and Principe.

Exxon-Mobil reserved its 25 percent options on two blocks among the five on offer in the 2004 bid round because it could not be given the operatorship of the blocks in line with its desire.

American oil firm, ERHC Energy in which indigenous firm Chrome Energy has major stake, had similar options and had already exercised them and validated by the JDA.

Oil activities are imminent in the JDZ after the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) on Block One was signed between Chevron- Texaco, Exxon-Mobil, Dangote EER and the JDA in February.

We are a little more inclined to rely on Mr. Dos Frazeres than the Chinese, but the truth is that a stormy meeting of Parliament lies ahead and a lot of harsh words are yet to be heard, so we counsel patience. We're not at all certain the meeting is germane to the awards process, however.

Awards could come this week - or come six months from now, depending on a lot of little things that no one but the good Lord can control.

In another development covered by Tela Non, the Sao Tome and Principe daily news Website, the major opposition party, MDFM - which is the party of President Fradique de Menezes, not of Prime Minister Vaz de Almeida, who is elected by the MLSTP/PSD ruling coalition in Parliament (in case you were confused as to how the President would not be in the ruling party, as he is in America) - has responded to Tuesday's lengthy missive from the MLSTP/PSD with its own air-clearing statement.

I have translated it below:

MDFM/PCD dá nota negativa ao governo

MDFM/PCD Will Give A Failng Grade To Government
by Vladimir Antonio

SAO TOME -- A coligação MDFM/PCD, a maior força política na oposição são-tomense, dá nota negativa ao desempenho do elenco governativo de Damião Vaz d’Almeida e admite votar uma moção de censura, caso o executivo não crie condições que melhorem a vida das populações.

SAO TOME -- The MDFM/PCD coalition, a major politcal force in the Sao Tome Opposition, has condemned the charade of the elected government of Damiao Vaz d'Almeida and vows to offer a motion of censure against the executive for not having cvreated conditions that improve the lives of the people.

Pois, segundo a aliança partidária, oito meses após a tomada de posse do IX governo constitucional de São Tomé e Príncipe pouco foi feito para melhorar a vida dos cidadãos.

Now, the party alliance continued, eight months have passed since the ninth constitutional Sao Tome and Principe government took office, and little has been done to better the life of its two cities.

O abastecimento de água às populações, a distribuição regular de energia, o saneamento do meio, a agricultura e a forma como tem sido conduzido o dossier petróleo, são entre outras, algumas das questões que mais preocupam os deputados do MDFM/PCD.

The supply of water to the population, the regular distribution of energy, the health of the average person, agriculture, and the way the petroleum dossier has been handled, among other issues, are some of the questions that most concern the deputies of MDFM.PCD.

Para procurar respostas junto do elenco de Damião Vaz d’Almeida, a coligação agendou para quinta-feira próxima, um debate sobre o estado da nação.

In order to get answers, together with the government of Damiao Vaz D'Almeida the coalition has arranged a debate for this Thursday onr the state of the nation.

“Vamos dar uma nota negativa ao governo porque o governo andou a dizer que precisava de um orçamento do estado, matéria fundamental para gerir e governar. De boa fé a nossa bancada fez um esforço para aprovar o orçamento do estado, mas desde então tem-se notado um desorientação completa por parte do governo do MLSTP”, garantiu Tozé Cassandra, deputado do MDFM/PCD.

We are going to give a failing grade to the government because the government goes forward without saying precisely what the national budget is, a fundamental matter [for those who] manage and govern. In good faith our side will demand an effort to approve the national budget, more so since have taken noticed of the complete disorientation of the MLSTP government," guaranteed
Toze Cassandro. a MDFM.PCD deputy.

Os deputados advertem por outro lado que o debate parlamentar vai ser só o primeiro passo na luta pela melhoria das condições de vida dos cidadãos são-tomenses.

The deputies warned the other side that the parliamentary debate was going to be only the first step in their fight to impriove the conditions under which Sao Tome citizens live.

“As regras democráticas devem ser seguidas, senão pode-se ir eventualmente para uma moção de censura, questionar o governo, e a oposição deve denunciar as coisas que estão erradas”, explicou Sebastião Santos.

"The rules of democracy are going to be followed; we are eventually going to pass a motion of censure, to question the government, as it is the duty of the opposition to denounce those things that are wrong," said Sebatian Santos.

Após o debate de quinta-feira, a coligação MDFM/PCD, diz que vai agendar com regularidade sessões de perguntas ao governo ao mesmo tempo que vai intensificar o contacto com o eleitorado para explicar o papel da Assembleia Nacional.

After the debate on Thursday, the MDFM/PCD coalition said it would agendize regular question and answer sessions with the government and at the same time intensify contacts with the electorate to explain the political platform of the National Assembly.

And in an indication the news is not so good for Equator Exploration, which was Patrice Trovoada's horse in the race, look at these end-of-day trading results from London's AIM, where the stock trades as EEL:

Last 5 trades

Time/Date Price Volume Trade value Type
17:00:51 18-May-2005 126.25 110,100 138,997.95 Single protected transaction
17:00:51 18-May-2005 126.25 110,100 138,997.95 Cancelled
16:59:31 18-May-2005 126.50 189,900 240,223.50 Single protected transaction
16:59:31 18-May-2005 126.50 189,900 240,223.50 Cancelled
16:26:11 18-May-2005 128.85 587,410 756,883.66 Single protected transaction