More claptrap or what? Desire dries up in the Falklands. The Times, October 23
BY SAEED SHAH
DESIRE PETROLEUM, the oil exploration independent
that said it could make the people of the Falkland Islands
some of the richest in the world, yesterday said that it had
no commercial discovery to report so far from the wells it
has drilled.
The Falklands was caught up in oil fever earlier this year
as Desire and other oil companies, including Amerada
Hess, the US company, held out the prospect of big finds.
Nothing to indicate a substantial reserve has been
discovered and analysts say that time is running out for
Desire and the Falklands' oil dreams. Desire was formed
specifically for Falklands exploration.
"They've got nothing else if the Falklands does not work
out," said Alan Marshall. of Robert Fleming Securities.
The company said its activities had also been hit by the
low price of oil, which made exploration less attractive.
The share price of Desire, which joined the AIM at 125p
in April, has been on a rollercoaster ride. It rocketed to a
high of 495p in May on hopes of a substantial Falklands
find, but yesterday closed at 61½p, down 12½p.
Mr Marshall said that if other oil companies exploring in
the Falklands, such as Shell or Amerada Hess, did not
come up with a commercially viable discovery soon, the
islands were likely to be abandoned for the foreseeable
future by oil companies.
Desire reported pre-tax profits for the six months to June
30 of £152,000, compared with £29,000 last time.
Earnings per share were 0.31p versus 0.06p and there is
no dividend.
the-times.co.uk |
