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To: ms.smartest.person who wrote (1387)9/7/2006 11:13:06 PM
From: ms.smartest.person  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 3198
 
&#8362 David Pescod's Late Edition September 7, 2006

DELPHI ENERGY (T-DEE) $4.00 -0.10
We’ve written many times over the last few months regarding
natural gas, natural gas prices and weather. Because of the warm
past winter, natural gas prices got clobbered and because of big
inventory, natural gas prices have stayed weak. It has affected a
lot of gassy stocks too as many are down between 20% and as
much as 60%. One of the ones that we’ve watched is Delphi Energy,
because of good management led by Dave Reid and his team
and lots of significant joint ventures. That doesn’t mean there
has been any joy with the stock over the last few months though,
and some actions taken here in the last few days shows us that
with what’s going on in the natural gas business certainly isn’t
getting better anytime soon. Haywood analyst Fred Kozak who
follows Delphi notes that in the recent company update the company
has earned in their Area-1 lands at Bigfoot in northeastern
B.C. by drilling 20 wells, constructing 30 kilometers of gathering
system and constructing 54 kilometers of all other road. However,
Delphi will not proceed with the next farm-in, which involved
$54 million of additional capital expenditure to earn a 50% interest
in 95 sections of land. Asked why? Kozak mentions in his report
that management sited the current weakness of natural gas markets
as well as the high costs of services for field activities. Price
of gas is down, costs are up—that’s what’s going on in the natural
gas business these days. What could change all this, is something
scary...betting on the weather.

KIRKLAND LAKE GOLD (T-KGI) $7.62 +0.07
Now these are the kind of drilling results a geologist prays
for. Kirkland Lake on their ongoing exploration program
yesterday announced that their drill Hole 50-740 intersected
5.57 ounces of gold over a core length of 50 feet.
Included, was 180 ounces of gold over a 1 foot width.
These are simply spectacular results. The Kirkland Lake
chart shows that it has faired like many other golds over
the last while, having a big correction over the summer,
But now, what next? Kirkland Lake is the amalgamation of
the old former producers, Kirkland Lake Gold, Teck,
Hughes, Lake Shore and Write Hargreaves and have a very
interesting management team that is being led by English
billionaire Harry Dobson. We are a little surprised that on
these drilling results, the stock only moved $0.40 yesterday,
although it was on a day that gold was down $5.50.
Once again, that’s the kind of stuff that people explore for
and it has got to be an understatement that they think it’s
one of the richest holes ever drilled in the Kirkland Lake
Camp—an area that has produced over 22 million ounces
in its history.

KODIAK OIL & GAS (V-KOG) $4.90 n/c
There’s two ways one could look at Kodiak Oil & Gas these days.
One is from the viewpoint of the cynic or that of the eternal optimist
and both are seeing the same company in very different
ways. To the cynic, they look at a company that’s hardly done any
drilling and hence has very little of a financial nature to talk about
other than options and compensation schemes for management
and a ludicrously high market cap for the company with almost 80
million shares out. You rightfully ask whether this company with
this itty-bit of cash flow is worth $400 million? The optimist on
the other hand, can’t ignore the low natural prices, hope that this
changes with the cold winter and looks forward to the drilling on
the Vermilion Basin, which is finally going to start shortly as the
company announces they have entered into a drilling contract
with True Drilling to drill two test wells to evaluate the natural gas
potential of the Baxter Shale and Frontier and Dakota sands to a
proposed total depth of 14,800 feet. The suggestion is that the rig
becomes available in early October. They do have a big interest in
the first well—North Trail-State No.4-36 of 90%, so if it does come
in they will have a big chunk and something good. And why is the
optimist so carried away? As the company’s latest press release
points out, Kodiak currently controls 49,000 gross acres, or 29,000
net that gives the potential for nearly 750 locations based on a 48-
acre spacing. So if they do find something, they could have
something big. On the other hand...if the cynic is right...

To see their presentation, visit their website at www.kodiakog.com

NATURAL GAS STORAGE:
The chart to the right tells you the one thing you need to know
about natural gas which after big inventory numbers today hits
new lows for the past two years. To think the bulls have to hope
for a cold winter...Meanwhile, there is an interesting dichotomy
happening as many natural gas producing companies are seeing
their stocks clobbered 20% to 60%, but a couple of gassy stocks
that are exploration stories such as Delta Petroleum, Exxel Energy
and Kodiak, flirt with new highs. Interesting! Meanwhile, oil has hit
new lows for the last four months and we go to Jim Rogers who
with George Soros had that enormously successful Quantum Fund
three decades ago and has written the best selling book
“Investment Biker” and “Adventure Capitalist” (both must-reads on
a sunny vacation) and also the author of the recent book, “Hot
Commodities”. He also developed his own index for commodities
over the last five or six years. When we asked him about his new
take on oil after the recent major discovery in the Gulf of Mexico of
between 3 billion and 15 billion barrels, his comments on oil prices
is simply: “Even IF they do have all of the 15 Billion barrels, that
adds only 8 months supply to the world's reserves at a time when
other reserves are declining. And even IF they are there, it is a
long time before it gets to market. That does not mean oil cannot
go to $40 in times of surprise or stress, but this field does not end
the bull market.” In the meantime, he points out that new fields in
India and Sakolin Island in Russia have run into big problems.