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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Oily1 who wrote (938)	3/11/1999 5:03:00 PM
From: Katherine Tynberg	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

OFF TOPIC Gentlemen: For the past few years I've followed this thread, be it quietly. I appreciate the insights into LOILY that you have provided, and despite the current disastrous stock price, IMHO, LOILY is still a unique bet -- a small, well-managed oil company selling at $2 with a value of 3-4 barrels of proven or probable oil per share, no debt, a $125 million credit line and undervalued exploratory opportunity in PNG, Malaysia and Sudan. Since it would seem you all like tangibles -- if any of you are interested -- I'd be happy to post a writeup of a small-cap company, IGC (Interstate General Corp.), currently selling at 5½ on the American Stock Exchange, with a book value of $14 per share and current value of $30 per share in prime real estate, which does not include a wholly owned subsidiary -- Interstate Waste Corp., a waste-to-energy international company with partners including Raytheon, Baltimore Gas & Electric, and the Swiss company, ThermoSelect -- that could add at least $6-8 to the price of the stock for each of more than a dozen potential contracts, if finalized. Along with a colleague of mine, Dana, I've been following the stock for over five years and believe it's now positioned for movement over the next year. We have direct contact with the principals of the company, and are in an excellent position to report on its activities. If any of you are interested in our writeup, please let me know and I'll post it along with the latest information on the company. Should there be sustained interest, we could form our own thread. Katherine

To: Oily1 who wrote (938)	3/16/1999 5:13:00 PM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 2742

The Falklands. British Geological Survey: A great deal of encouragement Oil optimism Mercopress News Agency, March 05 Dr. Phil Richards a leading scientist with the British Geological Survey, (BGS), based in Edinburgh maintains that "there are some oil companies waiting to return to the Falklands as soon as the price improves". Dr. Richards, Project Manager with BGS, Falkland Islands government consultants said that contrary to earlier reports "there is a great deal of encouragement from the first exploratory stage in the Falkland Islands North Basin". Six wells were drilled between April and December 1998 but no commercial quantities of oil were found. falkland-malvinas.com

To: Oily1 who wrote (938)	3/26/1999 11:16:00 PM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 2742

The Falklands: From The Times, Saturday March 27 The cutback in oil production quotas and the subsequent revival in the oil price has benefited the oil minnows such as those searching for oil off the Falkland Islands. Brokers say seismic studies that had been considered uncommercial when the oil price traded around the $10 a barrel level are now seen as worthwhile. Among the companies that could benefit are Westmount Energy, up 12½p at 30p, Desire Petroleum, 14½p higher at 38p, and Greenwich Resources, 2¼p better at 9p. Even Falkland Island Holdings, the trading company unchanged at 53½p, is expected to benefit.

To: Oily1 who wrote (938)	8/27/1999 11:52:00 AM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

The Falkland Islands - RNS News (UK), August 27 Commenting on today's Gaelic-Desire merger announcement, Dr John Martin, a director of Desire, said: "Although the analysis of all the results from the first six wells drilled in the North Falkland Basin, in two of which Desire had an interest, is not yet complete, it is already clear to the Desire Directors that considerable quantities of good quality oil have been generated in the source rocks of the basin. Unfortunately the conclusion of the first round of drilling in the North Falkland Basin coinciding with a dramatic fall in the oil price led to the departure of the drilling rig, the Borgny Dolphin. Although the oil price has recovered in recent months, it will be some time before the industry is ready to return to drill in the North Falkland Basin. Accordingly, Desire has been seeking additional opportunities, which are currently active. ... ... ... From the merger announcement: Although the analysis of all of the results from the first six wells drilled in the North Falkland Basin, in two of which Desire had an interest, is not yet complete, it is already clear to the Desire Directors that considerable quantities of good quality oil have been generated in the source rocks of the basin. An extensive, thick, lacustrine source rock, of Cretaceous age, has been encountered in Tranches A, B, C and F and, based upon seismic correlation, also appears to be present in Tranches D, I and L. The development of the North Falkland Basin was characterised by relative quiescence, such that the source rock is, in most areas, its own seal. This has resulted in the containment of most of the oil generated below the shallow reservoir rocks, penetrated by all six wells, although some oil has clearly migrated into these reservoirs in Tranches A and B, albeit not in commercial quantities. It is likely that the large volumes of oil generated may, however, have migrated somewhere beneath the source-rock seal and the next anticipated round of exploration drilling in the North Falkland Basin will concentrate on identifying reservoirs and traps beneath the seal. Desire's current effort in Tranches C, D, F, I and L is focused on this. The conclusion of the first round of drilling in the North Falkland Basin coinciding with the recent, dramatic fall in the oil price led to the departure of the drilling rig, the "Borgny Dolphin". Although the oil price has recovered in recent months, it will be some time before the industry is ready to return to drill in the North Falkland Basin because of the high costs involved. However, two factors may enhance the prospect of drilling should the oil price remain firm. Firstly, it is the intention of the Falkland Islands and Argentinian Governments to licence new exploration areas west of the Falklands in the "Area of Special Co-operation" and, secondly, major drilling activity is planned offshore Brazil next year. These factors are likely to renew interest in the North Falklands Basin and to provide access to drilling rigs within reasonable distance and, hence, at more reasonable cost. Desire has just completed a detailed analysis of the new seismic data acquired on Tranches I and L and is awaiting the results of a major study on Tranche F. When all these data are to hand, it is Desire's intention to prepare farm-out brochures for Tranches C, D, F, I and L and actively to seek new partners for exploration in the North Falkland Basin. However, this process is likely to take some time and, even if there is immediate success in farming-out, the logistical problems are such that it is difficult to envisage drilling recommencing in the next 12-18 months. Accordingly, as indicated in the Chairman's Statement in the 1998 Annual Report, the Desire Board has been seeking additional opportunities which are currently active. After reviewing a considerable number of proposals, it is the view of the Desire Board that the merger with Gaelic offers the best prospects for early success. ... ... ... _____________________________________________________ London, Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Following are comments by David Quick, technical director at Gaelic Resources Plc, regarding the company's decision to combine with Desire Petroleum Plc. Quick also is chief executive of Greenwich Resources Plc, which holds stakes in both Desire and Gaelic. ``The merged company will be a very interesting vehicle, with stakes in oil and natural gas exploration in Portugal and the Falkland Islands. Gaelic has the discovery in Portugal and Desire has the cash. ``I also regard the Falklands as being of great interest, but it's going to take a while since the rig drilling there has left the region.'

To: Oily1 who wrote (938)	4/13/2000 8:42:00 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

Falklands Set To Open Extra Oil Acreage - Lloyds List, April 8 In an attempt to encourage the oil industry to continue exploring in the Falklands, the islands' government plans to press ahead with plans to make additional acreage available through out of round licensing said Phyllis Rendell, director of mineral resources. This is despite the risk of upsetting the new Argentine government. Minor adjustments to the regulations that are part of the islands' legislation are being considered to simplify licence awards, she said. Areas of interest are expected to be for acreage not licensed at the time of the competitive licensing round in 1996. Although none of the six wells drilled in 1998 found commercially viable quantities of oil, Ms Rendell remains optimistic for the islands' hydrocarbon prospects. On reports that Argentina's government believes the plans contravene the 1995 agreement with the UK, she said: 'The Falkland Islands government continues a policy of no surprises with the Argentines.'

To: Oily1 who wrote (938)	5/8/2000 8:05:00 PM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 2742

The Falklands: Prospects For Remote Oil Exploration Good Says Oil Chief Falkland Islands News Network. May 8 By J. Brock (FINN) Recently the Director of Mineral Resources, Mrs. Phyl Rendell, returned from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) convention in New Orleans, La. Her stand, which was also manned by Dr. Phil Richards of British Geological Survey was in the International section. And, like the other countries represented, the Falklands had a display stand. A brief run down of what occurred at the Convention was placed in the May/June Newsletter but FINN went along to the Mineral Resources Department to ask Mrs. Rendel some questions in detail. FINN What are some of the lessons learned from attending these AAPG Conventions? PR The most recent American Association of Petroleum Geologists Convention which we now traditionally go to was held in New Orleans in April, was again a very useful venue for us to learn from. I think the lessons learned were, how stiff the competition is world-wide. I keep reiterating that we attend these conventions and go into what's called the International section and we find 35 or even up to 40 other countries all looking for industry investment in their areas. But even though we may be in competition with those companies, we also learn a great deal from them as to how they are progressing and moving forward and the approaches they are taking with offshore hydrocarbon exploration. We also learn a lot from the service industry that exhibits at these conventions. They take up the majority of the room there and have enormous stands and we learn a lot about seismic surveying and the latest technical approaches to survey and research. And, also there is a whole series of lectures going on in the margins of the convention and we can attend those if relevant. They are very technical and they usually pertain more to BGS Geologists rather than ourselves but, again, they are very useful. It's a two way street. We're giving information to the industry but really it's a big learning experience for us as well. FINN Given what you learned at this particular convention, what do you feel would be the ranking of the Falklands Oil Industry against those other countries? PR Ranking-wise, I think we have an attractive fiscal regime. We are attractive as a reliable British run Overseas Territory so there are many attractions for the industry to work in our area. FINN What are things that may be considered to be draw-backs? RP There are some issues that make the area less attractive in that we are in a very remote part of the world. There are not many facilities in the Islands to support an industry like this but we are able to demonstrate to the industry that the first exploration drilling phase was extremely successful technically. We as a Government haven't pushed that. It's the industry that worked here that have put out some very favourable reports. The FOSA alliance worked extremely well and they were very pleased with the way the facilities that were available in the Islands, how they worked for them. So, I think that's the down side for us, and of course, the relationship that we have with our neighbours and how that might effect them if they are operating in South America. FINN Have you been able to use the Falklands participation on the Special Area of Co-operation to help allay those political fears? PR Yes. That's really the essence of the Hydrocarbons Agreement and working with the Argentines to licence that area shows that both sides are mature enough to talk together and discuss and work forward. So, that is a helpful example to describe to the industry. FINN There seems to be a lot of activity surrounding your very, very low key approach in the Open Door policy. Will there be in the short term or in the long term, increased activity as far as perhaps another licensing round or, for the time being, are you just going to keep the same pattern. PR Certainly, we are not looking at a competitive licensing round other than the special area until such time as a discovery is made. We need more wells to be drilled. Instead, we have taken this approach of looking towards later in the year adopting Open Door Licensing and this is really industry driven where the industry come to the Government and ask to acquire data over this or that area. The industry want some exclusivity. They don't want data that somebody else can come and have the same patch, so to speak. So, we are adopting a system that the other countries that had been exhibiting at these conventions that this is probably the way to keep the door open to encourage industry to come to us and say what they would like to do. Once there is a discovery made in either the North Falkland Basin or wherever, then we would revert back to competitive Licensing where Government call the shots. Once you have a discovery then, of course, you are going to have the industry knocking on your door. FINN Presumably, if there is a discovery, would it mean that a rig of some sort would come down, or is it envisaged to drill holes in the seabed using another method? PR We always need a semi-submersible, or some other facility to drill holes so even when you have made a discovery you would still need a platform to continue to drill other appraisal wells and so on so the thing mushrooms somewhat. You wouldn't rely on just one discovery well. There must be some other wells drilled to see how deep the structure was that you penetrated and to assess the size of the field. A discovery would mean an escalation of platforms and facilities coming down here. FINN Given that, do you have a time frame for this activity? PR We are still at the stage where we haven't made a discovery so our job as a Government is to encourage the present license holders to find new partners to bring new cash to the area and carry on drilling exploration wells. We are hopeful that in 18 months to 2 years' time we should see more exploration wells being drilled. They may not be on the scale we saw in 1998 when we saw 6 wells being drilled back to back. It may be on a smaller scale and hopefully there will be rigs available from offshore Brazil that could come here and drill one or two wells and then, if from that exploration programme there was a discovery made, then we would expect the activity to increase. But the discovery well is still a very big "IF." That's what we are hoping for but it could be some time away. With the world's second best source rock the prospects of finding something in the North Falkland Basin are quite high. However, experts say that it is the well that has commercial quantities of hydrocarbons in it that will start the ball rolling.

To: Oily1 who wrote (938)	5/25/2000 4:51:00 PM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 2742

The Falklands: Sodra 1st Quarter Results Sodra holds an 87.5% interest in six exploration and production licences covering an area known as Tranche F in Falkland territorial waters. The remaining 12.5% interest in these licences is held by Sodra's partner Desire Petroleum plc. Sodra is the operator of Tranche F which is held through the Dutch subsidiary Sodra Petroleum BV. A study of the North Falkland Basin was carried out in 1999 by Robertson Research. The results of the study indicate that a source rock is present in the North Falkland Basin. In Tranche F, this source rock is generally not buried deep enough to have expelled any substantial quantities of hydrocarbons. The problem remains that no reservoir rocks are known to be present in the area around the deeper parts of the basin to trap this oil. The results of the Robertson study were presented to the British Geological Survey and the Falkland Island Government in March 2000. Sodra has one commitment well outstanding which must be completed by October 2001 provided a drillable prospect can be identified. A discussion is ongoing with the Falkland Island Government with regards to Sodra's remaining obligations. Sodra continues to evaluate the Falkland concession as well as other business opportunities Full report: cgi.algonet.se

To: Oily1 who wrote (938)	3/1/2001 7:52:12 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

The Falklands: "It is possible that the first producing well will be drilled in the next two years" !?!? The Mail on Sunday, February 25 The Falklanders Are Getting Rich - In The Kind Of Society Most Britons Would Envy BY RUSSELL MILLER ... ... ... Strict immigration laws have been introduced to control the growth of the population. Stanley is now home to 1,600 people, but 500 additional contract workers are needed to support the thriving economy. With reserves in excess of Pounds 70 million, the Falkland Islands are totally self-sufficient, discounting the cost of defence. At the last count, the GNP equated to Pounds 21,000 for every man, woman and child. There is no unemployment. All this wealth is almost entirely due to a rubbery, wriggling creature called a cephalopod, more commonly known as a squid, millions of which obligingly spawn within the Falkland Islands conservation zone. 'Squid,' says John Barton, the Director of Fisheries, 'Provide 60 pence of every pound the government spends'. Before the war, foreign ships happily Hoovered up the rich harvest in Falklands waters and there was precious little the islanders could do about it, since the British Government was reluctant to upset Argentina by asserting the islands' fishing rights. All that changed, of course, after 1982. The sale of fishing licences now generates nearly Pounds 30 million every year and an increasing number of ships are jointly owned by Falklanders, who get priority in licence applications. ... ... ... While Port Stanley is thriving, the same cannot be said for 'The camp', the huge expanse of bleak moorland outside the capital where the few surviving sheep farmers are finding it hard to make ends meet after the collapse of wool prices. Since the war there has been a steady drift into Port Stanley, where jobs are easy to find and living conditions less demanding. The population in the camp has halved in the past 20 years and only 370 people remain, spread across an area about two-thirds the size of Wales. Tourism is being touted as a potential moneymaker. Parts of the islands have an austere beauty not unlike areas of Scotland and there is world-class game fishing to be had on many of the rivers, while the wildlife is unrivalled. ... ... ... Port Stanley is now a regular stop-off for cruise ships: 37,000 tourists landed from 72 ships last year and it is predicted that they could number 100,000 by 2005. Undoubtedly, the town's attraction is its curiosity value - a bizarre more-British-than-the-British community marooned in time in the middle of the South Atlantic. Port Stanley still has red telephone boxes and the kind of courteous a blessing for us tweed, twin-set and pearls lifestyle that characterised Britain in the Fifties. There is no graffiti to be seen, no drugs and precious little crime. Sunday evensong in Stanley's modest cathedral always begins with the National Anthem. Islanders like to claim not just that they all know each other but they know each other's names. ... ... ... There is certainly no prospect of the huge military garrison around the international airport, 35 miles from Port Stanley, being disbanded in the immediate future. Commander Colin Martin, the naval officer in charge of military operations, says: 'I can't see in my military lifetime that we'll ever go home.' The Pounds 70 million cost of maintaining the garrison is met by Britain, but the Falkland Islands government has pledged to take over the burden should oil be discovered in sufficient quantity in its waters. Meanwhile, there is excited talk about oil revenues generating the equivalent of Pounds 500,000 for every man, woman and child. Six exploratory wells have been drilled 90 miles north of the islands and the results are promising. Experts estimate there could be at least 60 billion barrels under the heaving, foam-flecked surface of the South Atlantic. It is possible that the first producing well will be drilled in the next two years, perhaps making the islands even more attractive to an Argentina in thrall to a severe economic recession. The islanders remain steadfastly opposed to any rapprochement. ... ... ...

To: Oily1 who wrote (938)	3/10/2001 12:09:06 AM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2742

The Falklands: Offshore oil - The Independent, March 9 (excerpt from an article titled After The War: Rupert Cornwell Returns To The Falklands) ... ... ... In short, the Falklands are entirely self-financing, barring defence; and even that may change if they hit the real jackpot - offshore oil. Right now, a second exploration phase is about to start, and no one expects commercial production before 2010. But the first phase was promising enough for Shell to estimate potential reserves at between 20 and 60 billion barrels. That is North Sea size, and though monster fields like Brent and Forties are unlikely, there should be enough to permit the islands to reimburse Britain for the pounds 70m it spends each year on maintaining Mount Pleasant. Already, however, Stanley feels like a boom town. In the Falklands, of course, all things are relative; the town is still so tiny that the arrival of a decent-sized cruise ship can double the population for 12 hours. But new estates are sprouting up; there is a business district, even a bypass. The streets are so thick with new Land Rovers and four-wheel drives that Stanley's first set of traffic lights cannot be far off. ... ... ...