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Geopark Holdings, Green Dragon Gas, Providence Resources, Salamander Energy, Shell, Greystar Resources Ltd, Pangea DiamondFields news briefs

By Fox-Davies Capital

Geopark Holdings announced an operational and trading update in which the company outlined its 2010 investment program. The company announced it would use approximately $50m in capital expenditures this year to complete a program which includes; drilling between 14-18 wells, performing 5 to 7 workovers, expanding its production facilities, and carrying out 550km of 2D and 500km? of 3D seismic work. The company also announced that production in 2009 was up 86% to 6,320boepd, and that operating cashflow had increased 17%.
 

Green Dragon Gas one of the largest independent companies involved in the production of CBM gas and the distribution and sale of wholesale gas in China, published its 2009 year end gas reserves and value estimate, conducted by NSAI. Total gas in place was reported at 25.5 Tcf with net 1P reserves of 32.9 Bcf, net 2P reserves of 261.3 Bcf and net 3P of 2,333.1 Bcf, corresponding to NPV10 values of US$168.2m, US$1.25bn and US$9.35bn respectively. The reserves and value increase result mainly from the employment of SIS technology which increases coal in-seam drilling efficiency, as well as the improving gas pricing environment in China.
 

Providence Resources announced that it has been awarded Licensing Option 10/1 over the Baltimore heavy oil discovery located in block 48/19(p) in the North Celtic Sea Basin, offshore Ireland. The 48/19-2 discovery well is situated approximately 30km off the south coast of Ireland in around 100m water depth.
 

Salamander Energy said APICO, the operator of the L13/48 license onshore Thailand, in which Salamander has a 16.3% interest, is reviewing the license's prospects after unsuccessful testing at a well. Although gas flowed to the surface during testing of the Si That-3 well in the license, it was determined the gas was coming out of solution and would dissolve under reservoir conditions. Salamander said drilling is expected to start at a well on another license, Bang Nouan-1, within days.
 

Shell is looking to raise $10bn through the disposal of a number of assets, including its North Sea oilfields, European liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business, a network of petrol stations across at least 17 African countries, onshore fields in Nigeria, an exit from Sweden, and a $1.2bn auction of three European refineries. Exclusive talks are under way with a number of parties regarding the various assets.

Comment: The exit from the Niger delta could provide opportunities for indigenous oil companies as well as international juniors.

The Kazakhstan's finance ministry is reported to have said it had doubts about the legality of a number of existing oil contracts following a review of production sharing agreements (PSAs) in the industry. The move follows an order by President Nursultan Nazarbayev to strip foreign oil companies in Kazakhstan of immunity from tax changes and rewrite their original contracts signed in the 1990s. The main companies exposed at Karachaganak are BG, Eni and Chevron, at Tengiz Chevron and Exxon and at Kashagan Exxon, Eni, Shell, TOTAL and Conoco.

Comment: Those comments do not involve PSCs that have been already been targeted in previous review. Hence no impact on Max Petroleum in particular.

Greystar Resources Ltd announced that the Company has commenced a drilling program with one drill rig at the Company's La Plata Property located in the California mining district of Colombia. La Plata comprises 78 hectares of mineral rights contiguous on the majority of its borders with existing Greystar holdings. The La Plata property lies within a mineralized belt related to the northeast-southwest trending La Baja Fault, which has given rise to a number of mineralized occurrences. This mineralization, which has traditionally been mined by local artisanal miners, is now the focus of more modern exploration methods. Within the La Baja structural domain, gold and silver mineralization is associated with flexures along the main fault.
 

Pangea DiamondFields announced the sale of 2,813 carats, which took place last week in Luanda, yielded an average price of US$160.00 per carat before sales taxes. This represents approximately 89% of the Company's long term target price of US$180.00 per carat, a target which was set prior to the fall in the price of diamonds in 2009, and is well in excess of the currently budgeted level of US$140 per carat.