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I thought the statement below in the results was quite bold…..

We are making significant headway in our farmout negotiations for our other acreage offshore Namibia and look forward to being able to update investors as these negotiations progress further.

Significant is a strong word. That suggests to me news could drop here soon. A farm out in Namibia, with a great partner would be huge. Remember Chevron potentially drilling later this year on a block next to us.

Whilst we wait for the Guyana government to agree our work schedule on Orinduik we have two potentially key catalysts for the shares in the 1 - 3 month bracket. With oil prices higher too this can only keep the shares just below boiling point.

Guyana RNS one day and Namibia farm out the next……what price would that take us to I wonder…….

Golden

Links didn’t seem to work!

https://www.upstreamonline.com/exploration/intrigue-builds-over-exxonmobils-completed-african-wildcat/2-1-1739581

https://aecweek.com/beyond-the-orange-basin-why-the-namibe-and-kwanza-basins-are-the-2026-technology-frontiers/

If you believe the slides from the presentation which allude to a farm out in H1 2026 plus Gils very bullish statement/promise of action in the Walvis then we shouldn’t have too long to wait to find out!

Golden.

Thursday Speculation - why wait till Saturday!

right spot - I too agree that Gil has often been accused of being over optimistic, but his job has to have that quality to a degree.

I do agree that this time it’s different too. It feels different, not just because Eco shares have soared and we are all basking in that wonderful feeling but the industry talk is now of replacement of reserves not share buybacks and capital discipline. The majors have to go out and replace their reserves. They need companies like Eco now more than ever to help them find the next giant.

This leads me nicely onto today’s speculation. Which of course can be taken with a pinch of salt.

Seeing Gil yesterday basically shout from the rooftop that there is going to be a lot of farm out activity on the Walvis basin in Namibia is exciting. Yes he has promised this before but he was as confident about it, as someone who is very close to signing an agreement and can’t wait to go “ta dah, I told you so”.

I clearly hope he is referring to our 3 blocks and also is in the know hopefully about other blocks around us which will help confidence from a “nearology” perspective.

So who would want to farm in? Well, in the back of my mind, I have never forgotten about a drill Exxon did in the very south of Angola back at the end of 2024. It’s long been forgotten I’m sure by most, but I just wonder, have Exxon been quiet on those results to ensure they snap up the juicy good acreage over the border in Namibia and are those blocks maybe linked to our 3 blocks?

Intrigue builds over ExxonMobil's completed African wildcat | Upstream

Beyond the Orange Basin: Why the Namibe and Kwanza Basins Are the 2026 Technology Frontiers - African Energy Week Cape Town | AEC Week

Currently we hold 85% of all 3 blocs. Let’s say a farm out 45% to Exxon, leaving 40% and then Navitas farming in for 20% as part of our deal (note the agreement is “on commercial terms) so the same terms as Exxon. We have 20%, free carry and hopefully some cash too. 45% of huge blocks would definitely be of interest to Exxon, given the size of potential rewards.

I note in the presentation slide, that Exxon’s blocks in Angola always creep in at the top of the graphic showing our acreage position. I guess to highlight we are close to the big boys. But could it now also be a clue.

I don’t believe there is much in the market cap of Eco currently for the Namibian assets. I truly believe it’s all Guyana, Block One, block 3b/4b and cash on balance sheet plus potential cash due from Total and warrants. Falklands/namibia don’t feature……yet.

Just imagine an RNS with Exxon as the farm our partner! That would really put the cat amongst the pigeons.

For those that think it’s impossible - Eco managed to convince Total and Tullow into Orinduik! I’m sure they have talked before re Hammerhead so Eco won’t be unknown to Exxon.

For the record - sadly nothing new, to be expected I guess!

South Africa Orange Basin, Block 3B/4B

On September 16, 2024, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy for the Republic of South Africa granted an Environmental

Authorization for exploration activities (drilling of up to 5 exploration wells) on the block. Following that decision, the legislative notification

and appeals process in South Africa was suspended pending a Supreme Court of Appeal judgement in respect of Block 5/6/7. The operator has

stated that the current plan is to drill the first exploration well on Block 3B/4B as soon as the Environmental Authorization is confirmed and

has identified Nayla, a prospect that lies in the northwest of the license area, as the potential drilling target.

Having read the note at lunchtime I have the following observations:

1. Nothing hugely different to what long term holders already know. It does however frank what we know and opens the story to a wider community of investors who might not know and who might have thought they had missed the boat with Eco. That’s patently not the case.

2. Pleased to read Hammerhead was mentioned. 70m barrels attributed to our share. 20% of which is 14m. What I wasn’t pleased to read was they intimate that we would have to appraise outside to get the value “we expect Exxon not to give away for free”. Now I recall an interview years back with Gil saying it wouldn’t come to this as they can both clearly see the data. Hopefully Gil will be proved right here or we have the expense of a drill to prove.

3. As already mentioned if Navitas farm into both then price target would increase to 140p.

4. Anticipated first well on Block 1 CBK in SA is noted as 2028.

5. Oil price sensitivity. Used $65 oil for unrisked £6.55 valuation. @ $60 it’s £5.50 but I prefer @ $75 which is £8.62.

Apart from that - really a rehash of what I knew already.

Good exposure today from the note and will allow some to take profits today into strength/volume and allow new people on the Eco train.

Golden.

Agreed and good spot with the link.

Also makes JHI management potentially more willing to take less cash and more shares in Eco given their diversified portfolio full of rich promise.

Right now, JHI is looking like a one trick pony (admittedly a good one) with the loss of Canje. I suspect that will push management to accept a decent offer from Eco.

Golden

We should keep an eye on Meren Energy results after the close today in Canada. As a reminder they have an 18% stake in 3b/4b. Be interesting to see what they say about the license and SA in general.

Maybe they have chatted with Eco for other projects in the area given they collaborate on this license and are both TSX listed and are heavy into Namibia.

https://tools.eurolandir.com/tools/Pressreleases/GetPressRelease/?ID=7903508&lang=en-GB&companycode=ca-cxm&v=r2025

Stolen from another board in Oz……

Rhino upbeat about 'strong' flow rates from Namibia well test

"South African independent Rhino Resources has carried out a successful well test on its recent Volans gas condensate discovery in Namibia's prolific Orange basin, the company said on Monday. The Volans-1X exploration well was spudded on 31 July 2025 by Northern Ocean’s semi-submersible rig Deepsea Mira in Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) 85 and reached a total depth of 4497.5 metres on 30 August. That probe hit an Upper Cretaceous target, with partners declaring a high liquid-yield gas condensate discovery in excellent quality reservoir on 1 October.

After the discovery, the partners decided to return to Volans-1X for well testing operations. These took place last month — between 5 and 13 January — with the well perforated across 29.7 metres of the target reservoir interval. According to Rhino, this test campaign confirmed “rich gas-condensate fluids, excellent reservoir deliverability consistent with connectivity across the feature”. The key findings were “strong” well deliverability, with gas flowing at 33 million cubic feet per day and condensate flows of about 5300 barrels per day on a 46/64 inch choke. Rhino highlighted that a “high” condensate to gas ration of about 160 barrels per million cubic feet.

A further benefit was the reservoir fluids had low amounts of contaminants, with carbon dioxide levels in the 1%-2% range, while hydrogen sulphide levels amounted to about 3 parts per million, with the highest value out of 200 samples being 5 ppm. Rhino chief executive Travis Smithard was upbeat about the results and their implications. “These well test results validate our pre-drill optimism around Volans, with the flow data suggesting Volans-1x was drilled in a geologically contiguous reservoir system, which is very encouraging for our ongoing development planning purposes." "The test confirmed good flow rates of hydrocarbons, with liquid production in line with the condensate-gas-ratio range that we had previously guided.” Smithard also said the data “indicates a useful calibration with the earlier PEL 85 discovery at Capricornus, which has served to de-risk Volans and provide a far more holistic understanding of the reservoir distributions across the block.”

These test results, he explained, “are critical” in informing Rhino, in collaboration with our partners ... on how to assess the next steps for appraisal, development and production planning across the acreage.” Rhino operates PEL 85 - also known as Block 2914A - with a 42.5% stake and is partnered by Azule Energy, also on 42.5%, with state-owned Namcor holding 10% and local player Korres Investments on 5%."

Whilst we have had a boring week of share price action (joking as the solid share price is great for providing a firm foundation for the next rise and a floor hopefully if we see a setback).

So in the interest of stoking some debate I wondered about JHI this morning.

I get the sense that the share price is being “controlled” of late. Very similar to the “control” or perhaps some would say manipulation (but not me) before the Israeli institutions got on board at 27p. Given the substantial rise in the share price since 4th December, ordinarily you would expect profit taking/tree shakes/market maker games in the last 3 weeks with little real news, but we have seen none of the usual shady AIM practices. Share price rock steady. That intrigues me and pleases me in equal measure.

So onto the speculation.

I believe we might be very close to some JHI transaction news. I think the share price is being held in a similar holding pattern for a number of reasons:

Firstly, to assist with a value on JHI and the number of shares to be issued. A crazily volatile share would make that task more difficult.

The previous attempt to buy JHI failed due to disagreement with JHI shareholders on lock in terms for their JHI holding. They wanted cash.

Well, what better way to offer Eco shares now, with potentially UK institutional investors willing to take on those new Eco shares issued, rather than buying in the open market and pushing the price against themselves.

JHI get their liquid exit for some of their holding and get to diversify away from majority Falklands exposure to Guyana, Namibia and South Africa with a good lock up period.

Institutions in the UK get the exposure to Eco they missed out on via the Israel fund raise. Don’t forget that was a non-brokered deal so no comms for Canaccord or Bernstein. Perhaps they are now working hard to get some UK institutions on board?

Moreover, perhaps that’s why the SETS announcement was on Thursday. Those said institutions wanted SETS as a prerequisite for taking exposure to ECO? So whilst we were convinced it was to help institutions into Eco (which it will do), it may also be an insurance policy for institutions who might need to get out in the future and would be demanded by overbearing compliance people prior to taking on Eco shares for the JHI transaction. I believe that is called having all your ducks lined up…..

If we saw some UK institutions arrive on the register, without a discounted placing the current share price, I think that would be a huge vote of confidence for the Eco strategy and would surely send the shares into a new trading level.

I am probably miles off on this but it’s good to speculate at the weekend.

I’m sure Gil will reveal our Falklands Island plans in due course. Clearly our current exposure is just too small to really warrant credible time on it. This will be rectified, just how is the current puzzle.

Golden.

Wasn’t on my bingo card but an incremental small positive. More significant RNS’s due anytime…….hopefully will be like busses!

Slide 22 takes my liking. 😁

I’m ready for for the black gold rush.

Nayla looking good when we get the go ahead. Plus other prospects even if they are outwith our block will definetly help in 2026/2027 if discovered.

https://totalenergies.com/sites/g/files/nytnzq121/files/documents/totalenergies_2025-results-and-2026-objectives-presentation_2026_en.pdf

21. Which finally leads me to wild speculation. I’ll no doubt be wrong. But it would be interesting if Eco/Navitas moved for Pancontinental Oil and Gas over in Australia. They hold PEL87 in the orange basin in Namibia. I’ve held here too for too long. There is currently an issue with the renewal of the license. IF that were sorted. Does Gil have a relationship here which could help them find the farm out partner they have been searching for since Woodside left? The Saturn fan complex could be world class next to Mopane et all in the orange basin. Would Navitas take this on? Gil and Team know the orange basin well via 3b/4b and Block One on the SA side. It wouldn’t be a distraction as they have competence in the basin and indeed it would be a game changer for share prices of both if discovery made. They have good relations with the Namibian Government and perhaps can help reassure on license renewal to PCL that drilling will get done. For those that doubt Navitas ability. The founder, Gideon Tadmor was the guy who lead two projects which found 22TCF gas (Leviathan) and 11TCF gas (Tamar) respectively. Navitas historically have worked existing difficult discoveries taking them to production. Could outright wildcat exploration still be in his blood and the thought of recycling cash into bigger exploration drills be a consideration?

In summary. I find the above 20 reasons (excluding 21) sufficiently compelling enough to keep my over exposure to Eco. There will come a time for profit taking but it isn’t yet for me. Who knows, I may even see a profit on those ones bought at £1.61!

Did I mention the very nice chart that Eco is developing? So from a technical and a fundamental basis I have high hopes for all who are sailing in the good ship Eco. Perhaps finally it is our chance to shine. It’s been a long wait since the halcyon days of those initial RNSs for Jethro and Joe. It looked like many dead ends and endless cul-de-sacs but those that have held faith deserve this now.

Finally, thanks to Gil also for turning the ship round. He does deserve an enormous amount of credit. I am by no means a fan boy but he has come through a very difficult situation, mostly not from our own doing and we now have a fantastic platform to see £ rather than pence on the share price. It’s just a shame Colin Kinley isn’t here to see it play out.

Lastly, shout out to the LSE board which has remained of high quality throughout everything over the years. It genuinely is a great resource for the PI. Those that contribute their time/knowledge and experience are very helpful and I hope we have all helped each other to make money here which ultimately is the game. We have some great contributors and I hope we all enjoy the year ahead.

16. Gil did a lot of conferences banging the drum for Eco when the market cap was miserly and he was next to some of the larger oil and gas exploration guys. It must have been tough when Mr Market was saying he didn’t believe. He can go back to these now with a much better story to sell to these audiences across the world. Navitas link now incredibly powerful.

17. Institutional support? Previously Eco was the haven for PA. Not many institutions play in penny stocks on AIM. Suddenly we are now over £100m and have a serious backer in Navitas, a stronger balance sheet thanks to the raise and a powerful story for exponential growth. Small Cap managers should get acquainted with Eco again. I could be wrong but I’m sure Baillie Gifford owned at one point in their global small cap discovery fund before Jethro/Joe. Return possible? Even if not them. Surely some growth funds might want a slice of the action. That could be a powerful driver of the shares in the next six months as investors take positions ahead of drilling.

18. I can’t believe I’ve got to 18 and only now am I mentioning SA and 3b/4b. Our 5.5% exposure to drilling with Total/Qatar is a company maker in itself. Hopefully sometime in 2026 we will see SA government approval for permits etc and court cases confirming drilling. This should unlock a lot of excitement on the block. It will also unlock $11.5m cash to Eco when drilling approved. Any success on drilling is worth more than £1 to the share price in my opinion.

19. Don’t forget Navitas have the option to farm into 3b/4b on commercial terms. Selling a stake to Navitas or perhaps some swap for Falkland acreage exposure?

20. New opportunities £2.5m is to fund new ventures from the capital raise. Coupled with the JV with Navitas for new ventures this could be exciting but I hope not a distraction. Any new JV would have to be of the same standard as existing licenses. We don’t want to be diluting attention/focus from key growth engines. To have much impact it has to have meaningful upside for both Eco now with its higher market cap and also Navitas who are huge $3bn plus MC. They won’t waste time on anything small in my opinion.

7. The increasing our exposure to JHI whether that is by direct increase in JHI via equity/shares or buying a stake in the license is to be determined . Clarification on plans here would be nice. Then plans on what action is proposed on the license. Could drilling here come before Guyana? Two drills back to back would certainly bring in new investors. I believe the main target, similar to Sea Lion next door is drill ready.

8. The fund raise money - I am guessing part of this will be used to fund 3d seismic on the Tamar license to work up potential leads to a higher standard. Results from said surveys should hopefully increase the value of the license and encourage farm out.

9. Talking of which the Walvis basin will be in focus later in 2026 with Chevron expected to drill their Gemsbok well in PEL 82. This COULD ignite some serious horse trading for majors to farm into our blocks Cooper, Guy and Tamar which are in close proximity.

10. Exxon - perhaps things will become clearer with our exposure to Hammerhead - any resolution here would be welcomed. Can this be leveraged to help us with Jethro/Joe?

11. Exxon - in 2027 sees the renewal of the Stabroek license. Exxon must revert back to exploration drilling in the next 18 months. Previous focus has been exploiting existing finds. A shift to exploration and hopefully finding more oil should give our shares a boost (assuming we of course have retained Orinduik)

12. Gil has been pretty quiet of late, given everything he is working on. Once these large corporate transactions are announced I would expect him to be doing the media rounds. Extolling the virtues of the company now and explaining the value within the Group and how it will be unlocked. Malcy will no doubt get an interview with him as he stated on his site a few months back after the initial Navitas deal was announced. Still to come. This should stir more interest and new buyers who haven’t heard the story/thought they had missed out.

13. New corporate broker, Canaccord. I would expect a brokers note in due course. Hopefully a substantial one which deep dives into everything historically and what the future may hold. I suspect this is in the works but will be held back until Canaccord have their favoured clients already in Eco (which is what I assume is happening right now with the high volumes). What will their price target be?

14. Berenberg, existing broker. I would expect to see a refreshed note from them too once some of the above is public info. Current price target is 125p and to be fair to them they kept it despite the shares falling to 7p. They didnt doubt the value when the market did. With Canaccord now in competition I would hope Berenberg continue to work hard promoting the stock. Revised price target?

15. New Corporate presentation. All these new plans to be announced and summarised. Helpful for existing and new investors.

Mostly for my own benefit as a reminder of why this share remains my largest holding by a country mile I have bulleted a summary of where we are.

I have held and bought since 2017 and have yet to sell a single share. Bought as low as 7p and ashamedly as high as £1.61. Sometimes I questioned myself and sometimes I questioned Gil too in some rants to him via email. But I haven’t lost faith with the assets, despite the market doing so.

This re-rate only takes us back to the starting line. The pistol I believe is just about smoking and I really hope Gil and Team can pull this off. Given Navitas track record, I think the odds are stacked nicely in our favour. Whilst cognisant of the risks in oil and gas investment I don’t see a better QUALITY risk/reward play on AIM.

What’s to come (in no particular order):

1. Agreement with the Guyanese Governement on the Orinduik license renewal. Hopefully in next two months. If we keep greater than 70% of block with potentially reduced fiscal terms then fantastic. Be prepared for the Governement to play hard ball as they hold all the cards. I would very much doubt a 100% renewal on previous terms. Just be prepared here. I don’t doubt our strong relationship with the Government which is crucial though. We remained whilst Total, Qatar and Tullow walked. We have fought and brought in a huge new partner in Navitas.

2. This would pave the way for Navitas to exercise their option to take 80% of the Orinduik block and move forward with their $55m spend either appraising Jethro/Joe or new Cretaceous exploration. We would receive $2.5m on exercise.

3. Navitas taking the acreage and being operator will require government consent so that would be applied for - two/three months for the approval to be formally completed?

4. In the meantime, Navitas should be arranging long lead items with a view to being ready for drilling Q4 in 2026. Perhaps spilling into Q1 2027.

5. By 4th May, Navitas must either exercise or walk away from their option to farm into Block one in S.A. given the shorter exercise period when compared to Orinduik option I feel fairly certain this is a no brainer for them and they must be working at pace to finalise this one in the next two months. If complete we have another $4.5m to be added to cash.

6. Potential to farm down further our Block 1 exposure to another partner to ensure we have a free carry on drilling and say have a 20% carried exposure. Perhaps the Navitas link might bring other related companies into the sphere of Eco which might never have met prior to the partnership.

As we await further developments.

I note the Tullow presentation on Jethro, admittedly before they found it was “the wrong oil”.

They state “minimal appraisal requirements” which is interesting. Clearly we have to appraise now for the oil quality etc in light of the heavy oil but it seems Tullow were quite confident on many other factors other than oil quality for them to specifically highlight this.

I hope Navitas experience the same when they prod back into it! Who knows, they might even go for the Jethro Channel too!

https://www.tullowoil.com/application/files/2515/7960/2834/tullow-oil-plc_jethro-1-well-result-presentation.pdf

Https://www.lse.co.uk/rns/ECO/direct-equity-subscription-issue-of-warrants-qjkojw9odrog33z.html

Glad to get this out the way. Good price. Long term holders who won’t be flipping. Happy. Now hopefully see another upswing in the price.

They will have to give up a proportion of their acreage. Just like Exxon will have to give up a portion of their acreage at Stabroek when their license expires in 2027. I am sure they will fight to keep the best parts, in their opinion, of the acreage. I note that they talk of both appraisal and exploration so it’s not their vision that it’s just keeping Jethro and Joe. Whether the Governmet agrees is another matter. But given Eco have been in since the start, have been a good partner despite all the previous trials and tribulations I would expect them to get a good hearing with the Government, especially with Navitas now on board. Unfortunately these things take time to conclude which the market won’t like!

Patience is key here. A month ago we would have killed for 28p. Hopefully within a month or so we should know the outcome here. Fingers crossed.

The tie-up that Eco has with Navitas is already reaping rewards as this announcement shows, this I understand is just the start of a bigger plan between the two companies. The holding that Eco has in JHI was important in getting Navitas and them together and as a result all three should benefit.

And this may not be as far off as has been mentioned, with its inimitable ‘can do’ attitude Navitas is already looking to move fast in this block which has ‘significant exploration potential’ and will be good for Eco as well as obviously benefiting partners in the nearby Sea Lion field with its own massive potential.

Readers know that I have been very positive about Eco and the valuable portfolio that it has built up in a number of world class basins and with discussions continuing with the Government in Guyana I hope that it will not be long before news comes from there. Eco remains a key member of the Bucket List and I imagine that it will remain there in the forthcoming update.