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It seems to just get better for Amer - GT have announced the deal to take over blocks in Put and the Llanos basins.

The deal includes Vetra's interest in Put-8 (Amerisur 50%), Vetra have been dragging their heels for ages as operator, now with Amerisur and. GT will get on with development much faster IMO.

They are also acquiring or already holds other nearby blocks close to Amerisurs and I cant help thinking that the combination of the two companies would provide a huge licenced areas. I wonder if Dana Coffield is mates with them again, bearing in mind he was ousted by the current BoD and joined Amerisur on the rebound - he was also allegedly looking for investment opportunities together with his associates.

"•Working interest (“WI”) in and operatorship of the Suroriente Block (“Suroriente”), which would increase Gran Tierra’s WI in Suroriente from 15.83% to 52%
•50% WI in and operatorship of the Putumayo-8 Block (“PUT-8”), which is contiguous with Suroriente and Gran Tierra’s PUT-31 Block (100% WI)
•100% WI in the Llanos-5 Block (“LLA-5”), which is contiguous with Gran Tierra’s LLA-1, -10 and -70 Blocks, representing a new core area for the Company

The purchase price for this acquisition is $104.2 million..."

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/GTE/13976311.html

"Colombian oil production reached its highest level in more than two-and-a-half years in January as local operators capitalized on rising global ..."

Apparently local (by which I assume they mean smaller operators ) have apparently been increasing production - should be good news for Amerisur as demand for pipeline transit increases - the economics for other operators must be very attractive.

The sooner they get the 3rd party transit arrangements in place the better, it should be a nice little earner.

We've generally sorted out our Plat oil sales with our offtake deal with Shell.

Whilst ONGC have entered a contract to sell Mariposa oil based on the spot brent price for a limited period. We have no information on Indico as yet and I speculated recently it was probably attracting a premium as a blend to local heavy oil which in turn is reaching new highs. (there is yet another article about heavy oil demand I read this morning - this time European shortages are mentioned and the high prices in Asia).

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Europe-Scrambles-For-Sour-Crude-Oil-Amid-Tight-Market.html

However in the longer term I suspect we will agree something more substantive as the play expands so I took a look at what Geo Park did; in 2015 they signed a $100m funding contract with Trafigura when I believe they where doing about 12000bpd.

What is really interesting was that Trafigura would provide advance financing based on future supplies, whereas our Shell contract provides (as far as I know) only advance payment for a shipment. So the possibility is perhaps there for Amerisur to finance some acquisition or significant investment using a similar mechanism.

GEO Park where/are also the smaller partner in Llanos 34 so must be able to sell their own proportion of the production, I never considered if we could in CPO-5.

I suppose it's nice simply to know that the giant players like Shell and Trafigura are operating in the region and the oil demand is very healthy. In some jungle locations there is no reasonable route to market

https://www.geo-park.com/files/releases/GeoPark_announces_offtake_and_100_million_funding_agreement_with_Trafigura_1.pdf

A lot - check the website.

There is nothing basic about it though - it is exceptionally generous.

I think a second rig is inevitable, or Sol and Aguila might not be drilled for another year, both partner =s will want to know the extent of the play in order to develop the block. Near Indico wells though vital will leave many too many questions about the play unanswered.

It's early days and ONGC take time to sort out there contractual stuff - unless they can use the same company as at Indico or contract the whole thing out it will be quite a few months IMO.

wrt reserves I've looked for the article from ages ago that explains Geo-Parks Llanos 34 success strategy to try to gain more understanding of what we might have to look forward to.

Could only find an old presentation, but it's shows graphically really well the faulting types and the plays hugging the faults trends in the broader context. See slides 23, 24 and 25.

IMO is shows on slide 23 the significance of the inclination of the strata and water contact. For instance, take the Corcel field with a deeper water contact it couldn't just increase reserve proportionally but significantly - my understanding is that the flatter the strata both laterally (as per the slide and laterally (which is not illustrated them the more oil will be contained. Imagine the Max Field where the strata is practically horizontal with a deeper o/w contact, it would massively different. Hence a 40ft lower water contact at Indico could double reserves.

Graphics also show the trapping mechanisms they Identified and which I assume ONGC are learning about (they are partnered with Geo-Park). IMO its also worth noting that the faults are numerous but don't have massive throws, I recall reading somewhere then described a subtle which with oil migrating along the trend for millions of years, so perhaps that why there are small pools of a few million barrels trapped all over the place and the occasional huge accumulation.

Remember, I'm not an oil man the above is based on my own interpretation aimed at showing the difficulty of estimating oil in place based on what we know and the massive difference subtle variation make (e.g. oil water contact) - comment from someone with practical knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

http://geopark-ir.prod-use1.investis.com/~/media/Files/G/Geopark-IR/press-release/2016/company-overview-jan-2016.pdf

GC buy - I must have been asleep for that one.

Well have should have bought more. lol

Yes Colonel, I've never known the company to put so much effort into PR.

The puzzling aspect is that the Chairman and finance Director who is actually responsible for PR and paid handsomely are conspicuous by their absence.

What on Earth has happened to GC, is his position on the wane, is he sulking, or perhaps in negotiations that prevent him from passing comment. He has not bought shares in the recent feeding frenzy, and now we have a CEO who should be operationally focused doing the legwork on PR. Who's the leader?

Further to the discussion yesterday I would add that it's almost impossible for us to work out the potential reserves using the volume, its not likely a regular shape, we don't know the oil/water contact, inclination or oil saturation.

I wouldn't like to guess, but my personal opinion is that every parameter we do know suggests it's hell of a lot of oil.

The Proactive Investor comments provide the best guide from the horse's mouth - I've just read an article (dated today) which is attributed to Proactive Investors - don't know if it's simply a rehash or anything new:

"

Amerisur Resources shares: Check the latest price here

.
Geological analysis classified at least 18million barrels in the 1P category at Indico. 1P is the most certain category there is, but those estimates might ultimately prove to be conservative.

An oil/water contact point 40ft lower (than 283ft) would lift reserves to 33million barrels, says Wardle.

If the contact point is even deeper, that total might rise 70million or even 100million barrels, which would be huge for a company the size of Amerisur.

The drill rig has now moved onto a third well, Calao-1, which will test the geology to the south-west of Indico. That will be followed by Pavo Real-1 to the north-east and in all, six wells are planned on CPO-5 this year.



That is a major development programme, but Amerisur has the funding in place and after the success at Indico, confidence is high.

'You don't find a 300ft oil column in isolation. It has to be part of a bigger trapping system,' says Wardle. His aim is to grow production and reserves substantially throughout the year."

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-6717237/SMALL-CAP-SHARE-IDEAS-Amerisur-Resources-set-reap-benefits-Colombias-oil-sector-revival.html

BBN

Many of us (maybe me included) seem to be on short fuses, taking offence at things that are very minor - I recall someone saying stop bitching last week, I think s/he made a great point.

Interesting as the BB is normally a relatively harmonious refuge from the bitter BB rows elsewhere, I say interesting because I suspect it may indicate we could be a little tense - waiting for the outcome of the new well perhaps.

We're actually in a great place, better than for years, with no need to argue the toss - so apologies for any offence.

BigBiteNow - I'm not sure you have thought your statement through, if 400,000 pushes the offer price to 17.48p that suggest upward pressure to me.

This is a £200m ish market cap company with over a billion shares so that's around 0.033% of the company hardly an inexhaustible supply.

At any time in the past there where always millions of shares available, and I reckon there still is, the idea that MM's are ever desperate for stock is very misleading - they simply increase reduce prices to correct any situation, the exception is where something extra-ordinary occurs then they can temporarily be caught out - but then all they do is change stance or open the spread to kill off any trading.

Don't worry about the SP it will improve dramatically if the company delivers have of what is promised this year.

Bay - wasn't having a dig at you, your angry posts and any disagreement with me are most welcome, it's good debate, as long as you don't start calling me a T*at or similar, I assume it's tongue in cheek but OTT mate. My problem was simply with being told to shup up by another poster.

NicetoMichu - I agree with much of what you say on MM's, the II's can gain control whenever they choose to do so, however I would add a few things, that the MM do drive the share price and move the spread illogical to take advantage of investors - they do not act merely as impassive brokers making money on the spread - they short (according to some AIM executives), they can take a large position in a company (10%) without disclosure and move the SP. It may well be a MM that has the shares being made available currently as the remnants of the RH disposal. Finally, having considered their stance and reasoning and I believe there default stance is to push the SP as low as possible in all case (aligns with your statement on Risk reduction, a high price increases their risk) , hence our demise and that of many other companies. MM's will willingly let the SP go when investor pressure tells them the time is right, they are like all the other opportunists

Orackle - wrt Calao-1 drill time. I tend to assume longer than any company target to avoid disappointment, however 30 days is a reasonable drill time but ONGC are generally slow. However, you ask for evidence - experience of the first well (knowledge of hardness of horizons, reasonable drilling speed, drilling mud etc should improve with every well), all facilities are now bedded in including the drilling team. JW said 30 days and that ONGC efficiency is improving whilst other operators in the basin routinely drill similar wells in well under 30 days
Finally. ONGC have provided guidance and stipulated the target time for drilling (32 days) and expected testing/completion times for Sol, Aguila and a contingency as part of it's tender for services. I believe the contingency is almost certainly the first of the two new wells:

"The services are required during drilling and testing (as applicable) of the wells SOL-1 and AGUILA-1. Tentative days for drilling and testing / completion of one well are 32 & 24 days respectively. Contingency third well, would be of a similar operational period of Sol-1 and Aguila-1. However, above schedule is tentative and there may be delay between drilling of Sol-1 and Aguila-1 wells, which bidders are required to take note. Also the estimated testing time is estimated as the best case but can be reduced according to the actual well results.

The Contractor will have to program its activities according to the information supplied inside its technical bid with the spirit to comply within the time stipulated. The tentative plan is for drilling of two wells and a third contingency well; however, ONGC-VL will have no commitment beyond drilling two wells."

Why can't you simply not read my posts or ignore, filter me - if you already understand everything then good for you, but no one should be pressured to shut up for simply posting a few thoughts.

FYI, I did re-read the RNS and I don't recall anyone else commenting on the statement, I picked up on what I believed could be an inference in the statement and posted my thoughts, is that not allowed? I haven't attacked your integrity, so why do you question mine?

In fact, my post stimulated a lot of discussion because many bb posters have not bottomed out their understanding. Including you to point out something interesting to another poster, even BaysilHope's angry responses shows everyone is not satisfied the facts are fully understood - is that not worthwhile?

Anyway I'll leave it for you we bring something more interesting to the BB, take your time,we have until the next RNS to discuss anything worthy by your metrics, I'm off for the afternoon so won't heckle you!

Yachtmaster - your comment "JTD, the reason for the exploration wells was discussed weeks ago on this board."

and?

Are we not allowed to discuss it further? I am fully aware of discussions on the BB and perhaps you haven't considered that I may post things to stimulate discussion and encourage others to consider aspects that have not been fully recognised.

My interest in posting has never been to address my own concerns or understanding (I have probably read more than any other shareholder) - discussion is valuable primarily to bring new investors up to speed and tease out opinions, longstanding shareholders need no guidance but newbies might appreciate a discussion.

I suggest you provide something interesting that posters would appreciate then other than the SP is up/down/non-responsive.

Occidental have just had Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call, our deal is small change to them but was mentioned in the transcript. They believe it will contribute with other new ventures and: "will add significant high-return, low-decline, development inventory". They also suggest capital expenditure in Amerisur fields will be small in 2019 - to them I think anything under $100m is small, it is not hard to imagine the massive resources they could deploy if significant oil is found.Now, we are pleased to have been awarded the new block in Abu Dhabi that Ken will describe in a few minutes. This new Abu Dhabi block along with six in Colombia and three in Oman make 10 new blocks added in the last year. These new international opportunities will add significant high-return, low-decline, development inventory to our portfolio....….In Colombia in partnership with Ecopetrol, we have signed an agreement to develop Blocks 39 and 52. These blocks are adjacent to our giant Cano Limon field and therefore we had successful discoveries this year.In addition, we farmed into four blocks in highly prospective Putumayo Basin, where we have regional knowledge of the reservoirs. With these blocks, our net acreage in Colombia has risen to approximately 1 million acres of the low cost of entry like your other recent word's capital will be small in 2019."https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2019/02/13/occidental-petroleum-corp-oxy-q4-2018-earnings-con.aspx

Just re-reads the RNS on spudding of Calao-1, I often do so as it's strange how easy it is to miss things.

Anyway I noticed this statement from JW's comments:

"Following the positive result from Indico-1, we are delighted to report the spudding of Calao-1X from the Indico pad to determine the size of the play"

That's an interesting statement because it suggests the result could impact the Indico play, and it is not just a potential standalone field but an extension of Indico. So are we looking at a play which is a series of smaller pools of oil or one large pool or series of linked larger pools. I assume the latter means significantly more oil and the deeper the oil water contact I guess the greater chance there is of a large continuous accumulation.

I wondered why they where drilling the well with the smallest potential reserves first - is it perhaps because of the potential to extend/prove up Indico opens up new options.

JP2000 - "evidently its been a slow burner as their real attention is offshore licences."

It's good that you highlight their 2017/2018 annuals but your statement is now untrue wrt CPO-5.
now

Videsh, have many interests in many countries and invest in them as they see fit, some are much bigger and more strategic than CPO-5, but that does not mean CPO-5 is currently low priority or being starved of cash.

I assume is was simply a slip but you use the qualifier "is" in your sentence, I'm afraid you cannot deduce that from the information as the Indico find has changed the outlook and the investment strategy definitely ungraded (that's what JW has been running about and telling everyone about).

Furthermore, the information is very broad brush and any company would change priorities in light of recent events on CPO-5, it just happens that Videsh processes are slow and we must accept that. I pointed out earlier this week that maybe JW went to India to help present the case for further expansion (2nd or third rig perhaps) together with local management. Further to that I would be amazed if representations of some sort are not being (have not been) made.

I would also point out that the Videsh CEO recently confirmed "India’s overseas explorer ONGC Videsh (OVL) is expected to spend around $1 billion each year during the next four to five years as it aims to further ramp up production from its existing global oil and gas assets and continue spending on key....."

They have had a torrid time in many of their ventures, sued by Rosneft over Sakhalin for instance and I recall they have just divested something to liberate cash commitments, so CPO-5 is probably a major confidence boost and IMO they will want to find the scale of it ASAP as it could become Key. Indico is the only discovery they have thought worthy of reporting on their website in the last year ( they report almost nothing) that suggests they regard it as very significant .

What is the real clincher for me that CPO-5 will now develop at a pace, above and beyond the accelerated work commitment already notified is again thanks to JW comments, he stated that after another successful well subsequent wells costs will start to be covered by production revenue. So Videsh don't actually need to commit huge sums of cash, simply remove any shackles and let the thing grow.

Oil price is rising and closing in on $65/barre (at $64.6), that's 2 or 3 dollars above levels for the last few weeks.

At current production levels every dollar increase increases Amerisur revenue at an annual run-rate of around $2m/yr.

So $3 would most likely pay for the first two wells being drilled on CPO-5 after which JW says the producing wells will cover the cost of every new well.

If the wells are successful as expected and the oil price holds above $60/barrel Amerisur are going to accumulate a very large cash pile IMO.

They will need to find a home for the cash, its' no good in the bank above that required as a cushion against shocks.

When the SP recovers to a more reasonable level, we will be in a great position to buy assets or enter a favourable merger with a larger player (my favoured option as the deal can be very attractive).

Colonel - are you for real? You say

Forget Plat? - our cash cow as JW describes it
It's historic? - since when, that has not be announced
Time to move on? - we want to move forward in OPTIMAL fashion, "move on" suggests taking a hit, surely we don't just doing OK whilst chasing a rainbow, CPO looks to be fantastic but it is still early days and Plat is important even if CPO5 is proved world class.

Basically, I'm sure JW is acutely aware that simply concentrating on the best performers doesn't optimise the outcome, he's no mug - ALL areas need to be addressed. We pay our BoD a lot of money and should expect them to wring every last penny they can from the business.

You're being very short sited, if anything was to go amiss in CPO-5 it could again be critical, management should be accountable and that means delivering or providing a justification for failure -what about the institutions and PI's that stumped up 10s of millions at 25p (as I recall) to execute the programme you now say is history. Don't they deserve an explanation at least, what happens if they are needed again. It doesn't detract from the Oxy deal of CPO-5 to have honest and full disclosure, IMO it adds credibility and removes investor concerns which is where this discussion started. If we act

You are suffering from the common ailment of "AIM investor blindness" (to the obvious), won't here a word said, on the basis is detracts from the latest storyline.

Further to my comments yesterday about Castilla blend (Colombian blended heavy oil), I found this article entitled "Sanctions, OPEC cuts push Asia’s heavy crude oil prices above Brent"

and from a section entitled "MISSION TO BUY MARS", confused me at first glance. lol:

"Offers of Mars crude for April delivery to North Asia have risen more than $1 a barrel, while spot premiums for Latin American grades such as Castilla from Colombia, have climbed by $2 a barrel, traders said.

Castilla was sold out even before its loading programme was released, one of the traders said. The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media."

Castilla "sold out", I assume our light oil is blended for export, if so no wonder JW say light Llanos oil is in great demand, looks like Donald Trump's economic battle with Venezuela may be helping Amerisur.

http://sweetcrudereports.com/2019/02/12/sanctions-opec-cuts-push-asias-heavy-crude-oil-prices-above-brent/