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Olddad 17.47
Hi OD,
We do not know it is a Tier 1 with certainty. What we know from the September 2018 presentation in London was that the stated strategy was to begin by inviting Tier 1 companies to bid. If there were no takers then plan B was to invite the next tier of companies.
Given the information we have had in RNS's which tells us the potential faminees requested more time given the additional data released in October, I believe there's a good chance we are in discussion with a Tier 1.
Now of course there is the possibility they invited the next tier of companies into the fray, but I suspect if all companies invited in the first batch declined, something would have had to be announced.
Evening Team 88e,
Quick reminder to watch out for news from Pantheon this week. They're briefing the market on the results of Petrophysical analysis from the Alkaid well by "a third party expert consultancy". They intend to hold a CEO Q&A. Importantly, any new interpretation for Talitha could be very relevant for us as we have acreage 1m South. Also, the discovery using modern 3D Seismic may add credibility to our FO if our third party friends are watching. Details below:
Jay Cheatham, CEO, said:
"The Alkaid well is important, not just as a significant discovery in its own right but also for upgrading other prospects including Phecda and Talitha. Alkaid is a seismic anomaly delineated using high tech geophysics - the same technique used so successfully across the North Slope of Alaska to discover very large oilfields with very high drilling success rates. Of great importance, it has proved to us that our high-tech geophysics model works, which is exactly what we wanted to see."
For me this is the head scratcher:
“The nature of the dominant kerogen in the HRZ has been demonstrated to be prone to more rapid transformation into hydrocarbons than other shales initially used for comparison. This means that the thermal maturity window for volatile oil in the HRZ is at lower temperature than that typically seen in other plays. As a result, the Franklin Bluffs location (where both Icewine wells were drilled) is considered to be just outside the fairway. The kerogen in the HRZ at Franklin Bluffs has been converted largely to solid bitumen, with sub optimal intraparticle porosity and connectivity. The total porosity of the formation remains excellent – the effective kerogen porosity (pathways between the particles that contain the hydrocarbon); however, is lower than ideal. At slightly lower thermal maturity, it is prognosed that porosity/connectivity will be significantly improved.”
So we drilled in the wrong place, and one interpretation of this is that fairway has reduced in size. Does this mean less potential oil?
Also, how do they know where the fairway is? How do we know better elsewhere then at Franklin Bluffs? We don’t have core from anywhere else on our acreage do we?
I agree - Dave’s statement on Conventional FO is bullish which feels positive.
88 Energy Limited ("88 Energy" or the “Company", ASX:88E, AIM 88E) advises the following in relation to its oil and gas operations on the North Slope of Alaska.
Highlights:
• Project Icewine Conventional: farm-out process continues to progress with preferred bidder o Third party due diligence process now largely complete
o FinaldecisiononapprovalscheduledforJune
• Project Icewine Unconventional: advanced FIB-SEM* and HAWK** analysis significantly advances understanding of HRZ shale play
o Majority of acreage remains within revised prospectivity fairway
o Additional application of FIB-SEM underway to validate fairway revision
o Franklin Bluffs (Icewine#2 location) considered to be marginally outside revised fairway
o Formalfarm-outprocessdeferredto2H2019–softfarm-outunderwaywithcontinuedthird party interest
• Yukon Leases: discussions underway with nearby resource owners to optimise monetisation strategy
• Western Blocks: aggregation of additional data ongoing, with tender for reprocessing work to occur 3Q 2019
*Focused ion beam scanning electron microscope, **hydrocarbon analyser with kinetics
Slide 12 here is a good overview of the Brookian
http://clients3.weblink.com.au/pdf/88E/02020953.pdf
Morning,
Worth looking at PANR RNS - updates on Alkaid discovery and next steps. Given we hold WI in their acreage and the proximity of their acreage to us, the conclusions from the analysis they are doing which will be presented w/c 27th May will be highly relevant.
Morning Neverlearn,
Thanks for your post, Firstly apologies if my post offended, that wasn't intentional.
I totally did get your point and I fully understand what you were trying to get across. I agree with your view on how some people are feeling, I just didn't agree with some of the facts presented and thought if those were the facts people were basing decisions on it may help folk to have additional datapoints which I felt were more accurate. After all, what is the purpose of this forum? Surely to present opinions backed by data, debate, refine and come away better informed?
Yes some pedantry in my response, but no hyperbole, no emotion, just facts as taken from data provided by the company with the intent of a) providing alternate/additional data for readers and b) selfishly forcing me to go back over my research and recheck my understanding.
Re: IW2 - I don't count it as a success against the wells objectives of getting oil to flow, but I also don't think it was a complete failure. The importance of the hydrocarbons flowing to surface, even though trace, needs to be taken in the context of the upper and lower zones and what transpired, which when Dave mentioned in September I took as a positive (versus what I had thought which was that zero had flowed). And it is not factually accurate that "not a drop" of oil has been found - including what we retrieved from IW1 and the 58ft conventional reservoir they found in the Brookian. One thing I am 100% confident about however is that the trace hydrocarbons from IW2 were not sugar, alcohol or human emissions. Optimist? Maybe. But thus far given the information we have received from the company I still believe in my investment I continue to accumulate. I decouple the share price from the fundamentals, I'm invested in the company not the share price.
100% agree derisked does not equal risk free, I use the term to mean that the number of variables that can cause failure have either reduced in volume or in probability of occurring.
Anyhow, I wasn't meaning to offend, my intention was to try and reiterate the facts as I could see them written in the RNSs in order to help. And if anything I write is incorrect please do correct me, I'd rather realise I'm wrong and reassess then make decisions based on incorrect data.
....
"This 'farmout' is actually 3 years later than the Nov 2015 IW presentation (quoted above) initially targeted."
- Fair point, we did lose a year from IW2 not flowing first time around, but also we substantially increased our acreage since that initial presentation. So our FO will now be on a much larger acreage position than it would be if we had of executed in 2016. But ultimately we are well behind that target that was expressed. It’s a trade-off between FO on larger acreage (and arguably bigger deal) and taking longer to get there Vs. FO on smaller acreage (and arguably smaller deal) and getting there more quickly. We probably all have a slightly different preference on this.
"I would guess, and I guess we are all glum that we we could've invested in a blue chip for the alst 4 yrs and been UP”
- If you put money in BP for example in March 2015 you’d be 33% up over the period.
- If you put money in 88e in March 2015 you’d be 41% up
- SOME of us are glum because our entry price is higher than the current price. But we bought in based on thinking this company offered an attractive return for the level of capital risk. And shares go down as well as up. The only question is whether or not your investment hypotheses still stack up since you first invested. If they do, don’t be glum, have confidence in your own analysis and wait for the next news. If they don’t stack up anymore, again don’t be glum, take positive action.
Hi Neverlearn,
Interesting perspectives, although some of your data seems a bit off.
"then we drill them, and see there's not a drop. 3 out of 3 drills has produced not even enough oil to fill your car.”
- Not quite true, IW1 produced Hydrocarbons, and achieved it’s objectives to gather data about the HRZ and progress the hypotheses of PB that the HRZ could be a commercial Unconventional resource. Worth reading this if you haven’t already: http://clients3.weblink.com.au/pdf/88E/01723580.pdf
- IW2 produced trace hydrocarbons initially from the Upper Zone, but given the over-fracking in the lower zone (containing gaseous Type 3 Kerogen) versus the upper (containing liquid Type 2 Kerogen) the team suspects when the plug between the two zones was removed the Lower Zone inhibited the upper zone production of liquids. We failed to flow as we had hoped, but we now know that the Upper Zone should probably be the focus for a horizontal well (to be substantiated).
- Winx-1, poor result for sure. But we still have acreage right slap bang in the middle of some big boys, and now have more data to re-evaluate and find the spot for Winx-2 (potentially). Surely there's a reason all the acreage around the Western Blocks got bought up in the lease sale?
"Just seems after 3 goes, we should have hit something by now."
- We have hit something, and have derisked the Unconventional play to be confident of moving to Farm Out in H2.
"the other thing for me is how slow things move. Just 3 drills in almost 5 years. Our minds say " but if we are that certain of the oil" why do we hesitate so long...go forth and prove it" which we can't seem to do. “
- Firstly it’s closer to 4 years than 5 years, but in terms of “just 3 drills” and not being able to “go forth and prove it”, we have gone forth, and we are proving it.
- Unconventional - IW1 finished drilling 29th December 2015, IW2 Summer 2017, IW2 Artificial Lift Summer 2018. So we’ve had a year of no Unconventional drill activity where we needed to analyse the results from IW1 in order to assess and plan for IW2.
- Conventional - Winx-1 in Q1 this year, and for Icewine Conventional - the necessary data to know where to drill didn’t complete until October 2018 - so not sure how much drilling we could have done realistically.
....
Furthermore, and apologies if this has already been discussed, but Companies house suggests a JV has been set-up.
Now as stated the relationship between ATOG and AAOG is suppositional based on Sefton and Berwick both being involved, and the similarities in name.
If you look on Companies House there are 2 ATOG entities.
The first Anglo Tunisian Oil and Gas Holdings LLP (incorporated 23rd April) -- which has our beloved Sefton and Berwick as the only Directors https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/OC427046/
The second Anglo Tunisian Oil and Gas Limited (incorporated 22nd March) - which has Berwick plus the Alpha Blue Ocean guys as Directors.
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/11899484
On the second, Sefton ceased to be a Director on 2nd May, and Anglo Tunisian Oil and Gas Holdings LLP was declared as holding 25-50% of shares in Anglo Tunisian Oil and Gas Limited on the 2nd May,
So a looks like they've set-up a JV.
I do apologise if slow to the table on this and it's already figured out, but worth sharing just in case.
Evening,
Tiptop great find on the new folk added to the register on Companies House.
I've spent some time looking into Alpha Blue Ocean but people should have a look and draw their own conclusions.
It's worth looking at the Modus Operandi of these folk. The previous company of the CEO is Bracknor. Some interesting links:
https://www.ft.com/content/f663e4a8-f9e5-11e6-bd4e-68d53499ed71(if you subscribe), otherwise google "Shareholders risk paying high costs for extreme funding deals" and click on the FT link to get in.
And worth searching for Alpha Blue Ocean on here: https://www.ripoffreport.com not nice reading.
Also doesn't bode well that if you search for the names of the individuals in question or Blue Alpha Ocean on lumen database.org there are an awful lot of defamation claims made by the company to Google.
I do hope our Chairman and CEO know what they are doing and don't get us involved in some death spiral finance just as things are coming together.
Deliberately not reposting text given the content and legal implications of doing so.
Hi folks,
Was just rereading some of the IW1 RNS's and found the following:
http://clients3.weblink.com.au/pdf/88E/01700073.pdf
"In addition to the unconventional HRZ play, a number of conventional reservoir targets were tested by the drilling of the Icewine#1 well with the following key highlights:
o Excellent reservoir was encountered over the Kuparuk sands interval from 11,262’ – 11,320’ with elevated gas readings over a 58 foot gross interval – a detailed petrophysical log interpretation is underway
o Preliminary log interpretation of the Kuparuk sand interval indicates porosities of up to 15% and good permeability
o The reservoir quality in this Kuparuk sand interval is substantially higher than anticipated, which is extremely positive for deeper conventional prospectivity on the Project Icewine acreage
As reported previously, the shallow Brookian sequence intersected had excellent reservoir quality and hydrocarbon shows through out the section"
I then wondered why we didn't do anything with this, e.g. a flow test but from the following my interpretation is that Conventional got put on the back burner at this time given the Unconventional and lack of data on the Conventional.
"Managing Director of 88 Energy Limited, Dave Wall commented: “Results from analysis of core and petrophysical data from the Icewine#1 well continue to deliver at or above pre- drill expectations for the HRZ shale play at Project Icewine.
As a consequence of these continued good results, we have tailored our seismic acquisition to focus on mitigating drilling risk for the next well, Icewine#2H, for which planning has commenced. Given the current oil price, it did not make sense to attempt to delineate the more subtle, and typically smaller, conventional features at this point in time. The revised 2D seismic program will give a broader regional picture across a larger aerial extent on our expanded acreage position and should still identify those larger conventional features that would be economic at today’s prices.
Costs for the Icewine#1 well have now been finalised, with our Operations Team in Alaska, headed up by Erik Opstad, delivering an outstanding outcome. The well not only achieved all of its primary objectives, including exceptional core recovery in the primary HRZ target, but it was also delivered on Budget.”"
Anyhow, my point here is that we have ourselves found a 58ft oil bearing interval on our acreage which must surely give us increased levels of confidence.
I am puzzled why DW doesn't talk about this interval more as it seems material, it seems to vanish from all material after the Annual report issued in 2016. Does anybody have a view?
Great post Tiburn,
The other interesting thing in that article was restating "reserves: 300 million barrels". I know this was in one of the presentations as well, but I'm sure the company would not have released that info to press unless confident it was going to be around that size in the CPR.
I am viewing this company through 2 lenses at the moment:
1) Fundamentals - look great/ plenty of clues on what the CPR might say, but missing any kind of proven flow rates - but plenty of evidence to hint at what these may be. And a 300 million barrel field, with 5000bopd per well, plans for 6 wells, and costs of $10 per barrel leads to a heady valuation. Look at Amerisur as an analogue. approx. 5000 bod, netback of $45 per barrel, 1P reserves 17.82 MMBO and 2P reserves 25.59 MMBO Market Cap of £160m. They are sat with £35m of cash, which obviously impacts their valuation, but it's an interesting yard stick from a production and reserves perspective.
2)Psychology - Sefton's exuberance and positivity is nice to watch, however he needs to go back to Investor Relations School. I think he's probably very good at what he does - the Private Equity generate cash gig. But he needs more discipline on the Investor Relations front or needs to hire someone who can guide him on this. Disclosure of information with PIs over WhatsApp, putting out "anger in the air" dates which I don't think have much substance behind them, no explanation for missing dates- as many have eluded to is driving a lack of trust in the company, especially in a market place of investors who are like cats with a laser pointer.
That said, as an investor in the fundamentals of a company and not the skittish psychology of the market, this is a situation which I think will be very profitable with a bit of patience. Eventually the execution side of AAOG will happen, possibly late, possibly over budget, but it will happen. And then the fundamentals will shine through and overtake the negative sentiment that surrounds the company at the mo.
Having a company with great fundamentals (albeit missing a few key bits of info) and share price suppression due to impatience in the market/ mistrust of management is better than patient investors, trust in management and poor fundamentals (if you can afford to wait).
Good luck, and here's to an update next week as per Iceberg's blog.
I've done a bit more reading, and it's purely speculation, but there are a number of things they could do.
1) process the raw hemp - not sure how much value add in this, and not sure we'd get optimal margins
2) process the CBD oil we extract - probably means we could sell at the higher margin wholesale prices announced
Here's a good overview of what they would do with extracted oil we produce, and why. But essentially they would produce an isolate, which is purer and doesn't have Hemp taste. As one of these articles states, "Although the many benefits of CBD are by now well-established, there is still limited scientific evidence surrounding cannabinoids, their inter-dependencies, and how they work together to provide a more effective product. As the market for CBD continues to expand, more light will be shed in this arena, but for now it is safe to say that a full-spectrum extract is the preferred method for getting the most out of your CBD experience." - sounds like Iofina may be moving into exploring this space (with loads of our Oil I hope!!)
https://nuleafnaturals.com/cbd-isolate-vs-extract-oil/
https://medium.com/cbd-origin/cbd-isolate-vs-full-spectrum-cbd-b78a6eab319c
Brainspark,
That is very interesting indeed - primarily because our very own Paul Mendell founded Iofina.
Joining the dots - I am betting we grow the hemp and they will be buying a load of it from us - or some kind of JV. From their annual report...
IofinaEX
The Group has recently established a new division called IofinaEX with the sole focus of research and production of cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids from hemp. CBD is a naturally occurring compound. IofinaEX will focus on exploring and exploiting methods of extraction, distillation and isolation of these compounds on an industrial level. The Group is well placed as a leader in the extraction of iodine and a producer of specialty chemical compounds and uses many processes required for cannabinoid production in its current operations. The Group has operations in Montana, Colorado and Kentucky which are the top three agriculture growers of hemp in the USA. This evolution is a natural fit for Iofina as the cannabinoid market is expected to grow worldwide to $22 billion per annum by 2022. In 2019, we see an abundance of supply as farmers replace growing corn, tobacco and wheat with growing cash rich hemp.
We believe the extraction and isolation of purified CBD products is underdeveloped in this growing market. Importantly, the 2018 United States Farm Bill was passed on December 20, 2018 and legalized the production of hemp as an agricultural commodity in the United States while removing it from the list of controlled substances. The 2018 bill also listed hemp as a covered commodity under crop insurance and directed the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation board to streamline the process for developing hemp policies. The bill also sets up a shared state and federal regulatory authority over the issue, outlining the steps a state must take to develop a plan to regulate hemp. IofinaEX recently applied for a Processor/Handler license for hemp and products produced from hemp in the state of Kentucky.
At this time, IofinaEx cannabinoid planning and research is in very early stages and the Company will evaluate the commercial viability of this product line along with other products under development at Iofina Chemical. We consider CBD products to be another potential product line for the Group and are excited for the coming years to diversify our specialty chemical product offerings.
Morning Matt,
Thanks for sharing your insight.
Any discussion with Mr Sefton re: how they'll tap Djeno and what that will need re: kit? Assume some form of drilling? Or simply flow test what is currently coming to surface and if flowing at sensible rates sell it?
Thanks