lot less risky NOW than when it was 12 months ago where there was more speculation and hope.
Back in July 2013, Hibiscus together with its Australian partner, 3D Oil, bought a drilling rig. That was to be the production platform (note: production) for the West Seahorse oilfield in Gippsland basin off the southeast coast of Australia. Regulatory approval should be a formality by year end and oil is expected to flow sometime in 2015. The amazing thing which some are beginning to realise is that the field has a best estimated contingent resource of 9.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil (note: its billions, not millions).
The other development is Hirex, which is a joint venture between Hibiscus' subsidiary Orient Hibiscus with Rex Southeast Asia. Rex has the critical proprietary technology which was why I was keen on Hibiscus from day one. Hirex will be covering the Asia Pacific region to pursue investments in exploration assets.What is more significant was the emergence of Triax Ventures, which took up a 15% stake in Hirex for $10m or RM33m. At that valuation you can guess what is Hibiscus' stake worth. The willingness for Triax to get in assumes a substantive amount of due diligence and confidence in Rex's technology.
Hibiscus had on Sept 3 got the nod from Norway's Petroleum and Energy Ministry to approve the acquisition of four production licenses at the Norwegian Continental Shelf by Hibiscus Petroleum joint venture unit Lime Petroleum Norway AS from North Energy ASA.
Hibiscus' unit awards Oman drilling contract |
| Publish date: Mon, 19 Aug 11:09 Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd's jointly-controlled entity, Lime Petroleum Plc, through its subsidiary, Masirah Oil Ltd, has awarded a drilling rig contract to Aban 7 Pte Ltd. The company said the contract was for the execution of its drilling programme at Block 50 Oman concession, effective for a minimum period of 50 working days. The drilling work is expected to commence between mid-October and mid-November. Aban 7 Pte Ltd is an international drilling contractor that owns and operates a fleet of 18 drilling rigs. Under the contract, Masirah will procure the services of the Aban VII drilling rig, an independent leg cantilever jack-up rig to spud and drill a minimum of two exploration wells. "After an international tender exercise and careful evaluation of available rigs in the region, Aban VII was chosen due to certainty of its delivery schedule, strong past operating performance, crew competence and good health, safety and environment record alongside good regional support," Hibiscus Petroleum said in a statement. Hibiscus Petroleum managing director Dr Kenneth Pereira said the company stood a good chance of success and hope to reward its loyal shareholders. "The awarding of this contract represents a significant milestone for us," he said. The company said the prospects of Masirah North North #1 and Masirah North East #1 have been selected for drilling after indepth technical evaluation and verification using the proprietary Rex Virtual Drilling technology, in addition to the confirmations provided via conventional methodologies. "These prospects are internally estimated to have prospective resources of about 160 million barrels. "If the wells yield successful discoveries, production can potentially be expected to begin by the first half of next year through utilisation of an early production system," it added. Hibiscus Petroleum acquired 35 per cent stake in Lime Petroleum for US$55 million as its Qualifying Acquisition in April last year, and Lime Petroleum, in turn, has a 64 per cent participating interest in the Oman Block 50 concession, whilst Petroci Holding, the national oil company of Ivory Coast, has the remaining 36 per cent. |
AUG 20, 2013 - Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd has been short listed for the Round 2 of the Newfield asset bidding.
To recap, reports say in February 2013, Newfield, the fourth-largest oil producer in Malaysia announced that it was exploring the sale of its international assets, including offshore holdings in Malaysia and China.
It was said SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd was the only company that has publicly declared its interest in Newfield's assets, while Hibiscus Petroleum had been invited to put in its bid.
Newfield owns Malaysian assets through its two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Newfield Peninsula Malaysia Inc and Newfield Sarawak Malaysia Inc.
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Previous postings on Hibiscus:
NOTE: The above opinion is not an invitation to buy or sell. It serves as a blogging activity of my investing thoughts and ideas, this does not represent an investment advisory service as I charge no subscription or management fees (donations are welcomed though). I may already have positions in the stock mentioned above. The content on this site is provided as general information only and should not be taken as investment advice. All site content, shall not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument. The ideas expressed are solely the opinions of the author. Any action that you take as a result of information, analysis, or commentary on this site is ultimately your responsibility. Consult your investment adviser before making any investment decisions.
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