Monday, April 6, 2009

Bankers Pet Rising Accumulation Continues

Josef Schachter talks about BNK-T On BNN Today

Target $2.50









Bankers Petroleum files NI 51-101 Reserves disclosure
BNK-T BANKERS PETROLEUM LTD
3/27/2009 12:40:00 AM
CALGARY, Mar 26, 2009 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX News Network) --

Proved and Probable 10% NPV exceeds $1 Billion

Bankers Petroleum Ltd. ("Bankers" or the "Company") (TSX: BNK, AIM: BNK) is pleased to announce that it has filed its 2008 Reserves disclosure information with the applicable securities regulatory authorities. The NI 51-101 disclosure documents consist of the F1 - Statement of Reserves Data and Other Oil and Gas Information, the F2 - Report of Independent Qualified Reserves Evaluator and the F3 - Report of Management and Directors on Oil and Gas Disclosure.

The evaluations of the Albanian properties were conducted by RPS Energy Canada Ltd. (Patos Marinza oilfield) and by DeGolyer and MacNaughton Canada Limited (Kucova oilfield). At December 31, 2008, the reserves have increased in all three categories (proved, probable and possible), along with the corresponding valuations, as shown below. On a Proved plus Probable basis, the 2008 finding and development costs for the Albanian properties represented $5.55 per barrel, inclusive of the 2008 expenditures and change in future capital.

Subsequent to the Company's February 13, 2009 News Release announcing the preliminary reserve amounts, the final assessment for the Patos Marinza oilfield increased slightly, primarily in the "Proved" and the "Proved plus Probable plus Possible" categories. The combined "Proved plus Probable" category has remained consistent at 180 million barrels having an after-tax 10%-discounted valuation of $1 billion.

In the Patos Marinza oilfield, the original-oil-in-place resource estimate increased 140% to 4.7 billion barrels. The reserves growth is primarily attributable to increased resource levels, improved well performance and the Company's 2008 vertical and horizontal development drilling successes. All of Patos Marinza's 2008 reserves estimates are from primary recovery methods.

The Kucova oilfield, acquired in 2008, has an original-oil-in-place resource estimate of 300 million barrels. This property is currently in the evaluation stage that will lead to creation of a development plan.

Source



Sunday, April 5, 2009

Oil falls on U.S. jobless data

MARK WILLIAMS

The Associated Press

April 3, 2009 at 4:19 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Oil prices dipped Friday after the U.S. government reported that the nation's unemployment rate rose to the highest rate since late 1983 as employers eliminated 663,000 jobs.

Benchmark crude for May delivery fell 13 cents (U.S.) to settle at $52.51 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

With the U.S. and other nations hemorrhaging jobs, demand for gasoline and other fuels has plummeted. The unemployed are not commuting, factories are not producing as many consumer goods, and heat or electricity at millions of homes has been shut off.

“We are swimming in oil,” analyst Stephen Schork said. “We are swimming in oil because production is strong and demand is weak ... and it is going to remain that way in the short run.”

Still, Mr. Schork acknowledges that more people are buying into oil markets on “any positive thread.”

On Thursday, the same futures contract rose $4.25 to settle at $52.64 on word that the world's major powers would provide $1.1-trillion in loans and guarantees to developing countries.

In London, Brent prices rose 72 cents to settle at $53.47 a barrel Friday on the ICE Futures exchange.

Even with the jump in prices Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude ended the week essentially flat.

“We're getting a well-deserved pullback ahead of the weekend,” said Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates.

The U.S. Labour Department reported Friday that the nation's unemployment level is now at 8.5 per cent. If part-time and discouraged workers are factored in, the unemployment rate would have been 15.6 per cent in March, the highest on records dating to 1994.

Since the recession began in December, 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 5.1 million jobs, with almost two-thirds of the losses occurring in the last five months.

The number of unemployed people climbed to 13.2 million in March. In addition, the number of people forced to work part time for “economic reasons” rose by 423,000 to 9 million. Those are people who would like to work full time but whose hours were cut back or who were unable to find full-time work.

Oil prices in recent weeks have begun to follow Wall Street, however, and stocks have been rising for three weeks. The stock market has historically bottomed out before the economy.

Crude futures began to rise at the beginning of March, rising about $10 from a low of close of $40.15 on the first trading day of the month.

Still, oil inventories are at 16-year highs, suggesting an extraordinary lack of appetite for energy.

Phil Flynn of Alaron Trading Corp. said that, for now, optimism about the economy has trumped concerns of oversupply. He also said actions taken by central banks in the U.S. and Europe could push the dollar lower, and thus push oil prices higher. Oil is traded in U.S. currency and foreign investors can buy more when the dollar drops.

“Right now the oil market has made it clear that supplies are way down on the list of what's moving the market right now,” he said.

Investors bought into oil despite some very bearish supply numbers released by the government.

Prices at the pump, meanwhile, fell 0.4 cents a gallon overnight to $2.041, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Prices are 10.8 cents higher than a month ago, but $1.248 below last year's prices.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for May delivery rose 2.26 cents to settle at $1.4924 a gallon and heating oil rose less than a cent to settle at $1.4460 a gallon. Natural gas for May delivery rose 1.9 cents to settle at $3.801 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Playing Ball with Resources

Nobody likes resource companies these days. Heck, nobody likes the markets at all.

But I think it's time for anybody with a sense of reality to once again consider looking at resource plays as a way to reap the incredible opportunities that this market has in store for risk-tolerant and patient investors.

Since last year, I am sure that all of your senses have gravitated towards the sentiment that the resource sector, especially the juniors of the Canadian exchanges, will not last another year. I am sure you have heard that many are stuck with projects that are too big for their companies to handle. I am sure you have seen corporations go belly up right under your nose. I have too. I speak with these companies each and every day.

But have you heard the other side of the story?

Traditional sources of financing have been near impossible for corporations. Remember the days when banks would force upon you every possible loan available? I do. That was last year. But things are different now. Banks have undergone a dramatic overhaul and are now terrified to even mention the word loan.

For most corporations, it doesn't matter how good your cash flow, revenue, forecasts, or your balance sheet might be. It doesn't matter if you have been in business for 50 years and have never missed a loan payment. Even the billions upon billions of government bailout funds and depressed central bank rates all across the world are not enough to get the credit flowing again. And you know what? It doesn't seem to be that big of a deal.

Not to the resource companies, anyway.

In the past few months, natural-resource players have raised well over $40 - $45 billion from outside the regular banking system. Most of the funds, from private investors and investment banks, have been accumulated through private placement bought deals and these astronomical financing figures are still pouring into both the smallest of the small caps and the largest of the large caps.
Need proof?

In February, Kinross raised $400 million (bought deal), then used $150 million to buy 20% of Harry Winston Diamond Corp. Cameco raised $460 million (bought deal) and BHP Billiton creatively raised $3.25 billion through corporate bonds. The list goes on. Even Gold Wheaton, a company trading at less than $0.25 has raised $200 million in the last few months.

Early February, practically every mining junior corporation I spoke with were worried about raising cash. Now many of them have held successful fundraisers over the last 60 days. In less time to follow a full season of your favourite sitcom, the one industry everyone shunned is now at the forefront of cash infusion from private lenders and big time investment players.

The money being poured into the resource sector is obviously coming from the successful and notably wealthy players of our markets. No doubt they see the natural resource sector as the goose that lays the golden eggs and as a force field to deflect the dangers against the battalion of the U.S Treasury's printing presses.

It's not only the big investment players coming out to swing their bats. Let's not forget the biggest player of them all: China.
Over the last few months, China has been buying up everything natural resource from Copper and Iron miners to Canadian Oil Sands.

According to a statement on their central government's Web site from Commerce Minister Chen Deming, China will send more commercial missions overseas to make purchases and investments this year. During a recent purchasing tour in February to Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the U.K., Chinese companies spent more than $13 billion. According to the 21st Century Business Herald, the US is the next stop as the Chinese ministry sends a business group on a buying trip to the U.S. later this month.

These investments may not all be in the form of resource-specific plays, but the underlying tones based on their recent actions suggests to me that resource is a big part of their focus.

The big players in the investment business have all come to play ball on the resource sector's home court. Do you want to be sitting in the nosebleeds when the game begins or do you want a spot in the starting line up?

Best regards,

Ivan Lo
Equedia Network Corporation
www.equedia.com

Friday, April 3, 2009