Monday, May 11, 2009

PDP Has Exploded - After Annual Meeting!









Petrolifera Petroleum reports Q1 2009 results and schedules Conference Call May 7, 2009, 9:00 a.m. MDT; Company encouraged by drilling results and logs; Testing of La Pinta well in Colombia anticipated to be completed in a timely manner

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CALGARY, May 6 /CNW/ - Petrolifera Petroleum Limited (PDP - TSX) is pleased to report our first quarter 2009 ("Q1 2009") operating and financial results to our shareholders, together with comparative information from last year.


Petrolifera's high impact drilling program began in January 2009, with the spudding of its La Pinta No.1 well on the Sierra Nevada License in the Lower Magdalena Basin onshore Colombia. We also control extensive contiguous acreage under what was previously the Magdalena Technical Evaluation Agreement ("TEA"), which is in the process of being converted to a License. The La Pinta well was recently logged and cased after being drilled to a final total depth of 11,250 feet. Results while drilling have been encouraging and were further confirmed by logs. A testing program will begin as soon as possible and when completed, results will be communicated by way of press release.


On March 2, 2009 Petrolifera announced its intention to commence a process to sell its Argentinean operations. All of the company's current production, a significant portion of its reserves and extensive undeveloped acreage is held in Argentina, where assets continue to hold promise and upside potential, which is of importance to a prospective purchaser. We retained Tristone Capital Inc. ("Tristone") to manage the process for the company. Data rooms are anticipated to open in mid-May 2009 with a view to offers being submitted for consideration by June 18, 2009. It is our objective to sell our Argentinean operations as a going concern to maximize continuing employment opportunities for our in-country employees. It is anticipated the sale will proceed if suitable and acceptable proposals are forthcoming and all requisite approvals are obtained. The expressions of interest in the process have been plentiful and from companies and enterprises operating from a variety of jurisdictions, including Argentina. If a transaction were completed, funds would be deployed in our high impact exploration and evaluation programs in Colombia and in Peru and to discharge related reserve-based indebtedness.


These Q1 2009 results will be subject to a Conference Call event at 9:00 a.m. MDT May 7, 2009. To listen to or participate in the live conference call please dial either (416) 644-3434 or (800) 814-4857. A replay of the event will be available from May 7, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. MT until May 15, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. MT. To listen to the replay please dial either (416) 640-1917 or 877-289-8525 and enter the passcode 21305120 followed by the pound sign.




<< class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> Petrolifera announced its intention to enter into a process to sell its operations in Argentina - A successful multi-well heavy oil drilling program was initiated on the company's 100 percent owned Gobernador Ayala II Concession in La Pampa Province, Argentina, which could favorably impact on the sales efforts and pricing prospects - High potential drilling commenced in Colombia with La Pinta No.1, now an indicated discovery based on results while drilling and logs; testing is anticipated to be completed in a timely manner - Seismic programs were completed on Block 106 in Peru and on our Turpial Concession in the Middle Magdalena Basin, Colombia - We are nearing completion of the conversion of the Magdalena TEA to License status; this extensive land block adjoins the Sierra Nevada Concession in the Upper Magdalena Basin of Colombia - Preparations for drilling on Block 107 in the Ucayali Basin, Peru were initiated; mandatory acreage relinquishment on Block 107 was determined and submitted for approval; new license on Block 133, offsetting Block 107 to the west was secured, enhancing Petrolifera's landholdings in the region - Solid cash flow, profitability and favorable commodity pricing realized in Argentina during Q1 2009 - Plan of Arrangement for asset backed commercial paper restructuring completed; related line of credit expanded to $28.2 million and borrowings reclassified as long term, which improved working capital and enhanced liquidity Read Full Report Here

Planned maintenance will cut total loading volumes of major North Sea crude oil to a two-year low in June

N Sea Crude:June Supply To Hit 2-Year Low; Impact Seen Limited


10:17 EDT Monday, May 11, 2009

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Planned maintenance will cut total loading volumes of major North Sea crude oil to a two-year low in June, traders said Monday, although they expect little impact on spot market prices.

North Sea crude oil producers will supply a total of 37.62 million barrels of benchmark North Sea BFOE crude - Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk crude oil - in June, down 15% from May's 44.24 million barrels, the lowest since June 2007, according to Dow Jones data.

June's volume will be equivalent to 1.25 million barrels a day, about 12% lower than May.

Including the Norwegian Statfjord and Gullfaks grades, supply of the six major North Sea grades will total 48.73 million barrels, or 1.62 million barrels a day, down 13.3% versus May.

The sharp decline in June loading volume is mainly due to planned maintenance at StatoilHydro ASA's (STL.OS) Oseberg oil field. As a result, Oseberg's June supply will fall 55% on the month to 3 million barrels.

A spokesman at StatoilHydro declined to comment on an exact downtime for the field, although the company said last month that it would be partially offline for maintenance in June.

A person familiar with the situation said the company is scheduled to shut the field between June 8-18 for maintenance. No Oseberg cargoes will be loading after June 5 until June 23, according to a copy of the June loading program seen by Dow Jones Newswires.

But less Oseberg volume may not lend much support to the market since traders pay more attention to the loading volume of the Forties Blend, the grade that typically sets the price of the benchmark BFOE basket.

"Rarely anything matters on BFOE otherthan Forties," a trader said. One less cargo of Forties is scheduled for June compared with May, with 34 standard 600, 000-barrel cargoes of Forties slated.

"Oseberg rarely sets the quote or goes in chains," said the trader.

With this in mind, most traders doubt the Forties market will tighten significantly to affect BFOE prices in coming weeks.

On May 7, Forties traded at a discount of 50 cents a barrel to Dated BFOE, compared with a parity the previous week.

Ample supply of Forties in June and July suggests that traders may continue to store extra barrels in supertankers in a bid to take advantage of the contango structure in the market. A contango structure in crude futures means near-term contracts are priced cheaper than those further into the future.

Currently, five to six very large crude carriers are employed for Forties storage in the North Sea, traders said.

However, maintenance is expected to cut Forties crude output to 365,000 barrels a day in August, down 46% from July projections, according to BP PLC ( BP), which operates the Forties Pipeline System.

Earlier this year, Canadian energy company Nexen Inc. (NXY) said that the company will conduct up to six weeks of third quarter maintenance at its 200, 000-barrel-a-day Buzzard oil field in the North Sea to coincide with maintenance on the Forties Pipeline System.

The output from the Buzzard field, the biggest in the Forties system, contributes to around a quarter of total production of Forties Blend. There are more than fifty oil fields making up Forties Blend.

North Sea Crude Oil Loading Programs
Grade June Vol B/D May Vol B/D
(Bbl) (Bbl)
Brent 3,668,000 122,267 4,240,000 136,774
Forties 20,400,000 680,000 21,000,000 677,419
Oseberg 3,000,000 100,000 6,650,000 214,516
Ekofisk 10,550,000 351,667 12,350,000 398,387
Total 37,618,000 1,253,933 44,240,000 1,427,097

Statfjord 5,130,000 171,000 5,985,000 193,065
Gullfaks 5,985,000 199,500 5,985,000 193,065

Total 48,733,000 1,624,433 56,210,000 1,813,226


-By Sherry Su, Dow Jones Newswires; +44(0)20-7842-9329; sherry.su@dowjones.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-11-09 1016ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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