It’s troubled times with oil price plus US election uncertainties on the international front and Brexit realities now coming into mainstream focus in the UK. Personally, I would be cautious at present, particularly given the economic implications of COVID-19 countermeasures and the structural changes which may take place as a result, plus Britain is now uniquely disadvantaged, being the only country facing new trade barriers with its major export market on January 1. If the economy contracts further, as it most likely will, remember that without constant access to new funds, most of these AIM companies are worthless.
Moving on to the company news, Providence Resources (PVR) and Lansdowne Oil & Gas (LOGP) revived memories of their previously failed deal with APEC by announcing an extension of the “exclusivity period” with SpotOn Energy to 30 November. Although probably no surprise to those who follow me and read the blogs, after the hubristic investor presentation a fortnight ago and statements by the PVR CEO in the independent.ie last week, this came as quite a disappointment to the companies’ shareholders. Some on social media tried to stop me saying it, but readers should know that SpotOn Energy is a £1 UK dormant company delinquent in its reporting requirements. Links to its website and Companies House filings are here: https://spotonenergy.no https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC542521 Form your own view.
Chariot Oil & Gas (CHAR) announced the receipt of “Expression of Interest Letters” from Africa Finance Corporation and an unnamed multinational investment bank. The shares spiked on the announcement, leaving a number of investors with losses, but if genuine, possibly Anchois is a go. The estimated capital expenditure required to bring the development online is anticipated to be in the region of $300-500 million.
IGas Energy (IGAS) announced a memorandum of understanding with BayoTech, a manufacturer of modular hydrogen generation systems, to produce hydrogen from certain of the company’s existing gas resources. Moves with the “energy transition” are gathering pace and the key shorter-term to actually transitioning away from oil is the re-profiling of nuclear energy as “green,” something which is now quietly underway. Back to IGAS, hydrogen is another step forward in its re-profiling, following the announcement in September of its acquisition of a geothermal energy business. It could be an interesting one.
Borders and Southern Petroleum (BOR) announced an extension to its Falkland Islands production licences, which were due to expire on 31 October this year. The new expiry date for the licences will be 31 January 2022, which brings them in line with the expiry date for BOR's Darwin discovery area licence. For those who don’t know about this little company, BOR has a market capitalisation of £3 million, total assets per its 30 June 2020 accounts of $295 million, and is one whose share price can quickly double on any whiff of potential activity in the Falkland Islands’ area.
There were, of course, other announcements last week, but these are the ones that caught my eye as interesting. Stating facts about some of the smaller companies, as happened last week with MSMN and NTOG, also brings on torrents of abuse from those ramping the shares to clear their placing stock and the newcomers who have drunk the Kool-Aid. Dealing with these types of posts really is not the way I want to spend my Sunday. I won’t stop commenting on scam companies, rather move the information over to the private blog. I’ll revisit them here after their share prices have collapsed - as inevitably they always will.
To close, I’ve nearly finished finalising the second edition of “UNDERSTANDING THE LONDON SPECULATIVE MARKETS and THE SECRETS OF HOW TO PROFIT FROM THEM” which includes interesting new material. Its intention is to be educational, as with my blogs, public and private. Hopefully, what I write can help protect you from being scammed and get you thinking about how you actually can make money in these markets. I’ll be sending a complimentary copy in electronic format to all private blog subscribers, existing and new, so if you’d like to read the book, try out a trial subscription to the private blog, details of which are at https://www.oilnewslondon.com/oilman-jim
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The author may hold one or more investments in one or more of the companies mentioned so this post cannot be viewed as independent research. This post does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell and may be incorrect or outdated.