The Oil Man: Victoria, Lamprell, Velocys

WTI $44.48 -$1.84, Brent $45.89 -$1.76, Diff -$1.41 +8c, NG $2.95 -4c

The "OPEC" meeting scheduled for Wednesday and looked forward to by so many bystanders looks like being a farce, but don't say you weren't warned. When the OPEC president called for this meeting back on 9 August, swiftly followed by the OPEC machine, led by the Saudis and others, it all looked so good, even the Russians and the Iranians made comforting noises.

It seems that now the meeting is "for consultations only" according to Kingdom of Saudia Arabia sources; in my view it was never a "proper" OPEC meeting and at best would send a paper to the 30 November official gathering.

So many things can go and have gone wrong: production is soaring and the prospects are worse; indeed with the rig count growing and world growth slowing, only the huge capital expenditure falls scheduled for the next two years can make the numbers add up.

Only the Algerian minister thinks he can salvage something from the meeting…

Victoria Oil & Gas

Interims from Victoria this morning, which yet again prove that this company is delivering the goods in all its intended areas. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $14.2 million (£11 million) and post-tax profits of $1 million were as expected and the cash sum of $1.9 million at the period end grew to $9 million as of 23 September.

Average daily production of 13.1 million standard cubic feet per day was up 93% and the amount of gas sold was 2,282 million standard cubic feet (mmscf), well up on the previous number of 1,525mmscf but also in line with the target of increasing sales by 30% on 2015.

Phase two of the Bonaberi pipeline is well underway and will be complete by the year end, whilst work at Logbaba means that almost all drilling preparations are complete and they are nearly ready to spud.

During the period the company bought 75% of the Matanda PSC, which could be transformational, secured a debt facility of $26 million and afterwards strengthened the board with a new chief executive and financial director.

I have long contended that VOG has been largely forgotten by the market, which either misunderstands the utility nature of its portfolio or just doesn't understand the nature of the beast.

The company finds, delivers and secures customers for clean gas for thermal and grid power markets where there is significant demand; the acquisition of Matanda also gives much optionality to size up the model with consequential effects in the future - not to be underestimated by any means.

Lamprell

A small cheer today for Lamprell, which has announced a new contract from Jacktel, a subsidiary of Master Marine, for the upgrade of the mobile operating unit "Haven" as an accommodation service vessel for Statoil's Johan Sverdrup field in the Norwegian North Sea.

At a value of $90 million and from a new client, this must not be sneezed at…

Velocys

Is my long-held faith in Velocys about to be vindicated today as, along with meaningless interims, the company announces good news from Oklahoma?

The ENVIA GTL plant in Oklahoma City is "making good progress", pre-commissioning is substantially complete and early commissioning steps have begun. With a major strategic review expected in the upcoming quarter, the new-ish CEO will outline plans for the future.

Egdon/EOG/Union Jack

The long-awaited CPR on Wressle and Broughton North is out.

For Wressle, stock tank original oil in place (STOOIP) of 14.18 metres, of which 2.15 metres is 2P and 2C across three reservoir sands, Ashover Grit, Wingfield Flags and Penistone Flags, has led to the initial field development plan for the field being submitted.

At Broughton North, STOOIP is 3.43 metres, leading to 0.51 metres of oil and 0.51 billion cubic feet of gas.

And finally…

In the Prem there were plenty of goals again: leaders the Noisy Neighbours won one-three at the Swans whilst the Gooners beat Chelski three-nil and the HubCap Stealers were five-one victors against Hull City Tigers.

The Red Devils saw off the Champions four-one and Spurs won one-two at the Boro. With the Eagles coming back to win two-three at the Maccams, it was also another bad day for the Hammers, who lost again at the Olympic stadium.

In the rugby, the big surprise was that the Quins overturned the Sarries at the Stoop, whilst the Saints went down 15-20 at home to the Wasps and the Tigers beat Bath.

Phil 'The Power' Taylor won the inaugural Champions League darts in fine style.

And, on the day that Rory McIlroy won the $10 million FedEx Cup, it was sad to note the passing of Arnold Palmer at the age of 87.

In the Major League Baseball:

Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was killed yesterday in a boat crash off Miami Beach. Fernandez was 24 years old and already one of the best players in the game. The Marlins' game against the Braves was cancelled last night as a result.

Elsewhere, in the National League, the Cubs, Nationals and Dodgers have won their divisions and the wildcard race is tight, with the Mets, Cardinals and Giants still in contention for two playoff places.

In the American League, the Rangers have already clinched the AL West, with the Red Sox and Indians well placed for the other automatic playoff spots. The Blue Jays and Orioles should take the wild cards in the AL.

In the National Football League:

The Bears move to 0-3 with a 31-17 loss to the Cowboys, the Patriots are now three-nil with a shutout of the Texans and the Packers bounce back with victory over Detroit.

Russell Wilson was injured and removed from the Seahawks-49ers game. Seattle won 37-18 but, if serious, Wilson's injury will worry Seahawks fans.

The Vikings built on last week's win over the Packers with a big win in Carolina. They move to three-nil. The Panthers are one-two.

There were also wins for the Broncos, Redskins and Chiefs. Tonight sees the Falcons travel to New Orleans as they take on the winless Saints.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.