Interactive Investor

The Oil Man: Amerisur, Hurricane, Ophir

2nd October 2017 13:05

Malcolm Graham-Wood from interactive investor

WTI $51.67 +11c, Brent $56.79 -37c, Diff -$5.12 -73c, NG $3.01 -1c

The oil price has fallen by around a dollar this morning as there are one or two snippets of indifferent news around. First glance at September output from OPEC is apparently a touch disappointing but, although Libya is up a bit, I think that Nigeria is still down somewhat.

This might mean that there is a bit of cheating going on, but with the OPEC meeting happening this month I would be quite surprised. I am not however surprised to see the rig count up, by 5 units overall and oil up by 6 at 750 as, at WTI $52, temptation is right there.

Amerisur Resources

More good news from Amerisur as they release monthly production, OBA throughput and an operational update. Average production per day was 4,022 barrels whilst per operating day was 6,033 b/d with a peak of 7,397 b/d, which has now been beaten by flow of 7,400 b/d.

At the OBA, average throughput was 6,117 b/d with a peak of 7,137 b/d which should address some of the investor concerns about capacity.

Not much to add to last week's results, but confirmation of the 'good result' at Platanillo-21, which has since been placed on production at 1/- b/d and of course will also add to the reserve potential at Pad-2N. The Plat-25 well, a step out from Pad 2N is currently drilling and the company expect logging in mid-October.

At Mariposa-1, the operator has confirmed that the successful exploration well will go on LTT in mid-October as well, and CEO John Wardle expects it too will add 'further material production' to the company.

Hurricane Energy

News today from Hurricane that the FPSO Aoka Mizu has arrived at the drydocks at the World Dubai Shipyard means that the timings for the Lancaster EPS are still very much on track. The shipyard is also undertaking the fabrication of the buoy where the first steel has been cut at the Dubai facility, and there is a lot of steel….

With some investors concerned about a perceived lack of news from HUR, this latest piece of information adds to the flurry of recent RNS's and should ensure that all is on time, on budget and fully financed. Whilst some indigestion was to be anticipated, the ultimate prize is really not that far away and patience will be rewarded in spades.

Ophir Energy

Ophir has announced that it has awarded the upstream construction contract for the Fortuna project to the Subsea Integration Alliance, which is a partnership between Subsea 7 and, you guessed it, Schlumberger. This contract is another milestone towards FID which is expected this quarter with first gas still on course for 2020.

And finally…

The Malaysian GP was dominated by the Red Bulls but, one suspects, that if Vettel had started at the front of the grid and Kimmi started at all, then Lewis would not have been on the podium at all so slow was the Mercedes. Ahead of next week in Japan, the team will be trying to eak out some more speed as lady luck cannot be on their side for much longer…

Frankie Dettori duly won the Arc easily enough on Enable which has to be one of the best fillies around, let's hope it stays in training for next year…

The noisy Neighbours continued their winning streak taking all the points from their visit to Stamford Bridge which should be their hardest match of the season. The Eagles went to the Theatre of Dreams and duly lost 4-0, Chelski next for Woy… Wins for Spurs, the Gooners and Burnley who took all three points off the Toffees which is not so difficult at the moment.

The Hammers left it late to beat the Swans 1-0 and Peter Crouch popped up to score the winner against the Saints. The HubCap Stealers went to St James's and could only come away with a draw, also the results between the Cherries and the Foxes and the Baggies and the Hornets.

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.