Oilbarrel Newsletter 13th November 2013

Oilbarrel Weekly Roundup 6th - 13th November 2013 Energy Minister Ed Davey Says Power Companies Should Stop Treating Customers Like “Cash Cows” Written By Stewart Dalby The controversy over power (gas and electricity prices) continues to rumble on. Ed Davey, the Minister at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) stuck his oar into the debate this week when he said the six big power big utilities should not treat consumers like cash cows. This refers to the practice of getting consumers to pay by direct debit and then setting the payments at an estimated level which is higher than the cost of energy actually consumed. Figures of between £20 million and £300 million have been suggested as the sums the utilities have on deposit at their banks. The furore caused by the disclosure of this racket came as a bit of surprise to me. For years I have been phoning my suppliers demanding my money back. They usually said we will put it towards your next bill. I always replied, no you won’t you will send me a cheque. When we sold our flat in London recently I got £460 back from SSE. I won’t be paying the power bills by direct debit on the new house we have bought. Doubtless there will be new twists and turns in the energy prices debate which really got started when the opposition leader Ed Miliband said in September if the Labour Party gained power at the next general election he would freeze power prices for 20 months. But for me a defining moment in the discussion came in the energy select committee meeting in Parliament almost two weeks ago. At the interrogation, the heads, or rather their spokesmen, since few of the really big brass of the big six utilities which are, British Gas (which is owned by Centrica) EDF Energy, Eon, nPower ScottishPower and SSE were there, were claiming that the price rises were largely out of their control since wholesale prices had been rising because they had to buy power on global markets and they had to pay for transmission costs and for “green subsidies”. They might have got away with these claims say that there was an interloper in the room. Stephen Fitzgerald is the boss of Ovo Energy which is a small, very small energy supplier. Mr Fitzgerald brilliantly used the occasion as a marketing opportunity. He said the price of gas had fallen to below 72p a therm since hitting a high of 74p a therm in May 2011 and Ovo was now buying power for next winter at a price of 69p a therm. It may be different for Ovo because it is so small it might not buy at global prices, but the damage was done. The big six are a cartel and as with all cartels, like the high street banks, there is a bit of jiggery-pokery that goes on when it comes to pricing. As Mr Fitzgerald put it, he said he could not explain the latest price rises, and accused his larger rivals of “charging the maximum price they feel they can get away with to the customers that they feel will not switch under any circumstances.” Members of the select committee seemed to have more sympathy with Mr Fitzgerald’s view than they did with the mutterings of the big six. The outcome of the hearings on the question of “green levies” seemed to be more mixed. David Cameron subsequent said there could be some scaling down of the Energy Company Obligation or Eco scheme which aims at making houses more energy efficient. This would cost £1 billion if it were fully implemented to all those eligible for help. The energy companies pass this straight on to consumers. However, Ed Davey in his “cash cows” statement said there were no plans to cap assistance to wind farms. Offshore wind farms qualify for two renewable obligation certificates (ROCS). This is a scheme whereby utilities have to buy a certain percentage of the power from renewable sources. ROCS are bought at auction and are currently around £50 each. This means that 1 mega watt of energy from an offshore wind farm costs at least £150/MWh, if you add in the climate change levy, against a current market price of £45/MWh. So you pay your money but you don’t take your choice. This subsidy does not come out of the general tax net it goes straight on to energy bills as an added tax if you like. The point is if you want to de-carbonise the economy it costs money. 63rd Oilbarrel Conference - Thursday 12th December 2013 Sponsored By: 63rd Oilbarrel Conference Thursday 12th December 2013 The Brewery Chiswell Street London EC1Y 4SD (Nearest stations are Moorgate and Liverpool Street) Presenting Companies Include: Bahamas Petroleum Company Plc San Leon Energy To Register Click Here - or Contact support@oilbarrel.com to find out more Our free-to-attend Forums have enabled Investors and Industry experts, for 9yrs now, to hear directly from presenting Oil & Gas and Exploration companies and in-turn, created new investment opportunities. Interested in Speaking and/or Sponsoring an Oilbarrel event Speak with PAUL NEWMAN on +44 (0)20 3651 5627 or via email Paul@Oilbarrel.com Latest News News: November 13, 2013 Energy Minister Ed Davey Says Power Companies Should Stop Treating Customers Like “Cash Cows” The controversy over power (gas and electricity prices) continues to rumble on.  Ed Davey, the minister at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) stuck his oar into the debate this week when he said the six big power big utilities should not treat consumers like cash cows. Full story... News: November 13, 2013 Petro Matad Reaches Half-Way Point In Its Central Mongolia Seismic Campaign But Looses Exploration Director Credited With Bringing New Rigour To Its Exploration Effort After a hiatus of two years AIM-quoted Petro Matad is busy on the ground again in Mongolia, with its local seismic contractor now 50 per cent through a 200 km 2D shoot across blocks IV and V in the centre of the country which shares geological similarities with the prolific Junggar and Turpan basins in China. The work, which is designed to confirm at least two locations ready for drilling next year, is due for completion before the winter shut-down Full story... Features: November 12, 2013 Conference report 2: Tower Resources Readies For Namibian Wildcat, Callinan Royalties Follows Royalty Creation Strategy And Fastnet Oil & Gas Lays Out Its Plans For Swift Exit Should Moroccan Drilling Yield Success The first speaker after the coffee break was Nigel Quinton, head of exploration at AIM-quoted Tower Resources.  As an aspiring Lib Dem politician, who was beaten to a seat in the 2010 general election by Tory MP Peter Lilley (himself no stranger to the oil and gas business given he's a non-exec at Tethys Petroleum, a role that has created some controversy given his strident anti-climate change views), Quinton proved a confident public speaker. Although he expected the oilbarrel.com Q&A to be challenging, he said it couldn't be as bad as an election hustings. Full story... Features: November 11, 2013 Conference Report 1: Rockflow Resources Analyses Winners And Losers Amongst AIM Oil Shares While Well Funded Market Newcomer Zoltav Resources Stresses Opportunities In Russia And TXO Announces A Surprise Addition To Its Hydrocarbon Recycling Business Oilbarrel.com's 62nd conference started with a presentation on a subject very close to delegates' hearts: how to spot an oil and gas winner.  As Andy Spriggs,  managing director of upstream consultancy Rockflow Resources, made clear, however, there are far more losers than winners in the AIM oil and gas game.  Spriggs took a snapshot of the share price performance of 102 E&Ps listed on AIM, of which 66 started up since 2006. Most are trading below their original listing price, none pay dividends and the average investor can expect to lose money investing in start-up E&Ps, said Spriggs, who has 22 years of international oil industry experience. Full story... Market Overview: November 08, 2013 Oil Prices Weaken On The Back Of A Stronger US Dollar It’s been a slow week on the oil market and the price has been trending lower. Oil supply is plentiful, the economy is stable enough and the hint of a stronger dollar and an unexpected ECB decision sent oil prices lower. In early trading on Friday, Brent crude was priced below US$104 with WTI trading just above US$94 a barrel. Full story... News: November 07, 2013 BP's Q3 Delights Investors But Shell Delivers Another Underwhelming Quarter As Exploration Costs And Nigeria Woes Hit The Bottom Line BP set the bar high for fellow oil majors last week when it delivered a crowd-pleasing set of Q3 earnings.  The British oil giant not only delivered forecast-beating earnings but it also hiked the dividend, promised another dose of disposals and share buybacks as well as scaling back its capital spending guidance. This is exactly the kind of prudence investors are looking for in the current market place.  As Investec analyst Neill Morton put it, “the stockmarket doesn’t want the oil majors to spend money. Instead, investors want their cash back”. Full story... News: November 07, 2013 ASX And AIM-Listed Oilex Makes Progress With Its Key Cambay-77H Well In India There has been news from ASX-listed Oilex Ltd. It is mixed. The company, which is duelled-listed on London’s AIM says in an update on the important Cambay-77H well that preparations to drill the well are moving ahead. The full suite of tender packages for all equipment, materials and services required for Cambay-77H have been issued and all bid documents have been received from prospective bidders. Full story... News: November 07, 2013 TXO Joins Our 62nd Conference Giving Us A Very Strong "Card" It’s better late than never is an adage I am very happy to embrace when it comes to TXO. The company has signed up to present at our 62nd conference in the last few days before the event takes place on November 7,  at The Brewery in Chiswell Street in the heart of the City of London. Full story... News: November 06, 2013 Lekoil Raises US$100 Million As It Delivers Second Oil Discovery At Ogo, Just Five Months Post-IPO Nigeria may not be the easiest place to do business but, as evidenced by its share price performance since its May 2013 IPO, the markets appear to have confidence in the ability of AIM newcomer Lekoil to deliver returns from its acreage in the oil rich nation. The City's confidence in the company was underpinned last week when the AIM-quoted company raised US$100 million through a placing conducted by Mirabaud Securities.  The equity raise, priced at 55 pence per share, was backed by existing and new institutional and other shareholders through an accelerated book-build to fund work on the Ogo-1 sidetrack, development of the OML113 licence, home to the Aje field, and repayment of a loan to Afren, its partner in the Ogo-1 well. Full story.. Press releases November 13, 2013 - Ceramic Fuel Cells CFCL Operational Update  November 13, 2013 - Northern Petroleum Plc French Guiana GM-ES-5 Well Completion November 13, 2013 - Tangiers Petroleum Ltd Issue of Equity November 13, 2013 - Heritage Oil Nigerian Strategic Alliance November 13, 2013 - Tullow Oil plc Nigerian Strategic Alliance November 13, 2013 - Chariot Oil and Gas Ltd Update on Moroccan Portfolio November 13, 2013 - Providence Resources Providence Resources P.l.c. : ABT Oil &... November 13, 2013 - Oilex Ltd Appendix 3B November 13, 2013 - Lansdowne Oil & Gas ABT Agrees to Farm into Helvick Oil Discovery November 13, 2013 - Enegi Oil Joint Development Agreement signed with... November 13, 2013 - Bowleven Plc Result of Issue of Equity November 12, 2013 - Cluff Natural Resources Raised £2M for UK Deep UCG Portfolio November 12, 2013 - Urals Energy Completion of Tanker Loading November 12, 2013 - Fastnet Oil & Gas Resources Estimates Completed Onshore Morocco November 12, 2013 - Circle Oil plc Senior Debt Facility of up to US$100 Million November 12, 2013 - Iofina PLC Grant of Options to Directors November 11, 2013 - Caracal Energy Publication of Prospectus  November 11, 2013 - Frontier Resources International Plc Corporate Activities Update November 11, 2013 - Ithaca Energy Inc Q3 2013 Financial Results  November 11, 2013 - Serica Energy plc Result of General Meeting  November 11, 2013 - Serica Energy plc Result of Open Offer  November 11, 2013 - Gulf Keystone Petroleum Update on Excalibur litigation November 11, 2013 - Faroe Petroleum Novus exploration well in Norwegian Sea... November 11, 2013 - Oilex Ltd OILEX AGM Presentation November 2013  November 11, 2013 - Oilex Ltd Results of Annual General Meeting 11... November 11, 2013 - Faroe Petroleum Oil discovery in the Snilehorn well  November 11, 2013 - Oilex Ltd OILEX AGM Chairman's Review  November 11, 2013 - Faroe Petroleum Novus exploration well in Norwegian Sea... November 11, 2013 - Oilex Ltd OILEX AGM Chairman's Review November 11, 2013 - Oilex Ltd OILEX AGM Presentation November 2013 November 08, 2013 - Nido Petroleum Limited Nido signs LOI with Rig Contractor for... November 08, 2013 - Victoria Oil & Gas Plc Additional Customer Online  November 08, 2013 - Tangiers Petroleum Ltd Notice of General Meeting November 08, 2013 - Sterling Energy Plc Additional farmin to Odewayne Block  November 08, 2013 - Rialto Energy Ltd Vitol Transaction and PSC  November 08, 2013 - Caracal Energy Operational Update November 08, 2013 - Falkland Oil and Gas Limited Third 3D Seismic Survey Commences November 07, 2013 - Ceres Power Holdings Result of AGM  November 07, 2013 - Jupiter Energy Limited Result of AGM November 07, 2013 - Tower Resources plc Corporate Presentation November 07, 2013 - Lekoil Proposed Acquisition of Interest in OML113 November 07, 2013 - Hardy Oil & Gas Plc Interim Management Statement November 07, 2013 - Wentworth Resources Lunch presentation - Subsequent Offering November 07, 2013 - Wentworth Resources Change in Financial Calendar November 06, 2013 - Magnolia Petroleum Operations Update  November 06, 2013 - Oilex Ltd Appendix 3Y  November 06, 2013 - Tangiers Petroleum Ltd Issue of Equity  November 06, 2013 - Oilex Ltd Appendix 3B November 06, 2013 - Kea Petroleum Posting of Annual Report and Notice of AGM November 06, 2013 - Max Petroleum Operational update  November 06, 2013 - Geopark Holdings Ltd Share purchase program  November 06, 2013 - Nostra Terra Oil & Gas Company PLC 7th Chisholm Well in Production  November 06, 2013 - Petro Matad Limited Operational Update November 06, 2013 - Petro Matad Limited Management Changes  November 06, 2013 - Wentworth Resources Subscription Period in the Subsequent... November 06, 2013 - Union Jack Oil Plc Hydrocarbon Portfolio Update November 06, 2013 - Egdon Resources Final Results for the Year Ended 31 July 2013 Don't forget to visit our other website

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