Exxon Woos Gulf Keystone

That's what makes a deal not unthinkable provided KRG agrees all Iraqi oil marketed as Iraqi oil, 1 marketer. does the $2.5b include both cost & profit oil? ladyboy21 7UP http://gulfkeystonepetroleumtakeover.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/exxon-woos-gulf-keystone.html Jan 17 Exxon Woos Gulf Keystone US oil supermajor Exxon Mobil is understood to have sounded out London-listed Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) over a possible deal that could value the Kurdistan-focused group at around £7bn. GKP has a market capitalisation of around £1.5bn and is listed on the junior Aim market, but its chief executive, Todd Kozel, believes the group could eventually go for double-figure billions. GKP is sitting on what is considered to be one of the world's great recent oil finds – Shaikan, about 50 miles north-west of Kurdistan's capital, Erbil – but the regional government is known to want a supermajor on board to properly fund and develop the field. It is thought that the board would not accept the estimated £8-a-share that Exxon is considering and that a number of other companies, perhaps including China's Sinopec and Californian giant Chevron, are monitoring the situation. There is even some speculation that an informal four-way auction for GKP might be under way, while it is also believed that the company has spoken to at least two smaller businesses about potentially developing its assets in a joint venture. Last month, it emerged that Exxon was the first of the oil industry's giants to enter Kurdistan, taking six licences. However, this has angered the government in Baghdad because there are old territorial disputes between Iraq and Kurdistan. Baghdad had threatened to terminate Exxon's existing deal in southern Iraq and it had been reported that the US giant might reconsider its licences in Kurdistan. However, the lucrative potential of the Kurdistan fields means that analysts expect Exxon will pursue opportunities in the semi-autonomous region and may already have taken additional positions to those licences previously revealed. There are suggestions that Exxon's interest in GKP was discussed at a board meeting 10 days ago and that initial soundings may have been taken at least six weeks ago. Last month, much of the oil world descended on Erbil for a conference that highlighted the extraordinary oil opportunities in Kurdistan, with Mr Kozel one of the key speakers. It is believed that Mr Kozel would be happy to sell up soon and has even started mulling over his next venture. The American businessman is one of the most colourful figures in the City and has a base of devoted retail investors who are waiting for a takeover of GKP to make them rich. GKP declined to comment. Exxon did not return calls. Posted 3 hours ago by Iain Jamieson Labels: bahamas oil, GENEL, gkp, GKP COURT CASE, gkp sold, gkp take over, gulf keystone, gulf keystone petroleum TTB. 'I believe fatigue has set in for a lot of people on here now. We now have more posters that would be happy with small figures such as sub 600p. Pre CC, this bb was positive about the future, expecting T/O prices north of 1000p. . . But do we need to see the de-ramping day in day out due to their feelings towards the bod/todd/company? I'm sure there's still some on here that blame Todd/Gokana for holding at 400p and not selling. Sorry to say but only the holder is the one to blame here. I held, I wish I'd sold but I didn't. I'm fine with that, my fault.' ---- Most of the impatience is down to the lousy state of the SP, so it's understandable. The thing that most people find difficult to do is create a clear mental distance between the *resource* and what value the *market* places on the Company as an entity. Some years back my wife bought a few thousand shares in a Company called Human Genome Science (HGSI). She bought in at 60 US cents and offloaded them at $1.09, happy to take the profit and move on to something else. Patience wasn't one of our virtues at the time and we didn't follow the stock's progress after selling it off. Within about a year HGSI had hit $30+, not exactly an everyday occurrence but as good as a lottery win for the lucky few who hold and buy at the right time. I'm not comparing GKP with the above, just pushing the virtues of patience if you know that the fundamentals are sound. In our case the fundamentals are resources that are in increasing demand by cash-rich multinational Corporations who will pay for what GKP have, not for what it is. Unless you're under financial pressure, separate the noise generated here from useful information, keep your eye on the goal and just wait. == Enrichment in Kurdistan TR_ISTA - 17.01.2014 12:12:38 Share: Before the new Iraqi constitution was adopted by both the federal and local parliaments and finally endorsed by the people in a referendum in 2005, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani commented on the new constitution in a speech he delivered at a literature festival in Duhok. “Solid foundations were laid down for the safe march of the Kurdish nation towards the future. The time of hardship and violence is now over for both us and the governments which partitioned Kurdistan among themselves. They were unable to eliminate us; neither were we strong enough to defeat them. We fought; we preserved our presence. We fought; we preserved our identity. As the Kurdish nation, we would like to lay down a foundation that brings us independence. We would like to create a structure that will lead to independence in the end. If we compare this one to other constitutions, there has been no better constitution in Iraqi history. Our demand for the creation of a federation was well received. Kurdish has become an official language in Iraq. The peshmergas gained official status. The distribution of wealth and economic resources was regulated fairly, and now Kurdistan is able to use these sources. Until now, they have been used against us,” said Barzani. Nine years have passed since this speech. The Kurds have experienced many problems with the Iraqi central administration since then. But these disagreements have had nothing to do with the enjoyment of political rights and freedoms in the Kurdish federal region. As pointed out by Barzani, the federal Iraqi constitution was strongly and clearly devised, and as a result, there were no loopholes for arguments over rights and freedoms. But the actual disagreement was about the city of Kirkuk, whose status has not been defined yet, and the oil deals. The actual fight is being experienced in these areas. Even though no problems have arisen in terms of the 17 percent of oil revenues that were allocated to the Kurds, the central government has always argued that the deals the regional government has made with oil corporations are illegal. In the midst of these arguments, two different and separate authorities have emerged in Iraq in terms of the transport of Iraqi oil to global markets: the central Iraqi government and the regional government. We are living in a different age, in which nobody believes that political independence is sustainable without a reliance on rich resources. Federalism has already become a strong preference and choice, determined by a certain level of wealth for the European peoples, who are already familiar with freedom. Today, the rich resources and wealth of the Basque region determine the political relations and issues between the autonomous Basque region and Spain. The Basque people, who were against Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) because it promoted independence, believing that it would be better if they stayed as part of a unified Spain, now say that they should hold a referendum on independence in an attempt to avoid the effects of the central government's debt. Even though Kurdish independence or autonomy is in essence a political matter, the sustainability of this independence or autonomy necessitates their control over the natural resources in the region. The future of Erbil and Kurdistan becomes possible only if the oil and natural gas resources are taken under control. The fact that Erbil and other Kurdish cities have experienced changes in a few years that might have taken place over a century is relevant to the enjoyment of these riches by the Kurdish people. It is estimated that the per capita income will reach $40,000 in a region with 5 million people by 2020. This means the achievement of standards akin to those in Canada and Norway. Given that Iraq's oil production capacity will increase from 2 million barrels to 10 million in a few years, the real reason for the disagreement in Iraq becomes crystal clear. How important is this issue for the strategic alliance between Erbil and Ankara and political relations between Turkey and Kurdistan? I will discuss this in the next column. ORHAN MİROĞLU (Cihan/Today's Zaman) Coal reserves in #Pakistan may generate 10,000 megawatts of electricity for 350 years, says #ADB