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RP is pleased to provide a regular monthly newsletter in conjunction with Sentinel Financial Group
APPEA Conference
The main national body representing Australia's oil and gas exploration and production industry, APPEA (Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association), held its annual conference in Adelaide from April 15 - 18. The conference was attended by more than 1600 delegates from the oil and gas industry and represents the largest annual gathering of the upstream oil and gas industry in the Southern Hemisphere. For the first time ever, RP was represented at the conference, sharing a stand with Roxar.
"RP's presence at the conference was to promote our consultancy and training services to the industry," said CEO David Callaghan. "We will try to attend as many of these conferences in the Asia Pacific region as possible as it gives us the opportunity to tell the oil and gas industry what we can do. RP prides itself to be one of the few companies in the market that can mobilise a subsurface team into a client's office to work on a specific project," Callaghan said.
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David and Paul point out RP's fine
qualities |
Paul Dominic, RP's General Manager said such conferences provided an opportunity for the company to find alliance partners to complement its capabilities, and to meet potential clients. Sharing the stand with Roxar also provided a learning experience in the event RP were to have their own stand in the future."It was a good forum to get a feel for the activity levels in the industry and its future trends. It was a very exciting time to observe and feel the buzz of the deal-making that was going on during this APPEA conference," he said.
On a lighter note, he said he was the only RP representative to "Barry's Jog" which was held every morning of the conference. Although here was no 'official' run on the last morning, he did turn up, believing that some others might, but ended up running along the Torrens on his own. He attributed it to the dinner dance that was held the night before!
RP also held a lucky draw for a bottle of Moet Chandon (donated by Frances Corless) which was won Michael Harrison.
Crude Oil Prices
After hitting a seven-month high of almost US$69/bbl in late March/early April, crude oil prices moved lower with the easing of tensions between Britain and Iran. Prices have continued on the downward trend, despite news of the kidnap of expatriate workers in Nigeria and fears of stocks shortfalls in the US ahead of the peak summer months.
This was due to expectations that US gasoline inventories might increase as a result of increased refinery output, strengthening in crude imports and fears of a weakening US economy.

Source:
US Energy Information Administration

Source: US Energy
Information Administration
Broad Market Review
Gains on international equity markets combined with intensifying corporate interest in Australian stocks underpinned a 2.9% increase in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index during April.
Orica has become the latest company to receive a takeover proposal from a private equity consortium. The Board rejected an indicative proposal to acquire the company for $32/sh, saying it ".significantly undervalues Orica and its growth prospects." Other companies believed to be potential targets include Foster's, Brambles, James Hardie, Tabcorp, Aristocrat, Amcor, Ten and Fairfax. These companies often share similar traits including strong free cash flow, low gearing and some form of underperformance.
US stocks rallied above 13,000 last week for the first time in late April, drawing strength from a spate of better than expected first quarter corporate earnings. According to Reuters estimates of the 177 companies who reported earnings in the last week of April, 123 beat consensus estimates, 22 were in line with expectations and 32 missed estimates. The bullish tone on Wall Street was further reinforced by the ease at which investors shrugged off last week's disappointing first quarter preliminary GDP report (1.3% p.a. vs 1.7% expected).
Commodity prices have generally improved over the past month led by a 10% + surge in copper and nickel.
|
Global Indices |
| |
Level |
Month Chg (%) |
| S&P ASX200 (Aust) |
6166 |
+ 2.9% |
| Dow Jones (US) |
13063 |
+ 5.7% |
| S&P 500 (UK) |
1482 |
+ 4.3% |
|
FTSE 100 (UK) |
6449 |
+ 2.2% | Source: IRESS. Data as of 30/04/07
|
Commodities |
| |
Price |
Month Chg |
| Gold |
$678 USD/oz |
+ 2.2% |
| Oil (West Texas) |
$65.80 USD/bbl |
- 0.2% |
| Copper |
$7,824 USD/t |
+ 12.7% |
| Nickel |
$50,100 USD/t |
+ 10.7% | Source: IRESS. Data as of 30/04/07
Daily Chart of the S&P/ASX200

Source: IRESS. Data as of 04/04/07
Energy Focus
Movers and Shakers
S&P/ASX 300 Energy Index - The Month's Best
|
Company |
ASX Code |
Gain |
Last Price |
Comment |
| Deep Yellow |
DYL |
+62.7% |
$0.675 |
Spot uranium hits US$113/lb. Paladin increases stake |
| Gloucester |
GCL |
+34.4% |
$4.84 |
Xstrata makes $4.75 per share cash offer |
| Resource Pacific |
RSP |
+24.3% |
$1.765 |
Coal sector consolidation speculation | Source: Sentinel Financial Group & IRESS. Last Price and returns as of 30/04/07
S&P/ASX 300 Energy Index - The Month's Worst
|
Company |
ASX Code |
Loss |
Last Price |
Comment |
| Petsec Energy |
PSA |
-12.2% |
$1.66 |
Continued pressure on share price |
| Centennial Coal |
CEY |
-10.5% |
$2.90 |
Another profit downgrade |
| Anzon Australia |
AZA |
-9.8% |
$1.10 |
Basker/Manta productions probeems in Q1 2007 | Source: Sentinel Financial Group
Who's Making News
A summary of the major oil and gas headlines for the past month.
|
Company |
ASX Code |
News Summary |
Further info |
| Arc Energy |
ARQ |
Acquires Wandoo Petroleum's Australian assets |
www.arcenergy.com.au |
| Aust W'wide Expl |
AWE |
First oil from Tui on track for mid year |
www.awexp.com.au |
| Beach Petroleum |
BPT |
Record production of 2.31 mmboe for March qtr |
www.beachpetroleum.com.au |
| Caspian Oil |
CIG |
Purchases rig for Krygyz Republic shallow drilling |
www.caspianogl.com |
| Entek Energy |
ETE |
Gulf of Mexico well flows at 50 mmcfg/d |
www.entekenergy.com.au |
| Impress Ventures |
ITC |
DST planned for Wirraway well, Cooper Basin |
www.iel.com.au |
| Salinas Energy |
SAE |
Encouraging initial production rates from North San ARdo oil field, USA |
www.salinasenergy.com |
| Roc Oil |
ROC |
Frankland-1 gas discovery, offshore Perth basin |
www.rocoil.com.au | Source: Sentinel Financial Group & IRESS
Tin Rattlers
Recent ASX Capital Raisings
|
Company |
ASX Code |
Details |
| Berkeley Resources |
BKY |
$23.1m placement for Spanish uranium exploration & business development |
| Curnamona Energy |
CUY |
$6.4m placement for leach trail plant for Oban uranium deposits, SA |
| Encounter Resources |
ENR |
$4.3m placement for Australian uranium exploration |
| Nuenco |
NEO |
$3m placement for US oil/gas drilling programs |
| Strike Oil |
STX |
$8.8m for Gulf Coast US gas/oil drilling projects | Source: Sentinel Financial Group & IRESS Float Hopefuls
Source: Sentinel Financial Group & IRESS
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All information in this newsletter is provided courtesy of Sentinel Financial Group for the sole use of clients and contacts of Resource Personnel.
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Sentinel Financial Group Pty Ltd (ABN 26 104 456 288) is an Australian Financial Services Licensee holder (ASFL No. 230542) and a Participating Organisation of the Australian Stock Exchange. Sentinel Financial Group's directors, officers, representatives, authorised representatives, members and agents believe the information contained in this document is correct and that any estimates, opinions or recommendations in this document are reasonably held at the time of compilation, but may change without notice. No guarantee or warranty is given, or representation made, as to accuracy or completeness. Past investment or trading performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. To the extent permitted by law, Sentinel Financial Group disclaims all liability and responsibility for any direct or indirect loss or damage which may be suffered by any recipient through relying on anything in or omitted from this document. Advice included in this document is general advice, based solely on consideration of the investment or trading merits of the securities alone without taking into account the investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs (i.e. financial circumstances) of any particular person. You should not act on any recommendation issued by Sentinel Financial Group without first consulting your investment advisor in order to ascertain whether the recommendation (if any) is appropriate having regard to your investment objectives, financial situation and particular needs.
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