drilling update, page-4

This is from the same source, only from last month so I'm not sure it has been shown before?

I'm away for a 3 day break today so out of contact with the web. Best of luck where ever you are :) >>>

Premier poised for fresh wave of exploration
Midas, Mail on Sunday
15 August 2004

SHARES in Premier Oil have shot up since we recommended them at 455p in January, but we believe there is more to come and consider them worth a further purchase.



The share price of the oil and gas company peaked at 600p last week before closing at 590p for a 30% gain since we suggested buying. But we believe the recent strength has more to do with the oil price than sentiment towards the company's drilling programme, which is set for a busy period.


Oil explorers' shares rise and fall on the positive or negative nature of their drilling reports, and newsflow from Premier is quiet at the moment.


But that is likely to change between September and the end of the year, when up to nine exploration and appraisal wells are planned off the coast of Mauritania in west Africa.


Premier, whose chief executive is Charles Jamieson, has a 9.2% stake in the prospect with BG Group and Australian partners Woodside Petroleum, Hardman Resources and Roc Oil. The potential benefits could be very big.


That could be icing on the cake for Premier, which emerged from a £399m restructuring last year with a strengthened balance sheet and a mixture of oil-producing assets and exploration prospects.


The deal saw Premier's two 25% investors, oil companies Amerada Hess and Petronas, return their shareholdings and added a big cash payment in exchange for about half the company's oil and gas assets.


Premier plans to capitalise on its lack of debt and use its cashflow from its producing assets to fund exploration in west Africa, Britain and Asia.


At last week's closing share price, the company is valued at £486m. Based on analysts' forecasts, they trade on a reasonable multiple of 15 times earnings, but there is no dividend* so any reward has to come from share price growth.