SD did nothing to GPX shareprice.GPX - Can go a long way up!...

SD did nothing to GPX shareprice.

GPX - Can go a long way up! This extract from oilvoice is a little old but still relevant: From a high of over 400p in early 2011, the shares continue to touch new lows below 100p. At the current price of 98p the market capitalisation is now just a shade over £115m and yet the company sits with around £68m of net cash. GP is being hammered due to the political and civil unrest in Syria and the effective halting of their activities within Syria in (its principal exploration asset) in the early part of the year. General Petroleum Company (GPC) - Gulfsands' joint partner in the Syrian operations (known as Block 26), has however continued to pump oil during this period and, at the beginning of February, Gulfsands was owed approximately $25m from GPC. In effect, the market has, at the current price, ascribed zero probability to a resumption of its Syrian activities and attributed almost no value to its other Global operations. As detailed in the last issue of our magazine, on the 11th May Mr Mahdi Sajjad (a Director) purchased 30,000 shares at 111.75 on behalf of a Discretionary trust his children are beneficiaries of, taking his total beneficial holding up to 8.65m shares. Back in February, Chairman Andrew West also purchased 17,500 shares at 179p. There is a further intriguing spin on the Gulfsands story and that is the stake-building by both Michael Kroupeev (the Russian oil financier who has amassed a stake of 18% of the shares in the past few months) and also Soyuzneftegaz (a group headed by Yuri Shafranik, Russia's former energy minister) that has picked up 3.4%. Clearly these boys see value and they each have prior 'form'. Rumours of predatory takeover interest by CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) is likely to commence in earnest again at these depressed levels... Finally, recall that back in April 2010 Gulfsands received an unsolicited bid proposal from Oil India Ltd & Indian Oil Corp Ltd at a price of 315p (over 3 times the current price and illustrative of the type of re-rating that will likely occur should the Syrian situation reach a positive conclusion) and that was unanimously rejected as undervaluing the company at that time. Should political signs of stabilisation and/or Government change in Syria become apparent, then I fail to see how the shares cannot re-rate or alternately be swooped upon by a predator. UPDATE - another RNS this morning from Waterford increasing their stake to just under 20% shows they agree with us!