its been 2 weeks, page-3

dont forget this little gem...

http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article207007.ece

19 February 2010 18:27 GMT


Market whispers have said the company is prepping to announce a deal with UK supermajor BP on acreage it holds in the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas.

When asked by UpstreamOnline about persistent rumours of the deal, Antares boss James Cruickshank called the reports interesting but declined to confirm a link up.

At this point in time, I am not able to confirm it, he said in an earlier interview.

In that interview, Cruickshank touted the Antares position as lying within the most liquids-rich portion of the play, making the economics more attractive as oil prices continue to outpace those of natural gas.

Cruickshank could not be reached for comment today.

A BP representative declined to address market "speculation."

Antares holds stakes in more than 32,000 acres that are prospective for Eagle Ford production, according to a presentation on the companys website.

Antares Francis Dilworth-2H well, operated by privately held San Isidro Development, flowed at 15.4 million cubic feet per day into a sales line earlier this month.

San Isidro Development did not return an earlier call for comment.

Antares has said it plans a nine-well drilling programme on the acreage this year.

Antares is already in a term assignment deal with US shale player PetroHawk on 8558 acres in the Yellow Rose project, where Australian player can back-in to working interest stakes on a well-by-well basis after payout.

The last time Antares suspended its shares on the ASX was in July 2009, prior to the announcement of a significant expansion of its Eagle Ford shale holdings and an amendment of that Petrohawk deal.

In recent months, rumours have swirled around BPs interest in establishing an Eagle Ford position.

The UK supermajor has also been linked to privately held Lewis Energy, a major player in the expanding Eagle Ford play.

A Lewis source confirmed reports of a deal to Upstream in December but no details have been made public to date.

Published: 19 February 2010 18:27 GMT | Last updated: 19 February 2010 18:55 GMT