Speculation as to Mondays NR Last paragraph of article below is very interesting i.e. Gulf Keystone thumbs its nose at Exxon Mobil. Just speculating but what if tomorrow LFD announces its broke off negotiations with Genal and is talking with other majors ? just throwing out an "out of the box" senerio.
In June 2009, Longford acquired a 50% interest in a subsidiary, jointly owned with the KRG. The Subsidiary held a 40% direct net working interest in the Block Production Sharing Contract. In addition, Longford had an option to acquire the remaining 50% interest in the subsidiary from the KRG, which it exercised in the third quarter of 2010, with the result that Longford currently holds a 40% direct net working interest in the block.
The Block contains a historical discovery as well as multiple exploration prospects. Independent estimates put contingent reserves at 121 million barrels of oil equivalent (“MMBOE”) and prospective reserves of 218 MMBOE for a total of 339 MMBOE.
Genel has $2.2 billion to spend on acquisitions and CEO Tony Hayward has signalled the company is poised for an aggressive takeover-driven expansion in the region, with post-merger DNO International a mooted target.
Merger gossip is hotting up in the region, with a report that Gulf Keystone has been approached by ExxonMobil for a bid worth 500% of the comapny's current capitalisation of GBP 1.5 billion subsequently squashed by the company yesterday