The Oil Man: Oil price, Wentworth, Magnolia

WTI $47.90 +$1.76, Brent $50.54 +$1.75, Diff $2.64 -1c, NG $2.25 n/c

A decent rally yesterday based mainly on supply disruptions; a strike in Brazil has taken around 25% of its production off-stream, whilst in Libya the terminal at Zueitina cut back production there. On the product front, gasoline future closed up sharply in the US after a product pipeline in Texas was shut due to flooding. The API stats came in bang in line with expectations showing a build of 2.8 million barrels.

Wentworth Resources

I met with Wentworth recently and am looking forward to catching up with Mr Bury when he is next in town. This morning the company has announced that it has received its first payment for gas from the Mnazi Bay project in Tanzania. Currently at 33 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) the target is to be at 80 mmscf/d by the end of the year.

Magnolia Petroleum

I met with Steve Snead, CEO and President of Magnolia, yesterday and today they have announced the start of a ten well programme in Oklahoma with Continental Resources. Now, while MP keep their working interests low - only 0.525% here for example - they have a model that is highly respectable. By taking modest interests and building sales and revenues, even at %45 oil they are building value in the business. Anyone who has P1 reserves valued at $21 million and a market cap of only £4.8 million has to be respected.

And finally…

In the Champions League, the Noisy Neighbours won in Sevilla and are now certain to go through to the next round. The Red Devils made it difficult for themselves but did win in the end 1-0 against CSKA. Tonight the Gooners go to Bayern but on recent form should be full of confidence, less of that for Chelski who host Dynamo Kiev…

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

Malcolm is a Founding Partner of HydroCarbon Capital, which provides independent advisory services to the Oil and Gas sector. He is a Director of the Maven Income and Growth VCT 4 PLC, a venture capital trust listed on the Premium segment of the main market of the London Stock Exchange.