Interactive Investor

The Oil Man: Oil price, Amerisur, Schlumberger, Providence

WTI $43.18 -$1.00, Brent $44.53 -$1.27, Diff $1.35 -$1.82 (WTI expiry) NG $2.07 n/c

Who woulda guessed - five days after the Doha disaster, the oil price, despite falling yesterday, is likely to end up the best part of five bucks up on the week.

This morning the new June WTI contract is around $44 and Brent is dead on $45; this is despite a strong greenback and handbags about production levels from Russia, Saudi Arabia and Libya. All those countries have said that they will up their production, but may not be able to deliver.

Most experts tell me that not only is Russia flat out already, but the sanctions that prohibit US service companies from assisting their further growth remain in place, thus holding or even eroding production.

The Saudis could, of course, ramp up production but, with Summer approaching, unless they do, domestic demand for power generation will take away valuable export barrels.

As for Libya, it is indeed the dark horse here, but I remain unconvinced that there is an imminent increase in supplies available, at least in the short term.

Finally, the team over at the vampire squids have said that oil prices must fall in the short term - and don't forget that they have a $20 low to achieve…

Amerisur Resources

A number of things to report from Amerisur this morning, led by its announcement that it has spudded the Jaguareté-1 well in the San Pedro block in Eastern Paraguay.

With a prospective resource of 106 million barrels of oil being looked for and 334 million in the block, this is a high-risk, high-reward, old-fashioned exploration wildcat in a new basin which could be a game changer. The good thing is that, with lower costs and an incredibly efficient team, the company thinks the well will cost only $9 million (£6 million) and be finished in around 40 days.

Elsewhere, with April drawing to a close, the OBA pipeline is apparently still going very well and will be operative very soon.

It should be noted that the company's report and accounts have been issued recently and they do show a considerable move in the right direction in a number of key areas. Firstly, it is the proper, full set of accounts major shareholders have been waiting for and, secondly, it seems that the board has taken on board some comments from last year regarding corporate governance standards, which they say are now in a "positive direction of travel".

Stephen Foss is now the senior independent non-executive Director and there are therefore now three independent NEDs. The remuneration and audit committees are now fully independent and the former has independent advisors for assessing remuneration. As part of this, there are no more share-based incentives to NEDs and any left in place have been relinquished.

As a result of these moves, which, the company is the first to agree, are only part of a process, a good deal of box-ticking has been done to achieve best practice in corporate governance.

Overall, it is an exciting time for AMER, considering the well in Paraguay, which could be transformational, a good drilling campaign in Columbia through the year, which should bear fruit, and, of course, the OBA, which changes the economics on a massive scale.

Very much still part of the bucket list despite the 70% rise this year and 40% since I published in February.

Schlumberger

First-quarter figures from Schlumberger last night and they just about delivered.

Earnings per share, at 40 cents, beat the whisper by one cent and revenue was $6.5 billion in the quarter, which missed - but only slightly. The dividend was confirmed at 50 cents, which gives SLB a yield of 2.5%.

The company says that the continued drop in activity, combined with "persistent pricing pressure", is making life hard in the short term, which is still deteriorating in the current quarter, but that they remain optimistic about the medium term outlook, helped by their "unmatched ability to generate cash".

Sundry

It hasn't been the best few days for Providence Resources, but they have today shown some upside at the Druid and Drombeg prospects after the recent collaboration with Schlumberger. They quote mean in-place resources of 5,095 barrels and suggest that, being vertically stacked, only one well should be needed for evaluation and, with costs down so much, it might even be done for around $85 million gross.

Bowleven has announced that it has been granted a one-year extension to its Bomono licence onshore Cameroon. Still in the bucket list for huge value in Etinde - despite being late - but plenty of cash for the patient.

And Andes Energia has announced February production of 3,538 barrels per day in Argentina and Colombia; although I haven't seen the company lately, and hope to on their next visit, I remain extremely positive about it for its unrivaled portfolio, particularly in the Vaca Muerta.

And finally…

Another big weekend coming up; it's the rugby European Champions Cup semi finals, with Sarries v. Wasps and the Tigers v. Racing 92.

It is also semi finals weekend in the FA Cup; tomorrow sees the Toffees take on the Red Devils and, on Sunday, the Hornets face the Eagles.

In the Prem it's business as usual: at the top, the Foxes host the Swans, the Noisy Neighbours host the Potters and, again, Spurs play on Monday night against the Baggies.

In the top v. bottom, the Gooners go to the Maccams and the Magpies go to Anfield, while the Canaries don't get a game due to the FA Cup.

And, of course, it's the London Marathon on Sunday and, yet again, I can't believe how generous everybody has been.

This year my daughter Holly and some friends are running in memory of a close friend who died last spring. They are hoping to raise money for the Anthony Nolan trust, which is a brilliant charity.

I know you all get many requests at this time of year but if you have a few coppers to spare it would be much appreciated. Link is here with all the details - thank you very much.

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.