The Oil Man: Oil price, Amerisur, Ithaca Energy

WTI $50.27 -17c, Brent $52.99 +6c, Diff -$2.72 +23c, NG $3.16 -3c

The news was fairly good yesterday, but despite that, crude oil trade was lacklustre. Both the Saudis and the Kuwaitis suggested that production cuts should be 'prolonged', but Kuwait added that they could be reduced if second-half demand rises as expected. Finally, it was reported that Iraqi output is down at the moment by around 140,000, but that hasn't affected markets yet either.

Certainly if the refinery run figure we saw this week continues demand for crude will rise, but then the bears will say that product stocks will rise. Let's see what happens come the driving season which starts May 29th.

Finally, whilst it's not an oily matter there are elections in France at the weekend in which 11 candidates are whittled down to 2. As they stand at the moment, the polls who should not be trusted give an order of Macron, Le Pen, Fillon and Melenchon, most of whom fill with despair, but a Le Pen v Melenchon final would take some choosing…

Amerisur Resources

Plenty of news around from Amersur Resources at the moment and it is good to see the share price at long last picking up. It has been unjustifiably low recently. The promised wells are now coming thick and fast and today they announce the spudding of Platanillo-21 on Pad 2N.

This is a short deviation directional well aimed at the crest of the mapped structure aimed at getting better information about the structure in the northern part of the field. They will do logging while drilling and use wireline techniques and intend to acquire core data through the entire Villeta sequence.

Expect the well to take around 27 days subject to data gathering and dry hole costs are a modest £2 million. Finally, the company has announced that the AGM is to be held on 9th May, I might even make the trip this year…

Ithaca Energy

Last week I had been planning to write another interim report on Ithaca Energy, but heard that it was all over bar the shouting so didn't in the end. Today the company has announced that 70.3% of the non-Delek votes have accepted the offer.

This reminds me of the Centrica offer for Venture Production where shareholders also sold the company down the river. Of course, the VP directors stood and fought, unlike the IAE directors who have taken their 30 or so pieces of silver.

Now don't get me wrong, I have immense respect for Les Thomas and team which is why I have said that they should have stayed and taken the company to the next level, and I do appreciate that they have to assess the risks involved in making that decision. I would at least like to see Les and team reappear with another 'venture'. Date extended to 3rd May, after which I will need a new bucket list participant, might even be a company run by someone who was on the board of Venture…

And finally…

After a hard fought game with what seemed like endless chances the Red Devils finally beat Anderlecht last night, but injuries and tiredness will likely take their toll.

Back home it's the FA Cup semi-finals with Chelski v Spurs and the Gooners v the Noisy Neighbours. It looks like Arsene is keeping his job which will be made easier if he wins the Cup, but that is far from a certainty.

In the remaining Premiership games the Eagles go to the HubCap Stealers and Burnley host the Red Devils whilst at the bottom of the table the Hull City Tigers take on the Boro.

And whilst talking about football it is very sad to see that Ugo Ehiogu died this morning at the age of 44 having most recently been coaching at Spurs.

Rugby sees the Semi-Finals of the European Champions Cup, tomorrow is Munster v Sarries and on Sunday it is Clermont Auvergne v Leinster.

And of course a mention for all those dedicated runners taking part in the London Marathon on Sunday. A special shout out to Tim Gregory, Founder of Vermeer Investment Management, and of course Catherine Berrow who is raising money for the Anthony Nolan Trust which we hold very close…

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.