I thought I had better get writing up a piece of one of my favourite O+G companies. Probably having a favourite is a dangerous thing as judgement can be clouded but I will give you an insight into why I like this share.

GPK are currently producing 7800 boepd with operations in Chile and has a market cap of £174m. It also has licenses in 3 blocks in Argentina and is currently looking to expand into different regions of Latin America.
It is a little traded share and is CEO owns 21% of the company. Last year there was a placing announced at 5% above the share price which to me really made me take up and have a good look at this company. The CEO participated in the placing which was oversubscribed at the time.

A trading update was released for year-end 2009 operations.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201002160700091...

The highlights were

100% drilling success with 9 out of 9 wells
Production up 86% to 6320 boepd
Reduction of 30% operating costs.
Further investment to enable rapid commercialisation of new production in the 'fell' block.
2P reserves grow 27%.
$23m dollars cash in accounts.


Lows were

Projected net loss this year due to $6m impairment charge.


Today they released a RNS with details on 5 ( yes 5 ) wells. 2 were successful; 774 bopd and 200 bopd although both test results are preliminary, 1 well is due for testing early march, 1 well spudded on feb 15th and 1 well test result was inconclusive due to a mechanical failure of a bridge plug.

Full details here,

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201002220700134...

Outlook for this year is promising with 14-18 wells drilled in total, 5-7 workovers performed, 500 sq km of 2d and 3d seismic will be programmed all adds up to a busy 2010. I calculate production of nearer 9000 boepd given today’s positive announcement and anticipate further positive news over the coming year. Where 2010 production ends is a matter of speculation but given its track record in these productive areas I feel 10000 boepd is a pretty good target for year-end.

SC