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I have been a market reporter. I know how it works. Someone you know calls you with what seems like a good story. You run it. Your team is on the box that night. You file your article. Good job. But just occasionally you are being played. The question is by whom? And unless someone points out how you have been lied to you will trust that player again. So just to help Geoff Foster, the excellent market reporter at the Daily Mail: Geoff, my son, you were kippered yesterday on AIM listed penny dreadful oil stock Sefton Resources (LSE:SER). You may wish to put in a call today to see why.
Geoff leads his report headlined “Mohamed Al-Fayed takes stock of Sefton Resources” thus:
Shareholders of AIM-listed oil and gas exploration company Sefton Resources must have thought that Christmas had come early on hearing that Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed has bought 15million shares or a 3 per cent stake in the company.
The owner of Fulham Football Club who sold Harrods to the Qatari royal family for £1.5billion in May 2010 must surely know something or why would he bother? He must be confident that his investment will sooner or later show an excellent return. Confirmation of his purchase lifted the penny dreadful shares 0.08p or 5.08 per cent to 1.55p.
Up until now, jam-tomorrow Sefton has picked up assets at the bottom of the market, hoping that they would benefit from any recovery. It acquired the Tapia Canyon heavy oilfield in South West California in 1997 when crude was selling for less than $20 a barrel. Some 20 wells in Tapia are now producing around 220 barrels a day and the oil price is around $109 a barrel
I flag a few points.
1.This is the Al Fayed who bought 5% of JJB six months before it went bust. No-one is infallible. I very much doubt that the phony pharaoh is trading on inside information. He has made a call based on the facts presented to him. I suspect certain facts (have a butchers here and here Geoff) were not presented to him. The PP will regret this call.
2. 20 wells producing at Tapia? My arse. Check out the DOGGR website for individual well data. If you want more detail have a look at this piece. Follow the link onto the DOGGR website and click on the API number next to each well. See how many are actually producing.
3. 220 bopd. You really are having a larf now. Only once in 25 years has output exceeded 200 bopd for a whole month. The last three months at Tapia have been 116, 98 and 97 bopd respectively.
4. The phrase penny dreadful is fair comment. And Geoff, your Arsenal deserved to thrash my West Ham. well done. Geoff remains the UK’s best market reporter by a country mile ( sorry1.609344 kilometre) and this is a very rare error on his part.
So since Geoff could not have got that 220 bopd or 20 well number from an RNS, who suggested he print what is a patent untruth?
a) a PR/IR operative or the company keen to promote its flagging share price?
b) Someone with a long position keen for the shares to rise so he could get out?
I do not know or care who fed this misinformation to the Mail. But Geoff you were played here. Next time this “informant” calls you up perhaps you might bear that in mind.
Mohammed Al Fayed never even bought this stock, which is totally misleading. It was Mohammed Fayed, who probably is distantly related to him. He also bought JJB shares before they went bust too.
Mr Pithe
He is a nephew. As I pointed out here yesterday. It took me 10 mins to establish that. But then I was not spoonfed a heap of lies.
Tom
Tom
I doubt you sent such wrong message to Daily Mail to write one more blog like this. Anything could happen in this world!!! I know you’re facing tough times all around in life(business, family, share tips, with your chefs in new business etc etc), so I doubt that you might have sent Geoff Foster the information. If you’re a wise blogger, please write a blog on how you dragged your ex-company from hi-fi price to 1p. That’s too juz in 3 years time???
Dan
Er, as a market reporter shouldn’t you get your facts right.
“This is the Al Fayed who bought 5% of HMV six months before it went bust”
As far as I can see HMV is still trading.
Derek
lol. Seems ironic Tom’s comments re Geoff Foster given the times he has fed him suspect info on t1ps stocks over the years.
Derek
My error – JJB now corrected
Bob – That would be precisely er…nil times. Check your facts old fruitcake.
Dan – I steeped down as CEO 14 months ago. I am not sure you can blame me 100% for RSH. I am sure you will try. As for me facing tough times – once again you have no idea. You really are a horrod little man.
Tom