Bowleven – time for a small drop of Ouzo as a 15p special dividend is announced

It has taken a bit longer than I had hoped, but this morning we had the first sign that AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) might be set to come good. I tipped this stock at around 31p a year ago in the ShareProphets Christmas tip-fest, hoping that it would be all over by now, and top-sliced at above 37p. Since then the shares have drifted slowly back to the mid 20s but this morning the company announced plans to cough up 15p a share as a special dividend next month and the shares have responded higher to 32p. I hope a few managed to follow my upgrade to BUY during November, at just 25p.

Ouzo Time! Bowleven (#BLVN) to pay 15p per share special dividend

Bowleven – tip update and FY18 numbers: BUY.

AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) was one of two ideas from me in the ShareProphets share tip-fest last Christmas. The hope had been to see some corporate action before the end of the year as the Etinde project saw appraisal drilling and the JV partners wanted to move things on. Well we had the drilling, the shares went up and I top-sliced. So far so good.

Bowleven – drilling news, Waseem Shakoor frustrated (me too!)

AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) has announced a drilling update from Etinde this morning and oh dear, the second drill, IE-4, of the two-well programme seems not to have had a nice tasty big strike. But there is some good news in there and although one could have a slightly cynical read of the text (ala UK Oil & Gas, UKOG) I don’t perceive any need for Bowleven to ramp its shares: it has piles of cash, don’t forget.

Bowleven – Etinde IE-4 well spudded

AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) had been making me look like a genius since I tipped in at Christmas at around 31p. The shares rattled all the way up to 40p as the first of two drills off Cameroon at the Etinde prospect commenced, only to collapse down as low as 27.5p when the drill failed. Yesterday the partners announced that the second drill had commenced. All of a sudden the shares are back up at 33.8p – not quite 40p, but a lot better that 27.5!

Bowleven – disappointing drill news

One of my two share tips for 2018, AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN), has updated the market on the first of two appraisal wells: it is bad news. As Waseem Shakoor puts it:  disappointing, but that’s drilling. I had hoped for better, but as AIM-listed UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) and fellow pie-in-the-sky oiler, AIM-listed Frontera Resources (FRR) want to ignore, no matter how loudly you shout about the potential, in the end it is only the drill-bit which matters.

Bowleven – tip update

I recommended AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) as a buy at around 31p in the 2017 ShareProphets Christmas tipfest. I suggested taking a little cash off the table at 37p and did so myself (getting 37.56p) with a strong hold stance on the rest. Yesterday the shares had a good go at breaking the 40p mark.

Bowleven – first spud at Etinde

News out this morning from AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) is that the IM-6 appraisal well at Etinde, Cameroon, has been spudded - seemingly ahead of schedule (we were told the end of May). Operations are expected to take around 100 days, with Schlumberger providing most of the drilling services.

Bowleven – game on as drilling rig arrives at Etinde

AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) has announced the arrival of the Topaz driller rig in Cameroon waters. The rig is contracted for 150 days to perform the two-well appraisal drilling campaign on the Etinde asset, with first spud due by the end of this month.

Bowleven (#BLVN) – rig arrival, Etinde drilling set to commence shortly

Bowleven – new “interim” non-exec chair - am I banking gains?

Having seen off the previous incumbent, AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) had indicated it was looking for a new Chairman. Yesterday morning it announced the internal promotion of NED Matt McDonald as an interim non-exec chairman. This all adds to my theory that Bowleven is not long for this world.

Bowleven – share price advancing again

I offered up AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) as one of my two ideas for 2018 at 31-31p and I see that the shares have headed north again. What to do?

Bowleven Interims: cash is still there, drilling next quarter

AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) has this morning released its interims to December 2017. Of note is the huge reduction in administrative expenses and the binning of the deal with AIM-listed Victoria Oil and Gas (VOG) with regard to the Bomono asset in Cameroon.

Bowleven – tip update, and it’s good news

Shares in my Christmas tip-fest suggestion of AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) have had a strong run over the last few days, having notched up a high of 37.6p today, against a tip price of 30-31p. It doesn’t sound much, but you can’t sniff at a gain of 21.3% in three months (even if Wildes won’t get out of bed for that).

Bowleven – Crown Ocean still upping stake

My second tip of the year, AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN), announced on Tuesday that major shareholder Crown Ocean has once again been upping its stake – it now holds 29.03% of the equity. I took the cue and did the same (though not 29%!). Crown Ocean is, of course, the shareholder which rocked the boat last year and forced out the old board by calling two EGMs and supported the new fellas as they proposed to turn the company into a holding company with rather lower costs.

Bowleven – game on? If not, the ref’s whistle is in his mouth

I’ve been banging on occasionally about how AIM-listed Bowleven seems to offer value. I suspect that we will be off to the races shortly, for some detail of an appraisal drilling campaign in its 20%-owned Etinde field has been announced – and the company is carried through this campaign.

Bowleven – hang on tight!

I thought I’d do a brief update on the first of my share ideas for 2018 – AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN). Brief, because not much corporate news has come out, but there were a couple of interesting TR-1s. Tipped at around 30-31p, the shares were 32.7-32.9p at Friday’s close – it’s higher (good) but I don’t think I’ll be selling yet to cash in the odd penny!

Bowleven – departure of last standing member of old board announced - Good!

AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) has announced that the one remaining member of the old board is to depart the scene at the company’s forthcoming AGM on 13 December. The company thanks Mr David Clarkson for his three years of “considerable” service and the valuable role in providing continuity following the boardroom clear-out earlier this year.

Bowleven - is there value here? Crown Ocean thinks so

I note that yesterday AIM-listed Bowleven (BLVN) released a TR-1 RNS from Crown Ocean – the rebel shareholder which threw out the old board earlier this year. It has increased its holding (again).

BowLeven (#BLVN) – with Bomono farm-out discussions progressing, termination date extended to end 2017