The Sunday Times
April 12, 2009
It’s still a long way off last years high of £20.04, but shares in Aberdeen-based Dana Petroleum spiked from £8.60 in February to £11.82 at the close of play last week.
Part of the reason is continuing takeover speculation relating to North Sea oil and gas exploration minnows as lower crude prices drag down equity values.
BP and Royal Dutch Shell are just two of the big producers eyeing smaller competitors as the majors look to replenish reserves through acquisition instead of exploration.
But Dana is also producing a lot of good business news. This week its £119m acquisition of Canadas Bow Valley Energy received court and shareholder approval in Alberta. And last month Dana unveiled full-year pre-tax profits for 2008 of £191m, a 34% increase, on the back of a 66% jump in sales to £518m.
It also revealed a strong balance sheet. At the end of last year the group said it had £158.9m in cash and a net cash position of £43.2m, while cash generated from its operations soared 75% to £345m.
The groups proven and probable reserves came in at 194.1m barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) for 2008, up from 164.8 in the previous year. The Bow Valley deal is expected to add about 11.3m BOE to Danas reserves.
Be it down to takeover speculation or continuing success in its business, Danas price looks set to continue its steady ascent for a while yet.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
