That’s what I’m thinking Ciccio: it’s altogether too convenient, especially when the connector maps are taken in focus: all the way to China.

The Gasol share price really took off in the following week. Look how it tracks.

6 Feb – Volume of shares traded 0 – opening price 13.62 – closing price 13.62

7 Feb – Volume of shares traded 91,300 – opening price 15.00 – closing price 14.75

8 Feb – Volume of shares traded 9,300 – opening price 14.45 – closing price 14.75

11 Feb – Volume of shares traded 108,000 – opening price 15.23 – closing price 14.75

12 Feb – Volume of shares traded 0 – opening price 14.75 – closing price 14.75

13 Feb – Volume of shares traded 343,500 – opening price 15.20 – closing price 15.50

14 Feb – Volume of shares traded 299,500 – opening price 16.00 – closing price 17.12

15 Feb – Volume of shares traded 398,300 – opening price 17.12 – closing price 17.75

18 Feb – Volume of shares traded 203,200 – opening price 18.20 – closing price 19.38

19 Feb – Volume of shares traded 431,500 – opening price 19.40 – closing price 21.62

20 Feb – Volume of shares traded 132,900 – opening price 21.51 – closing price 21.25

21 Feb – Volume of shares traded 77,300 – opening price 21.51 – closing price 21.25

22 Feb – Volume of shares traded 58,700 – opening price 22.00 – closing price 21.38

What happened around 13 Feb to cause so much activity and make the share price jump in value?

Clearly someone (or something) thought the shares were worth having in what is just a tiny company.

It will be charity if this new gas route is parlayed by using the new citizenship schemes for Nigerians and other West Africans on the one hand, Libyans and Sudanese etc on the other who are facing tighter controls across most other European countries, and, as Daphne highlighted, would be normally found trading in London when not at home and requiring easy travel arrangements.

They don’t need 400,000, just a steady 18,000 lead.

Check the tracked share price and you will find there was no price surge on 7/8 Feb (in fact the share price went down on the day of announcement).

The share price started to surge a week later.

Gasol’s main focus is West Africa, particularly that covered by the West African Gas Pipeline, namely Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana – four neighbouring countries.

This is a region rich in oil and gas. Nigeria has long been an oil producer, and there are still huge untapped reserves in the Niger Delta.

Ghana is a new producer of oil. Commercial production started in 2011. It is set to become one of Aftica’s largest producers of oil and gas.

China has been busy building its interests in Ghana, among other African countries.

http://ghanaoilonline.org/2010/09/china-extends-africa-push-with-loans-deal-in-ghana/

“Ghana and China signed project loans and another deal together totaling $15 billion, the latest in a string of Chinese investments on the continent.

The loans, coinciding with a six-day Beijing visit by the West African nation’s president, John Atta Mills, highlight China’s strong interest in resource-rich African countries such as Ghana. Ghana is preparing to tap massive oil fields that are expected to turn it into one of Africa’s biggest energy producers.”

That gives some perspective of what China is doing in Ghana, and why.

In April 2012, China made another loan to Ghana, directly into natural gas development. (Notice the timing, amount and destination of this massive loan).

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-16/ghana-signs-1-billion-loan-with-china-for-natural-gas-project.html

“Ghana signed a $1 billion lending agreement with China Development Bank Corp. as part of the biggest loan in the country’s history that Vice President John Dramani Mahama said would provide hundreds of thousands of jobs and develop natural gas. ”

It almost sounds like doing “philanthropy for the benefit of people in Africa.” – can’t remember who said that, and in what context, though.

In 2010, China’s Exim Bank provided a $10.4 billion loan for the development of railways, roads and energy infrastructure.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=190769

Shiv Nair boasts how he has helped in the tapping of Exim funds for the Ghana rail rehabilitation programme.

http://mt.linkedin.com/pub/shiv-shankaran-nair/19/bba/0

(I am actually starting to suspect that the World Bank permanently debarred Shiv Nair because he was stealing their loan business in Africa in favour of the Chinese government and its banks).

Which is why it would not be surprising if it is revealed that China is behind Gasol’s ventures in West Africa.

In February 2013, African Power Generation Limited, a Gasol affiliate, with which Gasol has an option agreement to buy the company, signed an MOU with the Ghana National Gas Company to supply imported gas.

http://www.oilreviewafrica.com/downstream/downstream/african-power-generation-signs-gas-mou-in-ghana

This fits with Gasol’s links with SOCAR to import LNG which will be stored in floating storage facilities planned in the port of Cotonou in Benin to be later regasified and feed into the West African Gas Pipeline.

Gasol has a number of MOUs or other agreements to help it benefit from gas and oil developments in the region.

Let’s zoom in.

And out.

Very interesting.

Add on to that, and to my comments above, what due diligence was performed on these investors, be they institutional investors or not.

Are these bona fide investors, is the money legit, or are we running a risk of discovering down the line that the money was dirty and that people made a killing on commissions etc.