Jay Cheatham, the CEO of Pantheon Resources (LON:PANR) sounded very excited about the Netherland Sewell & Associates intensive review of the Lower Basin Floor Fan reservoir of the company’s Kodiak project on the North Slope of Alaska.

“This really is a big deal.

 A credible third-party estimate of nearly one billion barrels of recoverable liquids for a company the size of Pantheon is an incredible achievement, validating our geological model.

This is the first IER conducted on our largest asset and will have enormous value in financing discussions and in attracting potential partners.

As I have repeatedly said, big oilfields continue to get bigger, and with additional wells and data points we expect this contingent resource to grow and for some or all to be classified as reserves once we achieve a Final Investment Decision.”

The report confirms gross (and net) 2C contingent resources of “total marketable liquids” of 963 mmbbls.

The 2C estimates (best estimates) of oil and natural gas liquids total 962.5m barrels of marketable liquids.

The NGLs on Pantheon’s projects are of material value because they can be blended with the oil and the combined stream of oil, condensate and have been estimated by management to yield approximately 90% of the value of the Alaska North Slope price per barrel.

With some 126,000 acres of field, the company believes that this is one of the largest basin floor fan systems discovered onshore in the past few decades. 

Analyst Charlie Sharp at Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets has rated the £141m capitalised group’s shares as a Speculative Buy, setting a 100p Price Target.

We see this figure a “best estimate” of almost 1bn barrels – as an important confirmation of the scale of the Kodiak discovery.

It is a critical first step in the process of further appraisal towards the potential establishment of the commerciality of this very large, now independently verified, resource base and Pantheon’s aim to deliver recognition of the $5-$10/bbl market valuation for those resources.

The groups shares are up 15% this morning, 2p better at 15.64p.

Bunzl has been contending with two key factors driving underlying performance; the pandemic and price inflation. The distribution company enjoyed a jump in activity during the pandemic, which has now diminished and price inflation is flatlining.

These influences were demonstrated in Bunzl’s revenue growing just 0.6% constantly in the six months ending 30th June.

Group adjusted operating profit rose 6.4% to £438.3m while margins expanded slightly to 7.4%.

“Bunzl generates most of its revenue and profit outside the UK, with the US a key region, so it’s not the economic conditions at home that turn the dial. Inflation easing in the US is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, lower input costs have helped margins push higher over the half, but the flip side is a drop in revenue as the pricing on a lot of Bunzl’s products can be linked to inflation,” said Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Add in a drop in COVID-related sales, and the underlying business is seeing a bit of weakness creep in, comparable periods are tough though. Aside from lower costs, margins also got a bump from consumers shifting to own-brand products in response to ongoing pressures on income.

Bunzl continues to grow through acquisitions with the company announcing their first investment in Poland today.

“Acquisitions remain key to the Bunzl story, with £350m committed so far this year,” Brizman said.

“Strong cash generation underpins self-funded growth and the 12 acquisitions announced so far this year highlight the intent. The announced acquisition in Poland marks the group’s first foray into the region, one that’s previously been on the radar. The protective equipment distributor fits nicely in with Bunzl’s model and should give a platform to build on in the region.”

Bunzl shares were 3.5% higher at the time of writing.

After what has been a dreadful August for the FTSE 100, London’s leading index made only tepid gains this week despite positive influences from the US tech sector.

Interest rate fears raised their head on Friday and halted the FTSE 100’s recovery in its tracks.

The FTSE 100 closed Friday 5 points higher at 7,338 after finishing last week’s trade at 7,262.

“So much for Nvidia’s knock-out earnings triggering a new global stock market rally. The celebration was short-lived, with Wall Street ending Thursday on a sour note as the Nasdaq closed the day nearly 2% lower. The negative sentiment extended to Asia and parts of Europe on Friday, including a 2% decline in Japan’s Nikkei 225 index,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“There is a saying with investments that it can be better to travel than arrive, and one might conclude that Nvidia’s stellar share price run was susceptible to a bout of profit taking and that’s precisely what we got.

“Despite the good fortunes of Nvidia and positive news flow from the company, there is no getting over the fact that investors remain worried that interest rates will stay higher for longer and that casts a downer on the markets as a whole.”

These fears were justified as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke at Jackson Hole on Friday in what was a hawkish delivery that sent global equities lower.

*POWELL: `WE WILL PROCEED CAREFULLY' ON WHETHER TO HIKE AGAIN

*POWELL: FED PREPARED TO RAISE RATES FURTHER IF APPROPRIATE

*POWELL: REAL RATES POSITIVE, WELL ABOVE MOST NEUTRAL ESTIMATES

*POWELL: PERSISTENT ABOVE-TREND GROWTH COULD WARRANT TIGHTENING

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 25, 2023

Having traded as high as 7,388 on Friday, the FTSE 100 traded negatively before closely just higher at 7,338. US equities sank but were off their worst levels at the time of writing.

Powell’s comments pave the way for additional US rate hikes over the next couple of months and are at odds with a new narrative that has started to build on when rates will be cut.

Earlier in the year, some had predicted the US would cut rates this year. That school of thought is dead in the water.

Investors will watch intently next week for how equities price higher-for-longer US rates. The UK has its own rate fears and today’s developments could play into those sectors highly exposed to interest rates such as FTSE 100 housebuilders and banks.