Shares in the oil and gas company closed yesterday trading for 6.1 cents. Morning trade started well for the stock, with shares reaching 6.3 cents apiece, up 3.3%.

Then the company released an intraday update on its appraisal well Alameda-3. And investors sent the ASX All Ords stock crashing.

At the time of writing, shares are swapping hands for 3.3 cents each, down a painful 45.9%.

Here's what's happening.

Why did the ASX All Ords stock just crash?

Melbana Energy holds a 30% interest in and is the operator of Block 9 PSC. The oil project is located onshore in Cuba, where the Alameda-3 well is situated.

Flow testing of the Alameda reservoir kicked off at the beginning of this week. Today, the ASX All Ords stock is under heavy pressure after management reported that, consistent with Melbana's recent results from the deeper Marti reservoir, drill string fluids were unable to be recovered during the flow testing.

While no uncontaminated oil samples were obtained, Melbana said that oil samples were recovered on reverse circulation of the DST string. Those have been sent for lab analysis.

Management noted that the inability of the well to flow does not fit with previous observations and expectations.

They added that the latest failure is consistent with the similar recent failure of the deeper Marti reservoir to flow hydrocarbons to surface. That's despite both reservoirs demonstrating an ability to do so in the Alameda-1 exploration well.

Commenting on the disappointing results that are seeing the ASX All Ords stock under heavy selling pressure today, Melbana Energy CEO Andrew Purcell said, "Both the Marti and Alameda reservoirs have previously shown the presence of freely moveable hydrocarbons that flowed to surface unassisted."

Purcell continued:

That both reservoirs should now fail to do so when the appraisal well trajectory is minimally offset to the original exploration well means studies need to focus on the new data that has been acquired and the limited drilling parameters that have changed.

We will incorporate local and international expert advice as to how to remedy such reservoir responses into the newly acquired data to help focus our studies.

Looking to the months ahead, he added, "Our immediate plan is to work on the steps required to export production from the Amistad reservoir this year and to develop more appraisal wells in the Amistad reservoir thereafter."

With today's intraday losses factored in, the ASX All Ords energy stock is down 63% over 12 months.

The post This ASX All Ords energy stock just crashed 46%! What happened? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:

Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)

The Beach Energy share price is down 2.5% to $1.53. This is despite oil prices rising overnight and the release of the energy producer's strategic review this morning. In respect to the latter, Beach Energy has laid out a plan that it believes will result in operating cost and capital reductions totalling ~$135 million. This will come from a 23% headcount reduction, ~$35 million field operating cost savings, and a ~$100 million sustaining capital expenditure reduction. Management believes that this will help it deliver leading shareholder returns through the sustainable supply of energy.

Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price is down 4.5% to $21.95. This has been driven by news that a major block trade has taken place at a decent discount to yesterday's close price. It remains unclear who is selling, but there are reports that a large institutional investor offloaded $1.1 billion worth of the iron ore miner's shares through a block trade this morning. These shares were sold at $21.60 per share, which is a 6% discount to where Fortescue's shares ended yesterday's session.

Kina Securities Ltd (ASX: KSL)

The Kina Securities share price is down 7.5% to 88 cents. This morning, this Papa New Guinea-based financial services provider revealed that it has identified a recent instance of fraud impacting several accounts belonging to a small number of customers. The amount involved is the subject of ongoing investigation. However, the aggregate loss is expected to be in the range of PGK12 million to PGK15 million (A$4.74 million to A$5.9 million) on a pre-tax basis. Through root cause analysis, certain system vulnerabilities were identified and promptly addressed. Kina Securities has downgraded its guidance to reflect this.

Melbana Energy Ltd (ASX: MAY)

The Melbana Energy share price is down 36% to 4.3 cents. This follows news that the appraisal of the Alameda-3 well in Cuba wasn't successful. Two attempts were made at flowing the well, however in both cases the complete removal of drilling mud and downhole fluids from the test string was not achieved and oil did not flow to surface. Preparations for testing of the shallower Alameda formation now underway.

The post Why Beach Energy, Fortescue, Kina Securities, and Melbana Energy shares are dropping today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Shares in the oil and gas company closed yesterday trading for 6.6 cents. In morning trade on Tuesday, shares were swapping hands for 3.6 cents apiece, down a precipitous 45.4%. The share price has since regained some of those losses, trading for 3.9 cents apiece at the time of writing, down 40.9%.

Here's what's putting the ASX All Ords stock under heavy selling pressure.

What did the ASX All Ords stock report?

The Melbana Energy share price is crashing after the company released an update after market close yesterday on its appraisal well Alameda-3.

The ASX All Ords stock holds a 30% interest in and is the operator of Block 9 PSC, an oil project located onshore in Cuba, where the well is situated.

On 9 June, the company commenced a flow test of the Marti reservoir, penetrating the Alameda-3 well.

As you can likely guess by the cascading share price, all did not go well with the latest testing.

Melbana Energy noted that despite good indications of fracturing from wireline logs and high reservoir pressures, "results of the test were not as expected".

The ASX All Ords stock took two stabs at flowing the well but said that both times it did not achieve the complete removal of drilling mud and downhole fluids from the test string. And oil did not flow to surface.

On the plus side, Melbana reported recovering oil on reverse circulation of the DST string, demonstrating the presence of oil very deep on the structure.

The company has ruled out mechanical blockage and suspects the lack of flow is due to emulsions in the lower portion of the test string. It has now suspended the Marti reservoir section while it awaits the results of the latest data analysis.

Melbana will now conduct tests on the shallower Alameda formation.

What did management say?

Commenting on the flow test results sending the ASX All Ords stock plunging today, Melbana Energy executive chairman, Andrew Purcell, said:

The logs we have obtained in the Marti formation show excellent fracturing and the down hole pressure is very high. This is consistent with what we encountered here last time but, so far, we've been unable to get clean flow to surface.

There may have been a reaction between the different fluid system we are using this time (which has delivered excellent well control) and the reservoir so we're going to pause this test whilst we study the samples and data we've obtained and get on to testing the shallower Alameda formation in the meantime.

With today's intraday losses factored in, the ASX All Ords stock is down 56% over 12 months.

The post Why did this ASX All Ords stock just crash 45%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:

Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

The Brainchip share price has crashed a further 14% to 21.5 cents. This may be down to news that a new Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) chip will be able to run generative artificial intelligence on a laptop without having to tap into cloud data for computing power. The tech giant plans to release the chip in December. Some investors appear to believe this is the final nail in the Brainchip coffin.

KMD Brands Ltd (ASX: KMD)

The KMD Brands share price is down 6.5% to 72 cents. This follows the release of the retailer's FY 2023 results this morning. Although the Rip Curl and Kathmandu owner delivered a strong set of numbers, it revealed that trading conditions deteriorated in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, this has then continued into the first quarter of FY 2024.

Melbana Energy Ltd (ASX: MAY)

The Melbana Energy share price has fallen 6.5% to 7.3 cents. This morning, the energy explorer announced that it would be spudding the Alameda-3 Appraisal Well. It also announced that it is working on plans to take advantage of the opportunity to obtain early production from the Amistad Formation Unit 1B reservoir. But investors clearly aren't impressed.

New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC)

The New Hope share price is down 1.5% to $6.21. This may have been driven by a broker note out of Citi this morning. In response to the coal miner's FY 2023 results, the broker has downgraded its shares to a sell rating with a $5.50 price target.

The post Why Brainchip, KMD, Melbana Energy, and New Hope shares are falling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Shares in the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) oil and gas stock closed last Wednesday at 6.2 cents apiece before entering a trading halt. At the time of writing, Melbana shares are swapping hands for 9 cents apiece, up 45.2%.

For some context, the All Ords is up 0.35% at this same time.

Here's what's piquing investor interest?

What's boosting the ASX energy share today?

Investors are bidding up the Melbana share price after the ASX energy share reported on promising flow testing results.

Melbana Energy holds a 30% interest in and is the operator of Block 9 PSC, an oil project located onshore in Cuba.

In this morning's update on its Alameda-2 appraisal well at the project, Melbana said it had completed flow testing of Unit 1B in the Amistad Formation. This is the last unit to be tested by this well.

Among the highlights of the successful flow test was that it brought significantly lighter and lower viscosity oil to the surface compared to other units in the Amistad Formation. And no formation of water was observed during the flow test or from logs.

Management reported that peak flow to the surface reached 1,903 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from Unit 1B. The company achieved a stabilised average flow rate pf 1,235 bpd.

Melbana said it had produced and trucked away more than 1,000 barrels of oil produced during the field testing.

Commenting on the results sending the ASX energy share soaring today, executive chairman Andrew Purcell said:

Unit 1B has really delivered, as we hoped would be the case given the high fracture density and excellent permeability and porosity we observed in the logs when drilling through that unit. That it contains higher quality oil has implications for the value of the oil produced and the possibility of higher recovery rates than were assumed in our original resource estimates, too.

Purcell added that "the flow rate exceeded our expectations for a vertical test at such a shallow level".

Unit 1B is now being completed to allow for future production.

Melbana share price snapshot

There have been some big ups and downs for the Melbana Energy share price over the past 12 months.

With today's big gains factored in, the ASX energy share is up 27% over the past full year.

The post Why is this ASX energy share skyrocketing 45% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are rising:

Galan Lithium Ltd (ASX: GLN)

The Galan Lithium share price is up 6% to 71 cents. This follows the release of an update on the company's flagship Hombre Muerto West lithium brine project in Argentina. According to the release, the company has achieved impressive grades and flow rates at the project following the construction of all wells required to support the phase 1 production.

Helloworld Travel Ltd (ASX: HLO)

The Helloworld Travel share price is up 7.5% to $3.23. Investors have been buying this travel company's shares following the release of its FY 2023 results. Helloworld reported a 139.5% increase in revenue to $165.9 million and a profit after tax of $19.2 million. The latter is up from a loss of $28.8 million in FY 2022.

Infomedia Limited (ASX: IFM)

The Infomedia share price is up over 4% to $1.71. This morning, this automotive industry software company released its FY 2023 results and reported an 11% increase in recurring revenue to $128.1 million and a 16% jump in net profit after tax to $9.6 million.

Melbana Energy Ltd (ASX: MAY)

The Melbana Energy share price is up almost 44% to 8.9 cents. This follows news that the company has finally had some success with its Alameda-2 appraisal well. Melbana reported peak flow to surface of 1,903 barrels of oil per day from Unit 1B. Positively, the oil was significantly lighter and had lower viscosity compared to other units in the Amistad Formation.

The post Why Galan Lithium, Helloworld, Infomedia, and Melbana Energy shares are rising appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:

Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF)

The Challenger share price is down 5% to $6.60. Investors have been hitting the sell button today after the annuities company released its FY 2023 results. Challenger reported record annuity sales and a 10% increase in normalised net profit before tax to $521 million. While this was strong, its guidance for FY 2024 appears to have fallen a touch short of expectations.

Melbana Energy Ltd (ASX: MAY)

The Melbana share price is down 31% to 7.2 cents. This has been driven by the release of an update on its appraisal well Alameda-2 onshore in Cuba. While the company found oil, it was the heavy variety. This isn't used for gasoline, diesel or aviation fuels. Melbana also looks like it could have a battle getting it up from under the sea. It advised: "Oil did not flow to surface as the weight of the fluid column naturally killed the well."

Seek Ltd (ASX: SEK)

The Seek share price is down 5.5% to $24.35. This morning, Seek released its FY 2023 results and reported a 10% increase in revenue to $1.225 billion but a 16% decline in net profit after tax to $203 million. Management also revealed that it expects a rather flat result in FY 2024.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

The Temple & Webster share price is down over 4% to $6.59. This follows the release of the online furniture retailer's FY 2023 results. It reported a 7.2% decline in revenue to $396 million and a 31% drop in net profit after tax to $8.3 million.

The post Why Challenger, Melbana Energy, Seek, and Temple & Webster shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the ASX All Ords share is down 33% to 7 cents.

Why is this ASX All Ords share crashing?

Investors have been selling down this energy explorer's shares today after it released an update on its appraisal well Alameda-2 onshore in Cuba.

According to the release, the appraisal found the presence of moveable oil in Unit 3 and testing indicates the potential to flow at about 750 barrels of oil per day.

That's great news, right? Well, perhaps not as great as you might think on the face of it.

Firstly, the quality of the oil is not the same as what companies like Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) are pulling up.

The estimated oil gradient derived from the static gradient survey was 1.47-1.49 psi/metre, which indicates that it is a heavy oil.

Light crude oil is primarily used to create fuels such as gasoline, diesel and aviation fuels. Whereas heavy crude oil provides feedstock for plastics, petrochemicals, other fuels and road surfacing. Lighter oils will generally receive higher prices than heavier oils and are both easier and cheaper to process in refineries.

In addition, ASX All Ords share revealed that it was a battle to get its oil up from under the sea. It explained:

The initial inflow of the DST displaced a 63-barrel water cushion over a 2-hour period, equating to an approximate flow rate of 750 bopd. Oil did not flow to surface as the weight of the fluid column naturally killed the well. A static gradient survey confirmed that 8.2 cubic metres of fluid had flowed into the string (of a potential string volume of 10 cubic metres). The column of fluid in the string comprised minor solution gas, predominantly viscous oil and some drilling mud.

In light of this, management suspects that this oil could be produced in the future with the utilisation of artificial lift mechanisms. While not the end of the world, it isn't ideal.

Management commentary

The ASX All Ords share's executive chairman, Andrew Purcell, remains positive:

Results from Unit 3 have again demonstrated the presence of moveable hydrocarbons in the Amistad interval – adding to what was already found in Unit 1A. Also similar to Unit 1A, the good quality logs obtained have allowed us to identify natural fracturing that enhance the productive qualities of the reservoir.

That Unit 3 was intercepted some 500 metres away and 200 metres updip from where the same unit was intercepted in Alameda-1 means we have a significant oil bearing formation typical of what is normally produced in Cuba. We still need to test the last two units, but from the results obtained to date we now have the potential for a project in this upper sheet Amistad formation.

The post Guess which ASX All Ords share just crashed 33% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are rising:

Azure Minerals Ltd (ASX: AZS)

The Azure Minerals share price is up 19% to $2.58. Investors have been scrambling to buy this lithium explorer's shares following the release of more promising drilling results. Management believes the latest results reflect some of the best lithium drill intersections globally. It feels this entrenches the Andover project "amongst the best lithium exploration projects globally."

Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)

The Beach Energy share price is up 2% to $1.64. This follows a solid rise in oil prices overnight after Russia and Saudi Arabia revealed plans to push on with their production cut plans. It isn't just Beach Energy that is rising. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy index is up over 1% at the time of writing.

Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR)

The Dicker Data share price is up 4.5% to $8.39. Investors have been buying this computer hardware and software distributor's shares following the release of a half-year trading update. For the first half of FY 2023, Dicker Data reported a 9.4% increase in revenue to $1,596 million and an 8% lift in net profit before tax to $54 million.

Melbana Energy Ltd (ASX: MAY)

The Melbana Energy share price is up 7.5% to 10.75 cents. This morning, this energy explorer provided an update on wireline logging at the Alameda-2 well in Cuba. The release reveals that excellent-quality logs have been obtained over the entire Amistad interval. Management notes that this is a great improvement from last time when logs could not be obtained over some of the most productive units.

The post Why Azure Minerals, Beach Energy, Dicker Data, and Melbana Energy are storming higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:

Melbana Energy Ltd (ASX: MAY)

The Melbana share price is down 8.5% to 9.6 cents. This follows the release of drilling results from Alameda-2 onshore Cuba. Investors have been selling down Melbana Energy's shares despite the company revealing that "strong oil shows and high connection gas [was] encountered."

Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)

The Netwealth share price is down almost 6% to $13.62. This means that the investment platform provider's shares have now given back yesterday's gains driven by the release of its quarterly update. Macquarie wasn't overly impressed with the update and fears that Netwealth could now be facing headwinds for fund inflows. In light of this, the broker has downgraded its shares to a neutral rating with a trimmed price target of $14.40.

Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP)

The Smartpay share price is down 2% to $1.74. This may have been driven by profit-taking after a strong gain on Thursday. Investors were buying the payments company's shares after Bell Potter initiated coverage with a buy rating and a $2.16 price target.

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

The Tyro share price is down 4% to $1.20. This follows reports that Grok Ventures has sold off its holding in the payments company. According to the AFR, Grok Ventures sold a stake worth $77 million from $1.20 per share after the market close on Thursday. This reflects the investment company's plan to exit listed equities to focus on infrastructure and start-ups.

The post Why Melbana Energy, Netwealth, Smartpay, and Tyro shares are falling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up a healthy 0.4%.

But these two ASX All Ordinaries shares are leaving those gains far behind.

ASX energy share rocketing 12%

First up we have Melbana Energy (ASX: MAY).

The All Ordinaries share is up 12% in intraday trading at the time of writing, having earlier posted gains of 20%.

The last price-sensitive news from Melbana came on 5 July. But, atop an overnight bump in oil prices, the oil and gas explorer could still be receiving some support from that announcement.

Melbana reported some promising results from its Alameda well with a "significant interval of oil rich fractured carbonate". The All Ordinaries share is up 28% since that announcement.

That brings the stock's year to date gains to a whopping 44%.

Which brings us to…

All Ordinaries share leaps on offtake update

The Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT) share price was up 15% in earlier trade at 54 cents per share. After some likely profit-taking, shares in the battery metals resource explorer are up 8% at the time of writing at 51 cents per share.

Despite that boost, shares remain down 37% in 2023.

Investors are bidding up the Neometals share price after the miner announced it had inked an agreement for the guaranteed offtake for 100% of the vanadium products produced by the Vanadium Recovery Project.

The agreement was secured with commodities producer and marketer, Glencore International.

Commenting on the update that's boosting this All Ordinaries share today, Neometals managing director Chris Reed said:

Removing volume risk on offtake is seen as a key requirement for securing project finance and we have mitigated this risk with the take or pay nature of our Offtake Agreement with a Tier 1 counterparty in Glencore.

Reed also pointed to "significant expected demand from the vanadium redox flow battery sector and other potential high purity applications".

The post 2 ASX All Ordinaries shares surging over 10% on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are rising:

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

The Lynas share price is up 1.5% to $7.31. Investors have been buying this rare earths producer's shares this week after China curbed exports of a couple of critical metals. While these are not metals that Lynas produces, some investors may believe that restrictions could expand to other areas. Lynas' Advanced Materials Plant is the largest rare earth production facility outside of China.

Melbana Energy Ltd (ASX: MAY)

The Melbana Energy share price is up 8% to 9.4 cents. This morning, this energy developer released positive results from the Alameda well. A production test of Unit 1A flowed oil to surface unassisted, demonstrating moveable hydrocarbons at this level.

Patriot Battery Metals Inc. (ASX: PMT)

The Patriot Battery Metals share price is up 6% to $1.93. Investors have been buying this ASX lithium share after it announced positive results from its preliminary heavy liquid separation (HLS) test work on CV13 pegmatite core samples. The company's HLS test work, followed by magnetic separation, produced 6%+ Li2O spodumene concentrates, with overall lithium recoveries exceeding 70%.

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

The Telstra share price is up over 1% to $4.36. This appears to have been driven by the release of a broker note out of UBS this morning. According to the note, the broker has upgraded the telco giant's shares to a buy rating with a $4.75 price target. UBS highlights the rational competition in the mobile market and Telstra's market-leading price increases as reasons to be positive.

The post Why Lynas, Melbana, Patriot Battery Metals, and Telstra shares are rising today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.