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Zaza - They try to present it as 99%, but it is unclear how they report it or where it comes from. Anyway, all the areas where we are not doing this work, about 1 month ago, maybe more, 1.5 months ago, we have already returned to the state.
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There are only two claims that went against FRR. One is the above, which has been addressed and well in good time. We have to remember, the Arbi judgement is final. I do not think for a second that there is sufficient ambiguity as to leave the context of that 99% (i.e. 99% of what and where??) in doubt in the execution of the instructions handed out to the Parties.
FRR, with the support of the US and the domestic media, has shifted the discussion/ argument along materially. We have made progress. But GG are still trying it on. If they had been right firm the beginning, they would not have budged - but they have and are trying to save face, continually, especially with elections fast approaching.
Let's hope the yanks invoke the Magnitsky act and cut Ivanishvili's b*lls off.
--Since 2016 the bill, which applies globally, authorizes the US government to sanction those who it sees as human rights offenders, freeze their assets, and ban them from entering the U.S.
See that ZM, is sticking to 2 out of the 14 complaints by GOGC was awarded to them.
Confiscated by the Elite running the country.
Morality is a rare commodity most folks in High Places
do not know. Everywhere. They do not care.
They steal our money and think it is fair. FRR is a share.
I can see this dragging on for months, unfortunately....!
I have a hunch that this is somehow linked to the shelf leading into Shah Deniz. IMO
Whatever parts of the Block we've retained, sods law says if the GG says we can continue operations, the new Block owners will say you're not passing through our land lol.
Wazza, i agree.
I’m getting the impression that it wasn’t 99% of the block given back but 99% of the block that we are not working on. Thoughts ?
I dont see why we should give anything back when we havnt lost however much we got out of the arb. Hence, zaza making a lot of noise thatbthey can't terminate anything." Its rightfly ours, we've invested half a billion.
The only way they get a bigger share is if we got some land back. IMO
I also dont think the 99% is an accurate reflection of whats been given back. Zaza clearly doesnt know, how its been calculated. Maybe its GG arr doing it for the cameras.
...but what do we give in exchange for the licence extension? I think the GG want a bigger share of the spoils - especially if a sale is on the cards.
GG condition.
Its clear GG want employees to return, zaza hints why take land back when we could employ 100's of employees.
Could GG perhaps end up giving some landback to FRR, providing FRR comfirm they'll take all employees back and maybe more?
FRR condition.
Zaza and the US no doubt will want want an extension to 7yrs remaining in the license. This imo he will get. If he gets some land back that will be icing on the cake.
Many thanks again Looed
This helps clear up somewhat the 99%/1%
Pt.3
Journalist - Should be returned to the state. What percentage of these areas are there? Is it really 99% or very small? The talks were about 99%.
Zaza - They try to present it as 99%, but it is unclear how they report it or where it comes from. Anyway, all the areas where we are not doing this work, about 1 month ago, maybe more, 1.5 months ago, we have already returned to the state.
To me that means all the areas where we have reserves discovered are still in our control
Thanks Looed,
That was a long one !
Sounded like Zaza was on form .
The question is what are these conditions ,
Could they be pay the workers, pay the arbitration bill offset against the VAT and pay the $200,000 ?
Aa i have said a couple of times 25th June was the last time Zaza spoke in public. He was doing a food three interviews a week before then. Perhaps they are talking now.
The GG need to be able to save face , we need a PSA extension , a deal can be done, do the GG want one , i think so ...
Plenty of time to hear something this week still.
Looed - Is the word 'years' missing from the end of Pt.5?
Not read yet, but that Interview is from 4/5 days back now. So chance that something, is going on between them.
Live in hope
Zaza claims: ‘. It says in the [arbitration] resolution that we have the right to continue, the contract says that we have the right to continue for many more years.’ I didn’t see that in the leaked arbitration document so it’s either been deleted or Zaza is extrapolating. Clear as mud, as always. Zaza is not convinced by the Government’s compromise overtures. We still seem to be in deadlock.
The last bit of Pt.6 should read "15 congressmen"
Pt.8 (and final part)
Journalist - Maybe this is exactly the fault of the fact that the Ministry of Economy has expressed its readiness to continue working with you and find a compromise.
Zaza - It is possible. However, there is a second law as well. It is called the Magnitsky Global Act, by which all those individuals, as well as current or former members of the state, who are involved in enriching their mineral resources, corruption, or the use of other American companies for various purposes, may even face sanctions. How else can you explain the fact that as a result of this half a billion investment, when a huge wealth has been created for the country, this company is hindered ...
However, I have to say that you have a dispute with the state and it says there is not that much volume. They question the volume of investment, they say that it`s much less than $ 500 million.
Yes sir. We are the only company in the whole of Georgia that has a state audit every year. And, by the way, according to this state audit, we have made so many investments. This is documented and ...
However, you and the state read this differently.
Here is the story of understanding again. As you mentioned at the beginning.
I don't know how to read the audit report differently, as well as the court decision.
Exactly
In short, are you ready to sit down at the negotiating table with the Ministry of Economy?
We are always ready. However, I do not believe this farce, to be honest. No matter what format they use, how they report it, and how they continue to misinform, even at this moment, it is hard to believe that they have any serious intentions at the moment.
Yes sir. Thank you so much for participating in the show. lets see. We are always ready to invite you and talk about these topics - how to develop a relationship with the Ministry of Economy and the government. Zaza Mamulaishvili, President of Frontera, was our guest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhio3tzMsqM&app=desktop
Pt.7
Journalist - That is, it all started then. However, it was not widely publicized at the time.
Zaza - Not publicized. Because then they tried and kept it confidential. In 2018, the United States Legislation even recorded for the first time in the history of Georgia-US relations, I will try to quote, „hostility to American investment is growing, especially in the oil and gas sector, which opposes Georgia's energy independence and promotes Russia's interests“. That’s what I’m telling you about.
I understand that the Georgian government has only recently managed to create such an image for Frontera, since you work in such a field that you do not have a customer like any other company can have. They are virtually unfamiliar with your business and have recently started talking about it. It is good to speak about your problems in public. However, I would like to take the time to ask you how you can imagine continuing this situation. You often talk about context and you don't have to worry about putting something in context. In this context, let us ask you: We remember the statements of the US government regarding the Port of Anaklia - experts, various groups called on the Georgian authorities not to turn down the Anaklia Port project, but they did eventually. In your case, how do you see the sequel? This is also a very important political context for all this, the elections, Ivanishvili's prospects, etc. In this context, please tell us how you and the Georgian government are imagining the struggle and we must end our conversation.
It is no coincidence that a year ago, a bill was introduced in the United States called the Sanctions Act for Fair Business Practice in Georgia. When it comes to Anaklia, whether it's „Frontera“, „Iconia Capital“ or various companies who have a problem, all the American investment that is under this pressure and operates in an unfair environment, members of the current or former government who are violating these agreements, will be those objects that could potentially be sanctioned.
For example, what scale figures could these be? You know. Could he be, for example, Deputy Minister of Economy? Could it be a higher rank person or Bidzina Ivanishvili personally?
The legislation of the United States defines all this in such a way that it can be the former Prime Minister, the current Deputy Minister, and so on. This bill applies to members of current and former members of any position.
Those are persons who have caused problems for American companies.
Yes. Day by day this resolution became bipartisan. And the number of people joining this resolution is growing day by day.
Pt.6
Journalist - And your company has followed this vector change in your perception, as I see it. Because here you are also pointing out that the preferred conditions for gas imports that were given to Gazprom and SOCAR. And the Georgian government was negotiating with the Iranian government over gas imports. Interestingly, here’s the spirit of this letter very much echoing the spirit of the report and the letter that you have now mentioned. Are you the first source of this information or, conversely, are the sources those letters and reports that exist in America? That’s what I wanted to clarify. In this letter, you also talk about Gakharia's speech at the Georgia-Iran Business Forum in Tbilisi in 2017, where he said that Iranian investments have increased by 657%. Because of this, the topic has already been opened that Gakharia is also referred to as the lobbist of Iranian business in Georgia, which is not good for him at all, not only in the eyes of Americans. That is why they often accuse the Frontera of lobbying for certain topics, leading it to the US Congress in such a way. Let's explain this mechanism. What is the source of your allegations? Your impression, your feeling, your information or American sources?
Zaza - Here is this last letter, a letter from Senators Cruz and Cornyn, where we were cited as one of the largest American investors in the country. And, for that very reason, we were quoted in this letter. Members of the Georgian government have begun to speak out against the fact that "Frontera" is behind this letter, as well as behind other letters.
But is there a dose of truth here? If you just give them this information and then they check, naturally, you won't believe it, will you?
First of all, as far as information is concerned, since 1997, when we started working and investing in Georgia, we have been constantly meeting with the United States government in Washington, and not just in Washington. Since this was one of the large-scale projects, it started in 1997 and continues to this day because the potential that we have found and what we have discovered is very large for the country. Therefore, our work has always been closely monitored, but for some reason everyone forgot that in 2016, in this context, as mentioned in this letter, for example, Mr. Ivanishvili's relations with Russia and their interest in Georgia, Congressman Steve Russell addressed the Congress in 2016 with exactly the same context. So that then neither the "Frontera"`s arbitration ...
Remind me if you can in detail what you mean by "same context"?
It was an absolutely identical context that Ivanishvili is in close contact with the Russian government and, in the interest of the Russian government, is trying to influence the institutions, strengthen his government and destabilize the country. This was happening 4 years ago, in 2016. In 2017, the Prime Minister, Kvirikashvili, had a lot of communication. Some letters were signed by 15 c
Pt.5
Journalist - They probably don’t know that American Congressmen could lose everything in life because of this if they were noticed in this type of lobbying and could end up in a very big scandal.
Zaza - And, that’s exactly the problem. Here are people who don't even understand such elementary issues and don't even want to look at it and find out the detailed terms of the contract, in the sense that "now we have to stop the contract", "We couldn't do it in court?" Then let's try to use force. ”That's the problem.
Let’s assume that somehow the sharp criticism that the government has received from the West has cut it, and presumably it will no longer dare to force you to stop. Don’t you have the feeling that something has gone wrong? This issue is so politicized in the context of international politics, that it will probably have to give up power. Don’t you have that feeling?
Here is the issue. For this answer I will use the letter which was sent by senators Cruz and Cornyn and congressmen Markwayne Mullin and Judie Arington to State secretary and also Minister of Finance of USA. In the letter, one of the sentences was that "Mr. Ivanishvili and his government are cooperating with rivals and enemies of the United States, and this is at the expense of America's geopolitical and commercial interests." In addition, just a week ago, if I am not mistaken, the Republican Committee, which includes 147 members of Congress, also mentioned Mr. Ivanishvili in the National Security Report, who is destabilizing Georgia in the interests of Russia. These people, and these institutions in the United States, have a lot more information than me and our company management. Now, if we put in this context the story of what is happening to us after 2013, I think we can very well find the key to why all this is happening.
You wrote a rather harsh letter to Gakharia. Here I have this letter. Steve Nicandros, Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Frontera Resources”, and you wrote a very scathing letter directly stating that "since 2013, we have seen growing anti-American sentiment and discriminatory attitudes toward important US investments and NGOs." Let's clarify one thing before we continue talking about this particular letter, what do you mean by the growth of anti-American sentiment? From the government or the general population? Is the anti-American sentiment growing among the population of Georgia?
We can't see. It doesn't look like that from our point of view. On the contrary.
I still can't see it and, therefore, I want to clarify what you mean by anti-American sentiment. From the government?
From the authorities, yes. On the contrary, over the years we have seen growing interest and growing support among the population. There is a growing aspiration in the western direction, in terms of values, business, education, etc. But on the government side, we have seen since 2013 that this vector is changing and has changed radically over the
Pt.4
Journalist - What a strange dead-end, I am trying to figure out with you the next steps.
Zaza - I’ll tell you what to do now in a minute because there’s no dead end. It says in the resolution that we have the right to continue, the contract says that we have the right to continue for many more years, just the government, which has been trying for the last 7 years to somehow terminate this agreement, tried in court, tried different methods. It did not work. And, the last thing they have left, is to try to do it by force. So there is no legal solution for them here anymore. They tried everything and did not succeed.
Can a forceful method be to send people to stop you physically?
Of course. For example, our employees and we are no longer allowed to do so, for example, operators are not allowed to continue drilling, extraction work, and so we are no longer allowed back to our investments.
However, it is difficult to imagine how this could actually happen, because of "Frontera" case which is, I think, one of the most painful for this government. In fact, the entire US Congress has been declared the lobbyist of the Frontera. And, if the Frontera is so strong, in their view, in principle, we know that the system doesn't work that way. But But in the understanding of our government, the lobbyist of "Frontera" is the whole Congress with its Chairman of its Foreign Affairs Committee., isn't it? In that case, how much risk do they take to carry out such an act and force the American company out of Georgia?
I think the problem is that our government is working in a different sense. Not on the condition that we have negotiated with the state for years and it is detailed in the agreement, not on the condition that it was determined by the international arbitration, where we were sued and, by the way, we did not even appear at the trial. The arbitral tribunal declared the other party in absentia as a loser. Well, that's the decent thing to do, and it should end there. By the way, it should be emphasized that all this has been added ... You have just mentioned that our government is no longer reluctant to curse the people in the United States who are expressing support for the growth of investments, the economic strengthening of Georgia, the political strengthening of Georgia. Now, the deputy parliament chairman said that they are lobbyists…
Could you please remind me that.
This was Mr. Kuchava, if I am not mistaken.
Kuchava? Do you mean that legendary letter? No, no that`s different
The public is so misled that it seems like it is a normal, legitimate business for a congressman to take money and make a supportive statement in exchange for that money.
Pt.3
Journalist - Should be returned to the state. What percentage of these areas are there? Is it really 99% or very small? The talks were about 99%.
Zaza - They try to present it as 99%, but it is unclear how they report it or where it comes from. Anyway, all the areas where we are not doing this work, about 1 month ago, maybe more, 1.5 months ago, we have already returned to the state.
And, you don’t need these areas? You returned them because of the decision, right?
Yes. The decision was written that we have to return them. On the contrary, to be honest, the state should have asked us to keep these territories, because, for example, now there are no works in those areas, no investments are made and no people are employed. If we had kept these territories, now there would have been about 100 people working there. A search would be launched and if successful, we would have found more oil and gas in the area.
However, we know that state authorities say that you do not count the supplies, but the resources, and this is hypothetical, and in fact is that there are no supplies there. These are resources and therefore there are a lot of issues that you are constantly debating but the fact is that you really need to find some compromise. Can't it be like that? You read one decision in your own way, keep working, the state reads differently and thinks that the contract with you is practically terminated, right? So it turns out and they are going to terminate this contract. What should happen? How do you see this situation and what do you specifically demand if you can tell us?
Today, we made a public statement to the authorities, calling once again that neither by agreement, nor by the decision of the arbitral tribunal, nor by law, they have the right to unilaterally terminate the contract and no longer allow us to return to our investments and continue working. If they do it by force, it will be an expropriation, for example in Venezuela - Maduro is doing the same, or Putin is doing the same in Russia. Therefore, it is not legal. This will be a criminal act and today we once again publicly call on them not to do that ...
Or will they be forced to stop working? Is that how you see the situation? Or they will bering the executive and make you to stop the works/extraction or search work? I don't know exactly how this works. So, should they stop it?
The executive cannot be brought in because there is no such court decision. Even if there is a court decision relevant to this decision, the executive cannot be brought.