Enquest Share Price (ENQ)

My conclusion is that we are running smoothly and progressing. AB was looking fresher and far more invigorated than last year. AB stressed the awards and prestige we have in SEA. There wasn’t that much said about DESNZ and Labour. In time it will be resolved and, in the meantime, we have SEA. He did emphasise the tax credits value and that makes us very competitive in hoovering up the remaining fields in the NS.

We then departed for some libations at a local hostelry where Sam, Steve and John the Jock thought it amusing to get an o.a.p. drunk.

*might be just me but I didn’t accept that Jonathan Copus’s absence was due to a mild illness – he may have been upstairs?

I arrived at the AGM with minutes to spare (no Great Northern - overhead line damage at Alexandra Palace) so came by tube. The AGM didn’t seem as full as other years with more from EnQuest and registrars than investors.

The AGM was over quickly after AB basically read out the RNS and invited questions. There were only a few with no great enthusiasm because imo LTHs know that much is beyond EnQuest’s gift regarding the NS. I asked 2 questions. An interim dividend? Answer – “No”. I then asked if we had a Trading division and AB waffled on. It is really a sales department imo and I accept it is a complicated field requiring experience but over the past 3 months those companies with a Trading division have been creaming it and it is hard to lose money in those conditions.

After the official bit was over, we were invited to chat. I turned around and a couple smiled at me, and I asked if they were investors? It turns out it was Paul Massie the Legal and Commercial Director who handled the Magnus transaction and Claire Scrimgeour has been HR Director for the NS since June 2024. I started by asking why Steve Bowyer was sacked. I said it jokingly and it broke the ice. The answer was that they are still on friendly terms, and it seemed genuine. PM cleared up something for me. I was under the impression that the EnQuest Producer was somehow integral to getting the gas from Bressay. It isn’t as the gas plan is a tie-back from a well-head to Kraken Armada. Gareth Penny joined us and I’m beginning to warm to him. As the investment world returns to commodities who better to have as chairman than a man who understands “Dirt and Diesel”.

AB came over and commented that I didn’t seem convinced with his definition of a Trading division. He said he was a trader at ARCO in the past and how would I have felt if he reported a $100mio loss. Fair enough, you play to your strengths, and his long-term strategy seems to be paying dividends (not interim).

Later there are always many questions you wished you had asked and observations that didn’t immediately register. Sometimes what isn’t mentioned is significant.

EP has become more than scrap value. EnQuest are loved in SEA but hated in Westminster. I am told there is “optionality” on the future of the EP. I’d be happy to wager it leaves the NS.

There was gentle pressure to get us out of the room and for the board to depart. It is always a golden opportunity to get things approved and no doubt this was happening. I cannot remember on past AGMs but is it normal to have HR at an AGM? The AGM is at Ashurst so why the extra lawyer from EnQuest? I think a deal was being discussed and HR for UK TUPE and other reasons on hand along with an experienced company lawyer who has experience (Magnus) also as back-up. I didn’t get the timings, but Craig left for the 4 o’clock from Kings X as he was going steerage to Aberdeen. Paul and Claire were flying back.

(cont)

Interesting and funny story but also slightly scary at the same time 😄

AI really is posing some genuine ethical and philosophical questions for our generation and probably even more for the next one. My view is that every major technological shift creates scepticism early on. We asked similar questions around the train, aeroplane, computers and internet initially.

Personally I do not think AI necessarily leads us to some dark place. I think it has enormous potential if used correctly. The risks are probably more subtle: resonance chambers, shorter attention spans and people outsourcing too much thinking without questioning the output.

But for people who actually challenge what AI writes, think critically about where information comes from and use it more as a cognitive tool than a replacement for thought, it can be extremely powerful.

Honestly even for people without formal education it can still be a huge net positive because it enhances access to information and improves baseline cognition.

At the end of the day, in almost any field, I would probably rather have someone using AI intelligently than someone not using it at all.

AB proving the future is increasingly bright : https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Asias-Next-Energy-Hub-May-Rise-in-Malaysia.amp.html

Appreciate the reply. I'm trying to report on the AGM and AI hardly helps at all. I use AI myself and my daughter pays for and uses ChatGPT and Claude. She knows a lot more than me and reports, commentates and writes about AI. She knows how to tweak the algos.

O/T she recently had her Autobiography published and sold on Amazon. Problem was she never wrote it and 31 is a bit young for an autobiography. She bought it of course and it was totally inaccurate. She claimed the money back and Amazon withdrew it.

Now back to the AGM.

I'm afraid it will only get worse.