Member Info for adoubleuk

Stocklife,

" miles away from your typical AIM company"

Yeah. Interesting, isn't it? Doesn't fit the mould of many other companies. Two young men spot some interesting oil plays, need the money, so list as a company. Essentially zilch overheads. And snap up equity related to those winning-looking plays, instead of actually paying cash for a percentage interest.

Like lots of good ideas, it seems obvious in a sort of "why didn't I think of that?" way.

First heard about this company through a tech question 'Missdosh' posed to me about Colter about ten months ago via PM. But of course RBD isn't all about Colter. And neither is Corallian, who'll be drilling the thing.

And I've got an oilfield buddy who's spent many years working in Romania, so that added fuel to the fire.

To some retail PI's I suspect the word 'Romania' might seem slightly offputting, because it cunjors up images of beggars in underground stations. But that's just a wrong image. In fact I bought my Rangerover years ago from a Romanian who worked in senior management for Michelin. And he was headed back to his home country to senior management in exports for Renault, with the unfortunate condition that he couldn't drive anything other than a Renault! Hence having to sell his real car.

And I can't help but notice the number of Renault Logan's (built in Romania) these days.

Plus I've worked on a couple of rigs built in Romania, crewed by those people. Solid as a rock. It's a place I'd like to visit someday.

Pijoe,

"there is (in effect) mention of success case generating revenue to offset the $7M, but would the bod responsibly assume success in advance? i would suggest not."

And your suggestion is quite correct, of course. Only a madman would assume such a thing.

But Simon_Said is also correct, and so is Bigspike, in respect to 'commitment'. Plus although the potential success of the first well will (potentially) help the finances of subsequent drilling operations considerably, the known success of the workovers can be used as colateral for debt (burdened by Gaelic, not directly by Reabold Plc), even if they're 'stripper wells' with an output measured in just tens of Bopd.

It mustn't be forgotten that California isn't a big jewel in RBD's crown. But (having done some research into it from the technical standpoint) it appears low-risk, and a nice thing to have.

Ricfle,

"Do not let the facts get in the way of a good story."

No, let's not. However, even if it's a bit off-topic, I think you're deluding yourself if you think spread-betting is called that just so the punters don't get hit with capital gains tax. If you believe that, it must mean that you also think that Her Majesty's tax-collectors are a bunch of dimwits. And unfortunately however unpleasant and greedy the taxman can be, he's not stupid.

Spread-betting is gambling in a pure form. Just like putting money on a horse race. The punter is betting on the outcome: whether a horse will win or maybe place. But if it does neither, the gambler loses all his stake. The 'investor' (even if he's a trader who 'invests' for a short period of time) owns an interest in the horse itself. And retains that interest even if the nag goes lame for six months and can't race, or worse, falls over and breaks a leg. In the latter case it might have to be shot and ground up for dogfood, but that's life.

Don't worry, I'm not getting moralistic about gambling (unlike youself), because I spend quite a lot of time in gambling-houses playing poker. A game where it's largely one's own actions which determine the outcome, so can't be called 'gambling' as such. Which is why professional poker-players fill in tax returns just like everyone else, declaring income gained by their skills. (I'm not 'pro', so don't!)

But don't pretend your spread-betting isn't gambling, mate!

Iteration,

"Transfer of wealth from the impatient to the patient etc etc"

I must admit that brought a grin to my face! Because of course I recognised it immediately, and in this case it's true.

Just in case it's of interest to other people here, I don't in any way blame the company for today's SP drop which caused me to sell. It's simply that the RNS wasn't what I was hoping for, and that's nothing other than a result of my own mistaken expectations. In earlier RNS's UOG never specifically said they would be releasing analysed interpretation of the seismic 'rush data', that's just the way I read them. And it was an obvious misunderstanding on my part.

I very much suspect I am not alone in that rong sort of thinking, though.

Of course I know that UOG is not listed of AIM ( though some don't realise it), but I'm personally quite happy with the rough-and-tumble of such shares, and thus one of the 'impatient'. One has to be ready to move fast, and to take the occasional losses as well as gains. You may well be right, and that UOG remains a good 'hold' for more 'patient' longterm investors. My sell has simply to get some cash liquidity moving again: cash which I'll use for other things until the UOG SP (news related) seems better suited for short-term trading.

But I now don't think that'll be for a number of months hence.

No gain, but no blame.

Oh bother, yet again! Hit send early...

... it wouldn't have made a significant dent in the fortunes of his own company if the drilling CA's financial contribution helped achieve had turned out to be a duster.

Of course my research has been quick and very cursory, I don't have the time to dig deeper, and anyway I see no point in doing so. However what I've found and described above is enough to illustrate my point. From what was initially a small speculative 'punt', Hurricane has become a mainstay of CA's portfolio, and has kept Mr Bernstein in the lifestyle he likes to maintain, no doubt, whatever that may be. I don't know, but I guess it's not cheap.

Which his why his twitter outbursts in the past and other actions seem to me to be unwarrented (excuse the pun), and put me on my guard regarding the man's trustworthiness. And as you're quite aware, I'm not alone in my suspicions.

Wellwell,

"I must admit when you look at CRS and any funds objectives and risk profiling their investment was massive albeit the initial % would have been less I suspect"

Let's at least have a bit of clarity here. Just for the sake of some due diligence I've at last done some quick research which I should admittedly have done years ago.

The first CA RNS to show Hurricane on their books dates from March 2015. Hurricane represented less than 5% of Crystal Amber's portfolio back then. So it might not be unfair to surmise that Bernstein considered Hurricane to be nothing more than a 'hopeful punt' at the time.

And thus by extension, although from 'our' point of view it's quite correct to say that without CA Hurricane would be unlikely to be where it is now, it's entirely wrong to think of Bernstein as some sort of white knite who has clutched the fair maiden from the jaws of the dragon, even though that's the image he likes to project of late. It's not as though he mortgaged his dog to afford to take his 'punt', and it wouldn't have made a signific

Of course my research has been quick and very cursory

Simon_Said,

For information.

"Among other things I have a spread betting account with IG. "

Written by our pal Ricfle at 10h11 last Thursday, over on the HUR BB.

Whatever you do, don't mention gambling, though. The bloke gets in a huff.

JH77,

" I rate this a hold."

Good luck to you. I've sold about 95% of my holding here today at a loss (contributing to the 'red day', sorry, guys and gals!) on the back of what I consider to be a very disappointing RNS. Telling us that the fast-track data has been delivered to Tullow is of no interest to me. What would have been interesting would have been what the data indicates. If 'processing and interpretation' has only just started on this fast-track stuff, let alone the entire data-set, it will be months until the results of such analysis are made tentatively known in a public way.

Everything is now much in the future for UOG, it seems. Seismic analysis, permitting for Italy, and of course Colter which won't spud 'til late this year.

I might come back later. Please don't shoot the messenger (who might be delivering the wrong message anyway).

GLA

Boyzee,

There's something immediately wrong with your first three possibilities. 'Sort Lancaster out'. Barring giant squids, Long John Silver, or a sudden typhoon of momentous force occuring just when the AM's latching the buoy, Lancaster is already 'sorted'. That's what the 'fiasco' was all about in May / June last year.

Dam. Hit 'send' prematurely.

...(The same as the number of holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall is not the correct answer.)

Oh, and if your ears are burning, it might be because your name has been mentioned over on RBD.

Why am I writing this drivel? you might ask. It's because I'm bored and annoyed in approximately equal measure. But you're only responsible for about a trillionth of that. It's mainly because another share I hold has taken a seven percent hit after a lukewarm RNS today so I've kicked in my mental stop-loss and sold. At a loss. But there's no excuse for being in any AIM share if you can't do that from time to time.

Ricfle,

"Give it a rest and Adoubleuk a break!"

I should be so lucky.

Btw, do you have a lot of friends, neighbours, maiden aunts and bus-drivers of your acquaintance signed up to this site, or what? Because every time you post there's an instant (yes INSTANT) flurry of 'recommend thumbs-ups' which appear. Or maybe it's an automatic thing generated in a spread-betting office. I'm really jealous. Honestly.

Oh, and here's a puzzle for you. How many joints are there in the Lancaster flowlines between the manifold and the buoy? (The same as the number of holes it ta

JayKay1

I think I see what you're getting at in your post, and that's made me laugh a bit, as well! I can see that this is going to be a good week. The resident derampers on this BB now have a new message, it seems. "Sell Hurricane, because they have too much oil."

:-))

Wellwell, Ricfle,

That's in fact quite an amusing start to my day! Thanks.

(For a lot more about the symbolism used in cigarette advertising, maybe read 'Nice Work' by David Lodge.)

Note how the person with the cigarette in the Camel advertisement is the one looking on in amusement at the arm-wrestlers, but not involved in the fighting himself.

I'm afraid it can't be me in the picture, because I've never been to Mexico.

Wellwell,

Was this aimed at me, or just scattershot at anyone?

No, I think aimed at me. 'Cos today I'm fed up at reading all this negative stuff, and defending the 'believers' turf, come hell, trolls, and high waters.

"What you smokin’ tonight?"

Camel Filter 100's. As always.

" It was HUR who guided the farm in. It was on their fabled timeline."

Wrong. HUR said they were 'discussing' farmin. No disclousures were made with whom, nor was a closure date given for that timeline. Someone, somewhere, must have misunderstood that.

"The profit you speak of was more about you missed a loss event."

Qui, Moi? I didn't miss it, I saw it coming!

" I didn’t need to sell any shares so decided to hold, you sold for reasons unknown which I think you attributed it to gut but in hindsight could have been good luck, maybe it was necessity or perhaps sheer brilliance."

A mixture of the three, but I like the 'sheer' brilliance' bit, so I'll stick with that. Unfortunately I have to remove the sheen from my crown for having missed the latest 55p 'bump', because I thought it was just that, but didn't have the courage of my convictions. But hope not to miss the next one.

" Either way the raise was ‘successful’ but I’m not sure it was “what the company wanted” in relation to how much it went through as."

What the company wanted was to finance EPS. Which was what was achieved. It has absolutely nothing to do with barrels of oil in the ground, dollars per bbl on the POO spot-price, nor anything like that. And this is where I question (though as an open, friendly question) Dspp's analysis.

This share is about getting the racing-car on the track and proving it can go faster than a raped ape.

Future sponsoreship is a completely different story.

kANDYMAN,

"AD I maybe mistaken but did CA not help out with warrents fiasco, with stiflel making balls of it .
Way too much dilution IMO,want no more."

Yes, that is the way it was presented at the time, mainly by certain protagonists who had nothing to lose by doing so, but lots to gain if things had gone their way. Which they didn't, but went the way of the company instead, at which they started throwing their toys out of the pram instead, and crying 'foul', especially after their stool-pigeon got chucked out of the coop, for good measure.

Sure, without CA, the company would now not be where it is. But CA no longer rools the roost, and that's also where it is. And there are bigger boys in town than the guy with his prissy grin and his Mayfair office.

Unfortunately, I can't help mentally comparing Bernstein and his company and Hurricane with the late Brian Epstein and his management of The Beatles. In fact I've just been reading a book about The Beatles and their management with exactly that thought running in the background.

Crystal Amber of course deserves thanks. That goes without question.

But their CEO now has to quit p*ssing around, sell us all a bunch of shares into the next rise (hopefully cheap) and admit he knows nothing about O&G, especially when the Chinese are in on the game.

(Oh, and by the way, kiddies, when we're talking Chinese, don't think about plastic clockwork cats with waving paws. Think more about where Fractured Basement Reservoir ideas first took off. The tech books are frightfully expensive, but remain required reading.)

Dilution? What, back in 2017? The only problem is for those who bought after that. Or rather, for those who bought just before, prefering to believe punters and liers rather than the CFO who went on record saying a 'slug of equity' would go on sale.

I salute the LTH people (a number of whom correspond here) who've been in it for the long ride and who rode out the storm. But I p*** f'om a great height on people who now when things are going great revert back to then as though it was some sort of 'debacle'. Because it wasn't. QED. Because the stalwart Mr Stobie remains CFO of the company, and will hopefully be re-elected as such at the next AGM.

Wellwell,

"I was burned badly by the warrants debacle and I completely agreed with RB’s well founded criticism at the time. That’s what we have in common but nothing else."

Yeah, but that's the point.

I made a nice big profit out of what you and many others call a 'débacle', thank you very much. Through trading. And the whole reason being due to your friend RB, who (via his minions, tweets, and so on) MISLED the market into thinking a TO was imminent.

And took a whole lot of stick for that afterwards, but it ain't my problem. I might be in love with this share, but I'm not married to it. There's a big difference.

So for that simple reason I disagree that RB's criticism of the company was 'well-founded'. Because when push came to shove, the company got what it wanted and also got the funding for what we're all looking forward to now: EPS and First OiL. According to plan, plans announced to the shareholders since goodness knows when.

Meanwhile lots of people held tight, weathered the storm, and are once again looking good.

I'm sorry, but I consider the presence of the Crystal Amber Fund as a remaining major shareholder in Hurricane Energy as an Albatross round the neck, and one a lot of people would like to be rid of because that company's chairman's thinking no longer aligns with that of the BoD, nor (I suspect) that of many other investors.

But it'll be alright on the night.

Wellwell,

"AK if they and all the other geologists are so good why do they still hit dusters? "

Because they're not all good.

A fact subsists. Lancaster is NOT a 'duster'. You don't raise half a billion to moor an fpso over a couple of wells WoS to see if they might not be as good as DST testing showed them to be. The idea is to MAKE MONEY through production, which will finance more wells, and etcetera, etcetera., one or two of which might be tied in, etcetera, etcetera again. WHICH WILL MAKE MORE MONEY.

But which won't go into the pocket of someone (or will, but not to the extent he wanted) because to keep his own company legal he'll have to satisfy market demand by selling some shares.

Roll on further SURF news, FPSO sea-trails and sailing, etc., etc. Sometime the chickens have to come home to roost. And hopefully through measures like an upmarket-move in progress, they'll be protected from intrusion by unwanted predators.

Wellwell,

"BNB there’s enough positivity on here as it is. I used to sit on that side of the fence myself and would argue HUR’s case to the hilt. That was needed then due to the ignorance of some. That was then, this is now and I’m only bringing balance to the force!"

How very interesting. How very very interesting.

Essentially an admission of once 'ramping', and now 'deramping'.

While all the time trying to flannel us with protestations of 'objectivity' and so on. (Not to mention garbage like 'geological uncertainty' about EPS.)

Your pal Mr Berrnstein must be ruing the day he ever tried cozying up with some oilfield people.

I hope he finds himself being forced into selling bigtime into the next rise, because the knowledgable money will Dyson-up those shares so fast it'll make his head spin.

OK. This really IS the last time I ever post here. Just couldn't help looking in once more since receiving a weird sms from a poster requesting me to answer a question here, which is a stock I'm not even invested in.

(I picked up his text in a casino I regularly play poker in in western France, if it's of any interest. Only replied when I got home. But professional conscience as an oilfield person drove me to do so.)

But now I read this from someone calling himself 'Heid'.

"I just tweeted Adrian to say fascinating pictures and I watched a youtube on perf guns so I understand exactly what is going on."

OK, it's been an interesting day, but that's it.

Over and out. In fact, forget the 'over' bit. You've obviously got enough experts here already.

Wellwell,

" the cost still to be added of doing the FFD in a timescale that gives an acceptable RoR in an uncertain market and let me know what figure you come up with. "

Unfortunately I can't do that latter thing. And here we come full-circle. I AM NOT A FORECASTER. I know what I think the SP might reach within the next few months, and I know what incite me to re-explore the whereabouts of the sell button regarding some of my Hurricane shares, but I'm not stupid enough to broadcast it to all and sundry, am I?

The only thing I will admit to is that I expect to still be in here (but with a much-diminished holding) by the time commercial talks about 'monetisation' start around six months after EPS goes into swing. That'll be just a 'backstop' though.

This is in no way meant as advice, nor anything else. Everyone is different, of differing ages, diverse financial situations, some may have ambitions, and so on, and so forth. I just have a 'personal strategy' which I hope will pan out, and that's all.

FFD interests me purely and simply in a technical sense, and I hope to see the idea of a host of fixed-jacket platforms (my personal bet for FFD) on paper as a 'project' before I go to the big truck-race in the sky. Though I wouldn't put money on that.

However if in the interim HUR shares keep my from ending my days in a cardboard box over a warm subway grating, I won't be complaining.