Member Info for adoubleuk

senseman,

"senseman is a disciple of the ernest hemingway (the old man and the sea) and alexander solzhenitsyn (a day in the life of ivan denisovich) school of writing - keep it short and sweet, to the point and don't abuse language by wasting words...)"

Whereas adoubleuk just writes and writes until he runs out of space !

senseman,

"I would be surprised if the new BoD did not consider speaking with the OGA, & unplugging"

I write from a purely technical side here.

'Plug and Abandon' means what it says. You cannot 'unplug' the thing. But now, there's a huge inconsistency. Rumour (from a 'shipwatcher' here who I trust immensely) says Lincoln was P&A'd rigless just in the past few days, which is quite possible. But it's just rumour. But if so, why has a rig been supposedly hired?

I very much hope that the new people in charge will issue some sort of 'forward plan'as soon as possible, because it all seems to be a bit of a muddle at the moment.

laser,

"lincoln now completed plugged and abandoned completed yesterday"

Possible, using a rigless vessel. But in that case, what's the Stena rig been hired for?

senseman,

"I would place a fair bet that CA considered submitting an emergency application to Justice Zacaroli for a stay order on the P&A. But decided against for purely tactical reasons, to keep already complicated matters as simple as possible for the judge, to enable him to reach the right decision on the main prize with as little clutter as possible"

I consider that as a very bold statement, one which could possibly potentially get you into trouble. theough with which I agree with, in principle.

I would like to now see a full full explanation of why Lincoln (which flowed at 8000 bobd on DST) had to be P&A'd, and why OGA ordered this.

There's a lot more to this story.

DC,

"However for the present they need to concentrate on Lancaster so here is a question for you:
The ESP’s were initially turned on to regulate flow because of a flow irregularity, and thus were not being used to increase production. Following the recently reported trip the natural flow rate was hardly much less than the ESP controlled flow rate, so my question is how much might they be able to turn up the ESP’s to increase production rates."

Sorry mate, but I'm utterly unable to answer that question. Just don't have the data. However, there's one thing I can conidentially reply about. 'Tandem ESPs' were installed in both wells 6 and 7z. But there's no way that in either well the two would be run at the same time.

But your question is technically a good one. Present (past, future) production into the FPSO and from the reservoir is very much a a question of 'reservoir management' (involving 'drawdown') as anything else, notwithstanding actual reserves. This is a matter of human intervention, production rates, and so on. Which may be market or 'popularity' driven.

I don't really know.

Just folowing insticts at the moment.

DC,

"Lets hope that that plug can be drilled out in due course."

No way. 'P&A' means what it says. Including ' returningseabed to previous state'. It'll mean a new well. Unexplained, inexplicable. With no reasons given to shareholders.

Ask OGA. Except they won't reply.

Careful,

"Good to see you back in the mix as well adoubleuk "

Thank you. I've twice been back to 'minimal' level, but have bought back in seriously because (other than potential personal financial benefit) would feel it dishonest to argue about the business. Unlike certain others here who love throwing their weight about when they're not even invested ! :-)

Heidhoncho,

"adoubleuk, not all sidetracks are drilled because of a failure in the drilling of the initial well, some of them (granted, a very limited number) are planned sidetracks. Have you ever considered that ? Ask yourself, what would be the purpose of the initial parent wellbore being drilled deep, with a planned sidetrack then being drilled into the considered optimum location."

Yes. Quite agree. And that was the plan for 7 /7z. The 'Seven Well Campaign'. But which then turned into the 'quick and dirty' Lincoln well, and then Halifax. The Lincoln 'discovery' was brilliantly planned. Halifax a bit less.

But I still contend that during the (planned) sidetrack of well 7 to make 7z, someone took their eye completely off the ball, possibly through over-optimism and not really caring where the drillbit went. It was sloppy. I still can't understand why that was allowed to happen.

littlened,

"Can anyone explain why the Lincoln well was abandoned? "

Personally, I certainly cannot, and have no information in that respect. And what little information given via RNS is very suspect indeed.

'Old Bod' (and previous CPRs) said that the Brynhyld Fault was a complete 'barrier' between Lancaster and Lincoln. 'New Bod' said the opposite. But even before the CPR, OGA had said that Lincoln had to be P&A'd, without giving a reason, but the equipment for a tieback already having been purchased. At considerable cost, no doubt now sitting in a warehouse somewhere.

Remember, OGA is a quango, not a Whitehall organisation. It requires (and their way of working) thorough investigation.

Careful,

"think CA should bring both Clare Slightam and Dr Trice back and lets get to the truth of what's been going on"

Agree in principal, but not necessarily in directorship roles. But as consultancy 'technical advisors', yes.

Slight rumours have it that Dr Trice is a very unhappy man after he was ousted by the BoD (who have now in the main been ousted, themselves), but he knows more about the entire thing than anyone else. 'Competent Persons Reports' notwithstanding. This is not to say he hasn't made a few mistakes. I feel he relied a lot too much on Schlumberger's data interpretations, became over-optimistic as a result, and completely took his eye off the ball when well 7 was sidetracked to become 7z, because Petrofac / Schlumberger / Transocean did not drill an horizontal well, but a sloppy lazy thing instead. And if that hadn't happened, maybe (OK, only maybe) all this watercut stuff might not have reared its ugly head.

But that's in the past.

But certainly Trice should be let back into the fold. He set up the 'experiment', now let him come back to analise the data already gathered. Some positive, some admittedly negative. Otherwise the experiment means nothing.

rarfafa,

"Will anything be done about the directors in question?"

In due time, I suspect the answer is yes. They'll be given the b*m's rush. But meanwhile have been retained to explain exactly the last 18 months' actions to the 'Interim Chairman', open the books at his request, and so on.

HullFC4ever,

"Crystal Amber to do the business"

I'm not so sure. OK, good news that CA's two nominees have been appointed, one as 'interim chairman'. But this doesn't mean the show is now being 'run' by CA. By obligation to the company, these two genlemen will have to use some discretion, and even if they may be privvy to confidential information, they'll have to keep it confidential, at least on an 'official' basis. Otherwise it could be seen as bad governance and breach of trust.

On the other hand, I don't think Bernstein will be stonewalled now in the manner that the previus rotten lot did, and about which he complained.

"I may make sure no stone is un-turned in removing him from office as he was implicit in the SCAM."

GO FOR IT HAGGIS !

No left turn unstoned. The judge gave his ruling, with the implication that there was something rotten going on for the last 18 months. While meanwhile, just from one well, the field continues to produce 10,500 bopd at a profit..........

"Just a little bit of a tree shake"

Or maybe Kerogen distancing themselves from the thing? Remember, with their sellout a while back, they effectively recouped their initial investment. And now certain skeletons in the closet are being revealed, they might not wish to be too associated with that.

Just a guess, could be totally wrong. But to my mind, if there's a sudden dip in SP, it means someone wants 'out' at any price.

suresh786,

"we should get operations update with current production and cash in bank"

Totally agree. But hopefully (it may happen) a COMPLETE 'operational status' report, including (hopefully) a 'lookahead'. For the last 18 months or so, shareholders have been kept in the dark regarding operations. P&A of Halifax ? No RNS. Reasoning behind proposed P&A of Lincoln? No reasoning given. Etc..

One hopes that with the two new directors in place and some of the shysters out of the door, maybe there will be a bit more transparency, so we all know where we stand. For more than a year it's been like playing pin the tail on the donkey, and even if one takes off the blindfold, one finds oneself in a totally darkened room.

The old 'new' BOD have behaved disgracefully. Glad to see 'em go.

Maestro,

"Maris was part of the plot and has to go"

Agreed. Chaffe as well. But only when the 'Interim Chairman' has gone through the books, and has grilled both of them thoroughly on what has been going on for the last 18 months or so. Then kick 'em out of the door.

I subscribe to the 'Timesonline', and it's a heartwarming article, especially with a photo of the flare when testing well 7. It will make lots of people sit up and take notice. The honorable judge was obviously quite aware that this was very much a 'test case', and his ruling has set a precident that directors of AIM-listed companies cannot go pulling the wool over shareholders' eyes and rob them blind, as the ex-members of the BoD (resigned) seem to have tried to do.

Interesting that they resigned, rather than have been voted out at the AGM. I suspect it's a way of distancing themselves from further investigation by the FCA. Maybe.

The threats regarding the NOMAD is a non-starter. The company has appointed a different NOMAD a number of times, and I expect that to happen again soon.

Personally, without wishing to p*** on anyone's parade, I don't see the SP suddenly rocketing up to 10p+ for no reason, because there's still a lot to do, both on the corporate and technical side. But things seem a lot rosier now that the conspirators have been shown the door.

" He (Chaffe) must go as soon as possible and be replaced with someone who has a pair."

Seconded. Bring back Stobie.

DirEmblem'

"This share might optimistically rerate slowly upwards towards somewhere between where it is and 8-10p, but no more until we have an update from the new bod on the new direction of the company."

That's a bold statement, but one with which I tend (for what it's worth) to agree with. Easy to tumble down the hill, especially if it was a wickedly pre-planned move, hoping for a soft landing which didn't happen, a bit more difficult to climb back up it, though.

Fortunately, there is now a rather 'slimmed-down' BoD in place, with two new directors who are no doubt completely up to speed on things, so will be able to make the right decisions quickly. Essentially to get the train back going (it never came off the tracks, but that was a close thing) and advance things, to the benefit of everyone.

Goldenbadger1,

"I will sleep better tonight ."

Me too. And maybe most of tomorrow. Justice has been seen to have been done. Now it's just a question of cleaning up the mess the crooks left behind themselves, and that will take time.