The latest Investing Matters Podcast with Jean Roche, Co-Manager of Schroder UK Mid Cap Investment Trust has just been released. Listen here.
It looks like there is a large overhang in shares. The shareholders have lost confidence in the BOD. Their salaries are an insult with this share price.I
We need a change because every time the share price goes up someone is going to sell. They dont have a plan but are relying on an extension for Ireland. However that doesnt guarantee a farmin partner. We need to be bigger, we need a merger. Keep Ireland as a hopeful but dont rely on it.
Here is a link to the template the ShareSoc has on their website. Please fill in and send to your MP before we lose all our rights on under review by the Digitisation Taskforce
https://www.sharesoc.org/campaigns/shareholder-rights-campaign/
Look under latest Update paragraph
Read below. This was taken from their website under
https://www.europaoil.com/investors/corporate-governance/
Clearly they have not followed their own CG rules which have been misleading to the shareholders. They did not put up all the directors for re-election this year as they were afraid of the results. They are lying to the shareholders and should be struck off.
"Chairman’s statement on Corporate Governance
William Holland is Chief Executive Officer, Brian O’Cathain is independent non-executive Chairman, Stephen Williams and Simon Oddie are non-executive Directors. Alastair Stuart is COO and joined the board on the 3rd April 2023. Stephen Williams is an independent NED, and chairs the Audit Committee and ESG Committee, Simon Oddie chairs the Nominations Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Strategy Committee.
Two of the Board’s Non-Executive Directors: Stephen Williams and Brian O’Cathain hold share options. Whilst recognising that the granting of options to Non-Executive Directors is contrary to the principles of the QCA Corporate Governance Code, the Board views this to be part of a balanced remuneration package to attract and retain high quality candidates, and considers the numbers of options to have no effect upon the independence of these Directors.
All Directors are considered for re-election at each AGM.
If they were actually man enough, they would allow people to vote for or against them but not they deny the shareholders the right to hold them to account by using a legal technicality. The Independent Chairman should have said that the shareholders have the right to call an EGM
POOR, POOR, POOR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Serif, that may be the case that members are only the shareholders who hold paper or crest accounts but this isnt about the legal technicality, this is about what is moral, right, and fair. That the BOD have resorted to use this shows what contempt the y have for shareholders.
You know this isnt just two people trying to overthrow the BOD. This is a very large number of shareholders that have voted off two directors and want to see change.
The current 3 directors have made a decision that they dont want to face the EGM because presumably they are worried they will lose and hide behind the nominee account issue. Not very democratic when 3 people who hold less than 1% of shares have more rights than people who hold more than 18% of shares.
That makes me very mad. That is very, very poor corporate governance. The Company is owned by the shareholders but because they sit in nominee accounts they are effectively saying your shares have been bought with your money are worthless when trying to hold the Company to account.
VERY POOR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Here is your answer Treasures
Paul Barrett and Erika Syba have collectively significant experience in mainstream oil and gas exploration and production followed by a successful career in developing small cap resource companies.
The pair founded Europa Oil & Gas and brought the company to AIM in 2004. They brought the Wressle Field into the portfolio, secured the first Irish licenses and increased production from the portfolio to over 600 boepd (prior to Wressle) before electing to leave in 2010-11 to develop a number of ventures.
Subsequently, Paul Barrett assembled the largest portfolio of exploration assets of any private company in the Arctic, resulting in an independent assessment of over 8 billion barrels of resource. The company was vended into a new London start-up before the moratorium on Canadian Arctic exploration.
Erika Syba was responsible for developing an offshore exploration portfolio in South Africa, which led to joint venture partnerships with Equinor, Total, Shell and Qatar Energy. The Shell-QE JV, situated in the deepwater Orange Basin, is immediately along trend with the recent world class multi-billion barrel Venus and Graff discoveries.
Paul Barrett has additional minerals experience, having initiated a Rare Earth-enriched phosphate project in 2020 that was subsequently funded through a drill programme by a Canadian listed miner. He is on a very modest salary as the sole executive Director of Pathfinder Minerals, an AIM listed cash shell seeking an acquisition in the African critical minerals space in the coming months.
They have listed on the letter to the shareholders rebellion group that they have offshore licenses which they have farmed out to Shell, Qatar and Equinor. These sit in deepwater next to 7bbo discovered in Namibia. According to WoodMac, there is more than 4bbo recoverable. They also sold a mineral project to a Canadian Company. That is more than our current BOD and if we had those deepwater licenses we wouldn't be 1p.
I looked back through the news on EOG's website and yes they tied to remove Bill Adamson and Rod Corrie as non-executives and after they had a placing but WA increased his share holding to 13% so effectively stopping the resolution. As stated before, they share price had fallen by 50% to 6p and now it is down to 1p. It has just been downhill from then.
Give them a chance to turn the outgoing tide.
"They have previously unsuccessfully attempted to requisition a general meeting, with similar resolutions, as announced on 8 January 2014". NO wonder they asked for an EGM in 2014, the share price was 6p, down 50% from when they resigned.
They should have listened to them.
Thanks Fairtrader, I am already part of the crowd. I do not feel the current BOD will give us anything in the near future or perhaps ever to shift the share price. We have seen years of the same: we are looking at deals, our consultants are busy looking at deals, we are reprocessing data, we have opened a farm out for Ireland, ... Then the only deal they bring us in 10 years was technically rubbish. So we spend years with an ever decreasing share price and the BOD taking their yearly inflated salaries and telling us they deserve it because they are in the lower quartile of pay. Things need to change and 2 new BOD wont make a ha'penny difference.
Yes I am a shareholder and have lost a significant amount of money. I am trying to point out that the Company can't rely on Ireland to drive the share price up. It is just too difficult to get a farminee. A change of direction in the very near term is needed because otherwise we will see a continuation of 1p and the BOD making all the money.
Yes I am a shareholder and have lost a significant amount of money. I am trying to point out that the Company can't rely on Ireland to drive the share price up. It is just too difficult to get a farminee. A change of direction in the very near term is needed because otherwise we will see a continuation of 1p and the BOD making all the money.
I have no motivation other be realistic with regards to Ireland. Okay maybe Canadian Pension Fund only has 43% but I would be very surprised if they did not have a say what happens at Corrib.
I am just being realistic and pointing out that both WH and BOC made it clear that Ireland is difficult.