The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
Have wanted this for such a long time, the best thing that could have happened from a company point of view. Such ineptitude could not go on any longer. I have no doubt that DM was pushed and he probably kicked and screamed for a while but it is right that he can no longer do any damage to He1. Lorna has a lot to do and will undoubtedly need some help in this new role but I give her my full support. Lets just get a rig now..........
Had really hoped that there would be an RNS to tell us that Minchin the Muppet had gone and that a new team who knew what they were doing were now in charge. Disappointed again. So much money wasted, too many hangers on drawing big salaries and nothing to show for it. The helium is there so, for goodness sake, find some professionals who can get it out - and find a rig. Sorry guys, but I do not believe that they have one in the bag so we are in for a wait - again.
There can be no excuse this time, Minchin must go. I have stated this before but been pilloried over it. My only aim as an investor is to see success as I believe in this project but I do not believe in the incompetent management.
The excuses given out in this mornings announcement come from a deluded ego - it is inconceivable that they did not factor in the very real possibility of the drilling contract being extended as this is normal practice and there should have been back ups already in place. Last years drill was a toy and made a laughing stock of Minchin but he has now blown his second chance while sitting on a nice fat salary (along with others). Time for a change - we need a CEO with credibility and real experience in oil and gas. He should go back to hard rock and give us investors a chance with someone else.
Where is the rig - as Loadmaster asked, is this rig mythical? The risk of drilling during the rainy season is operationally untenable and, if the board are stupid enough to attempt it, it has the potential to destroy He1.
I am a long term investor with a hefty number of shares and I am not selling. I believe that helium is there to be discovered in commercial quantities but, unfortunately, it takes industry professionals with tons of experience to bring this baby home and deliver success. These muppets, led by Dodgy Dave, do not inspire any confidence and have, as yet, not delivered and are highly unlikely to, on current plans.
I would dearly like to be wrong on this - but let us see. Time and the bank balance must surely be running out.
Firstly, I am a believer in this project but not in its management. Moreover, I do have extensive knowledge of helium going back years whereas DM has NO prior experience before joining He1. Check his CV and you will see that this is true. My concern was strengthened when I read the September newsletter in which DM stated that:
‘During the wet season the team plan to operate Electro Resistance Tomography and Magneto-Telluric surveys to identify gas trapped in the near surface, and potentially determine shallow targets for testing in early 2022.’
Sorry guys but these methods will not give direct indication of gas - no O&G exploration company uses them because they don’t work for gas. They may in hard rock, DM’s area of experience but, I repeat, not for gas. Also, any O&G expert will know that the statement about shallow drilling targets sets investor/market expectations at a level that may not be credible at all. Worrying
To answer, my network knowledge and experience in O&G exploration development and production spans multiple geographies and multiple generations. I became an investor at launch and remain a substantial investor. I have not sold, nor will I. I believe in the potential of the project and this is reinforced by several Independent professionals including Professor Ballantine of the department of land sciences of Oxford University. However, I have no faith in the current CEO and board to deliver what is believed to be perhaps the only world class helium project currently known in exploration circles. It simply cannot be achieved by drilling shallow wells with a water rig into undefined prospects that current seismic cannot identify. A simple question - should luck happen and a shallow discovery is made, how do you control the gas with a water rig? The bottom line is that it has never been done and, if it could, what commercial value would it hold? I retain the belief that MM’s objective is to use media and spin to bolster the share price to achieve his personal objectives and cash in his performance bonus.
I say all of this with the best of intentions as a fellow shareholder. Like you, I want this to succeed but, with the current board containing several hangers on, it is not going to happen. Hard rock drilling experience does not transfer to O&G, as we have seen all too clearly from the last drilling campaign. Changes at the top are what we need now.
There is another definition for MM - Minchin the Muppet. I’m really sorry guys but any confidence in MM’s leadership, following the disastrous drilling campaign and the insane and singleminded pursuit of shallow drilling, is sorely misplaced. The concept of shallow drilling for helium (or for that matter, any other gas) is a nonsense and has not attempted before for very good reasons - it is simply not feasible in a commercial sense, as any O&G explorationist worth their salt, would confirm. Could this be a ploy by MM to drive up the share price for his personal gain with the options that he holds, based on his performance targets? Perhaps it is time for the hard rock geologist MM to move over and give the running of the company over to an O&G professional. Sorry guys, but that is the only option that would give me confidence in He1 moving forwards.