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Yes it is now pretty clear that the last 12 days was only P&A work since the nrw destination is port of Olen. Just said it on the other board its the first time in almost 2 years that I have to say I am extremely dissapointed in the BOD and the information flow...why do we have to find this out from Marine Traffic after a more than unsatisfactory RNS of preliminary results during the drill, 12 days of silence with the rig still on sight? This is just not good enough!
One Tugs and Special Craft right next to WP but haven't got access to see which one it is...transmission of that one is 6hrs ago though. Would they have to relocate the WP a bit if they were doing a sidetrack or would she remain in the original position? Anyone with good knowledge? I guess we will find out what they are up to in the next few days...if WP is underway using own engine its P&A and if she stays anchored they are upcto something else...
Who knows why right?! BoD either thinks it is not even necessary to tell us that it is P&A or they still anaylize the results and just haven't made a decision yet...I hope for the 2nd option but don't wanna bring any hopes up and expect rather P&A so everything else would be a positive surprise.
Wolfson-I agree with you on lots of the issues raised here and as you might have noticed my last paragraph finished with a ;) so you can assume there was some form of irony in that part. For sure a major meeting did happen with Schroders and for sure they vented their dissapointment too however i firmly believe their sale resulting in less than 5% of shares was their rational decision on the paper loss and JOG bod was not telling them anything else than what they could have told the market with the RNS as this would have been insider information. I actually believe they couldn't tell them anything else because they simply didn't know at that stage. Remember 2017 after the drill hit water? The RNS stated that it was 'unlikely' that a sidetrack would be drilled and look what happened a week later...at that point the bod just didn't know what was going on and the analysis of the drill had to be done first before the operator made the decision to do a sidetrack. I know that this time might be different but I think you get my point in saying that sometimes just don't know yet what the next step will be as the analysis has to be done fist bit by regulation rules they arw obliged to inform the market about a dry well or similar. Anyway we are in the same boat mate and I hold and think positive. This was a setback, massively, but the future is still open for us so good luck to all the holders.
I think that the sidetrack was plan b since they have the consent from oga for it and all is in place ready to go. However they certainly didn't expect not even being able to hit the right sands at this drill spot. As i am not a geoscientists nor oil rig/driller expert i cannot say if this situation automatically disqualifies as a sidetrack or not. Some people on the various forums believe to know but don't state what their opinion is based on. Reading and listening to sidetrack experts (world leaders in the technology) it looks like they can drill astonishing distances and directions with the right technology and since we are not too far away from the discovery well one would assume there is still a chance but it will depend on so many factors that the process of making the decision is time consuming, but we know for sure that the companies involved will make the best decision possible as they are under immense pressure. We will find out the one or the other way. Wouldn't it be fantastic though if they drill it and find oil a day after Schroders sold over a million shares ;)
As much as I would love to hope that there is still further activity around the appraisal well (ie sidetrack) I think the chances are bigger that they plug and abandon it and it just takes some time to do so hence the rig is still there. Does anyone have real knowledge or experience how long that process would take? I guess we have to wait and see when the next news comes through and hope for the best. But what's really important is why was it dry when they considered it a conservative appraisal well with all the knowledge and experience plus data sets they had. This could be very valuable for the next possible appraisal well in 2020 and or the Cortina exploration. The 3D seismic is also of course something to look forward to. Good luck all!
Great info and articles at the moment from posters after the killing of the first 3 days since the bad news has stopped! I think we should get an answer to this question, or more generally what went wrong, as soon as they went through all the available data and analysis.I believe that all 3 parties (Equinor/JOG/CIECO) put the pressure on their geoscientists and drilling experts to find out as they hand picked that 'not so sweet spot' even with all the data that was bought and surveyed, so they must be eagerly having the same questions as any investor here and beyond. Lets hope for better news soon, I keep my fingers crossed for all.
Like most holders here and certainly the Company itself I am also shocked, and I have to agree that surprised and disappointed isn't strong enough. We all knew that this was the worst case scenario that no one wished for nor expected but obviously that is the risk in Oil and Gas Companies. Like in 2017 after the first negative news in September JOG immediately informed the market as per RNS rules while Equinor as Operator will certainly finish the analysis first and check for any possible option to salvage this before making a final decision. I am not saying there will be further drilling deeper or via a sidetrack or whatsoever but what we can bet on is that they will do whatever they can as they also spent an awful lot of money on this appraisal well and 3D seismic survey's and datasets. In Sep17 JOG said in their first RNS that it was unlikely that a sidetrack will be drilled and as we all know a week later this was reversed by the Operator Statoil and it was drilled successfully. But this time around they stated that the all important upper jurassic sands where not even found which is different from last time where they were just water bearing so a sidetrack might or might not help in this scenario I guess we have to wait up to a week to find out. Like every other holder I hope that further possible appraisal drills, Cortina exploration plus the full result of the 3D seismic survey will bring better news for us and with enough money in the bank to see this through most Analysts agree and state that the reaction is overdone. Fingers crossed to all holders for better news soon I will hold.
When it comes to the results of Verbier and updates on the whole appraisal well program (incld. the option for the sidetrack) through the RNS system I also think that we won't get much until after 2nd of May. The maximum information flow I would expect is that they finished the first well and move onto the sidetrack or similar - without an indication what they actually found referring to mid Q2 for full results. The reason is not that they don't want to tell us earlier but it would be strategically silly to do so with the deadline of the 31st licencing round looming. Deadline for the applications is the 2nd of May - any information about Verbier leaking before then would be a huge advantage for the competition and valuable data that Equinor, JOG and Cieco rather keep for themselves as they surely will go for the blocks surrounding our current license. The group invested so much money into the exploration, 3D seismic and appraisal that the knowledge about the area is worth gold when it comes to the bidding process. So not getting any news til then wouldn't be a drama. That's just my opinion, any thoughts from the lth community on this? Good luck all...
The most exciting bit of the interview I found was how often and enthusiastic AB mentioned the possible prospects beyond Verbier/Cortina/Meribel on our licensed block and beyond that which is based on the previous seismic imaging they already had and in addition the newest 3D seismic data set. Their investment in additional highly qualified staff underlines the optimism about the business and the license we hold. Exciting times for the next few years!
Had to put the filter on after this endless flow of rubbish about CF...here and on other bb...which was just pointless especially at this point in time anyway. So lets just please ignore it and focus on real facts :) I posted this recently already but for those who haven't seen it. Equinor booked the WP until March 2020 throughout. This is on the newest fleet report of Seadrill (owner of the West Phoenix). So they got all the time they need to make Verbier a success. It states in the report that end of April its booked for the Norwegian CS and the UKCS til November and then exclusively for the UKCS til March next year...so a lot going on. Exciting times and fingers crossed for a successful appraisal drill program as that is all that counts...the share price will follow sooner or later!
Equinor booked the West Phoenix for Verbier til end of April then for drills in Norway and the UKCS til November and then again til Mar 20 for the UKCS...you can find the fleet report updated 26th of Feb on Seadrills website...quite interesting and promising in regards to Cortina as well as other possible drills on the license...fingers crossed!
The West Phoenix is already booked by Equinor beyond April 19 for another exploration drill on the NCS...you can see the up to date spreadsheet on Seadrills website...there is nothing mentioned beyond that until 2020...this would give Equinor the opportunity to prepare the Cortina drill from now til Spring (as they got the 3D seismic for Cortina already since 13th of Dec through the fast track data set delivered) ...they could probably drill Cortina late Summer / early autumn if things go well which would align with the article Dick listed earlier where the drill is also mentioned. 2019 is gonna be an exciting rollercoaster for sure - so tighten your seatbelts investores...the pudding is in the ground at about 3500-4000m depth;)
Dick - I would hope that we get the results of the appraisal well program fairly soon after the partners evaluated them. As they are market relevant they have to release them rather sooner than later. 3D seismic 2nd quarter of 19 for the full license block and then they would probably release further findings soon thereafter, again market relevant. The fast track data is probably already in their hands but they don't release that in a rns i would think, just more information for them to plan the further drills better. Great posts Shredder and alexios...i wasn't aware its weather or permit related but would explain the delay for sure. Patience required but I am hopeful that Verbier will kick off a good year for shareholders that stuck to the company.