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I agree with much of this, JTD.

A hands-on energetic, COO, based in region and who is an exec director is needed.

And replacing the CFO with someone who adds more operational and investor know-how (and, smaller issue, doesn’t cock-up the accounts every year).

Come on, Mr Clarke, this stuff is your job.

Thanks for posting this, stockable. I hope that JW can talk, diplomatically, on these issues at the AGM.

Blimey: you’re lower than me, even! I hope (and expect) we’ll move north once a bit more success at the drill bit comes through, workover.

...immediately before the powerpoint for the AGM is released.
I'm going for 11.90p bid.
(...we may was well have a bit of sang froid fun...)

Thanks so much, JP. The breakdown between the gross number to Amerisur and the net which it can actually sell for revenue is exactly what we need on each block.

And given the extent of tax attributable to non-deductible expenditure set out in this year's accounts (which isn't properly explained), then the hit to EPS is very significant indeed. Thus the PE of over 80. And cost of sales and admin expenses aren't broken out, so there's no transparency there to give the opportunity for proper analysis.

So where is NH's analysis and the investor relations (AS, NP) delivery on all of this? [Rhetorical question]

It's appropriate to ask some difficult questions at the AGM.

It's a shame we have to scrabble around like this to try to piece the story together.

Is the OBA capacity still 9,000 bopd? Will Shell Western take everything? Do they have a ceiling?

I am still at a loss on the CPO-5 and Plat X Factors.

Today's little classic discovery was a mix up in the 2017 Financials where Operational and Administrative Employees were shown the wrong way round. This was quietly corrected this year. I wonder how much other stuff in the accounts is wrong....

It feels a bit like Kit Williams' Masquerade at times!

Thanks for the translation, Hull: read by me (and many others, I'm sure) with interest.
I agree that there's lots to be positive about (despite needing Wardle's skills to be bolstered in the boardroom by a tough COO and the CFO needing to be changed).

A question for everyone: X Factors...

The year-end financials seem (conveniently) not to mention the X on CPO-5 and Plat (unless I've missed it). I seem to recall that it is quite high on CPO-5, effectively taking our 30% down to closer to net 20%. The article which Hull translated talks about 4,300bopd currently from the Putumayo (read Platanillo). So what is that net of X?

Do we need to amend our P&L expectations for 2019 due to large X factors on CPO-5 and Platanillo? Or am I chasing a red herring? Some clever clogs will know, I'm sure.

Thanks, LC. If GTE do what they plan and we're still fannying around waiting for ONGC and not getting stuck in at Put-8 then maybe big fish swallows little fish, but my guess would be not for another 12 months...

Also, I read with interest on the Oxy's bid for Anadarko this morning. I wonder if their foreign subs also have the mandate to propose (much!) smaller deals to head office? Perhaps after a bit of Putumayo positivity, they might.... :-)

Good points, Colonel. Could start gently after an AGM approval and see if there is any material impact....

We need an aggressive roll-up-the-sleeves operational/COO type exec director. I mentioned this some posts back and I know lots of you agree from the various thoughtful posts over weeks and months (for which, thank you).

We also need accountability on the cost base. In the 2018 financials, cost of sales is over $77m and admin expenses over $18m: not a scrap of supporting notes to the accounts for either. Disgraceful. Time to retire, Nick Harrison.

...and, separately, for the record, I think a share buyback programme for AMER is to be welcomed...

There have been a few posts suggesting a GTE buyout. I'm heading to reality checkpoint on this.
GTE has gross gearing (D/E) of 39%. Net debt of USD315.7m at the end of 2018 and this has increased each year since 2013.
It has not returned a positive free cashflow since 2013.
The fit is indeed a sensible one, but the only way I can see GTE doing it is to issue equity or go to their banks and increase their capital lines (someone may tell me that they have plenty of headroom - I simply don't know on this).

So, it's an interesting theory, but I don't think the financials hold water for the moment: they don't appear to have the liquidity.

Perhaps if they have a bumper 2019 and AMER doesn't (again), then the opportunity arises....

Happy to be told there is another way to do this; comments most welcome.

I agree with you, Fevertreeman.

Telegraphist: good question. On the basis of share price over John Wardle's tenure, it's a shocker. But I'm in this because the underlying prospects are just so skewed to the upside and having ONGC (albeit slow) and Oxy on two key plays is a big plus as is the strong balance sheet and the fact that there is oil plugging away to fund the upstream work. JW clearly has some great skills and, like all of us, faults. Over promise and underdeliver operationally is a key theme as this BB has made totally clear. I agree that the exec board isn't getting properly challenged.

My bigger problem is with the rest of the board outside of JW. What do they do? I am aware that most are NEDs but they are hardly cheap.

News of buyback and capital restructuring intentions are welcome though. Fevertree's point on NH are valid, I think. 2018 accounts leave virtually no opportunity to properly analyse costs as the vast majority are lumped into cost of sales - not satisfactory. Sloppy accounting in 2017 is laid bare in note 4 which suggests a wider lack of proper control and accountability. 2018 earnings now give a PE of 85: hardly makes an institutional sit up and want to take a closer look at all the really good stuff going on this company.

All that said, AMER is my biggest position. Maybe the idea of farming out everything (mentioned in an earlier post) is what we should push for.

JTD; you raise some very valid concerns.
A lot of the criticism on the BB is directed to JW and with some justification. Plans have been over optimistic and reasons for delay and lessons learned not reported. But he’s pulled off some great deals in the last 12 months and one guy can’t be good at everything he fully admits to being a tech). I have asked before on this BB what the other directors actually do. Where is Alex Snow on the investor relations? What, specifically, are they doing on the social issues to alleviate delays (at the government end as well as the community end). The accounts are not easily analysed on costs which blunts accountability and others have said that they are surprised how large 2018 cost of sales was. Note 4 to the accounts is a litany of cock-ups. Obviously not all directors are exec, but I think it’s time we saw what value they are adding to support JW operationally, financially and from a PR perspective. I can’t imagine and army of us heading down to a trading estate outside Cardiff next month the cry mutiny, but I may reluctantly have to head down there...

12 wells sounds fanciful given track record. Giles Clarke's remarks in the y/e financials imply that there are social issues locally which are on-going and disruptive to progress.
Oxy's Q4 presentation also says "plan to start exploration activities in 2019" in respect of the now famous farm-in: "plan to start" isn't "start".
I reckon they'll start four by Christmas. At least the daily flow through the OBA going to 3,900 is a result.

"Give us a twirl, Anthea."

Does anyone know what the other board members (Dr Wardle aside) do, by the way?

Does anyone have info on when we might expect the year end financials to be published? Thanks.

Looks like rather a lot of accounting errors which needed to be corrected. Note 4 to the financials is a dog's breakfast. Sort yourselves out, finance team.

Many thanks, JP: that’s encouraging. This source is very useful in the absence of more regular updates from the BoD: given so many of them seem to have investor relations and City experience, one wonders rather what they actually do.

All: it’s the “Prod mensual fiscalizada” file for 5 April. Runs to 4 March.

Happy new year: I hope your hangovers aren’t too bad.

Many thanks, leas: good context and I suspect it can only be this. We’ll have to hope that there aren’t too many more sellers just under the threshold, I guess.

Could someone enlighten me, please? If the price pressure is due to institutions selling, why don’t we see any RNS messages informing of shareholder moves where they currently hold above the 3% threshold? I genuinely don’t understand this.