Member Info for crudehope

Ivornomoney, Tiptop, have you heard about the latest Sound Oil deal? We are buying into the Tendrara Licence in Morocco. Cost of entry was £6 million.........which was almost the same amount offered for AEY, coincidentally! It is a world class on- shore asset that has had 5 out of 7 successful wells drilled. This project will start later this year closely followed by one of our other world class assets, Badile. The Tendrara project has the capability of triple digit sp in the success case, as outlined by our CEO today. Morocco is quick to permit and has the highest gas prices in the world. My point is: you guys should have been with us. If I were an AEY shareholder I would want to know what plan B was, as the Board obviously rejected joining an aspiring to be mid-cap on-shore gas producer/explorer with real ambition. Oil & gas analyst 'Malcy' (Malcolm Graham Wood) has Sound at the top of his bucket list. Anyway, good luck. Crude

It's almost too tragic for words. Sound Oil are growing, eventually to mid-cap status. We have dynamic management & some great assets - hense our ongoing rise in price. But we needed more cash than we have to grow our business. AEY, with their capital reserves, & Sound Oil, with their management & portfolio, would have been a marriage made in heaven. Now Sound have raised money through other means & are progressing.......but it could have been easier & more beneficial for both sets of investors............... Crude

Dr Remmington, no offence meant - but who knows if Sound won't put in another offer. This deal isn't dead yet necessarily. Your cash & our assets still makes sense..............but maybe your Board have other, more dynamic ideas? As an AEY shareholder you've got to hope so eh........................... Crude

Not much happening here............since that Sou/AEY deal fell through Sound have doubled in value! Crude - still, daresay the Canadian Chiefs have something exciting lined up for AEY shareholders............................

Stew, just making a general point from luckyman's seemingly laconic post. I think most of us suspect that Antrim may have made one of the worst decisions for their shareholders - ever. Time will tell of course - but it's not looking crash hot at the moment. Off-shore crude (with hardly any assets) doesn't compare to on-shore gas (with plenty of assets) commanding high prices.................still they have got all that cash burning a hole in their pockets! Crude

Well said luckyman - but you cannot say we didn't warn you guys. Sound Oil are a dynamic company with an exciting portfolio & investors & analysts are talking about us - we're even nominated for an industry award! Just think what could be achieved with your cash & our assets......... Crude

Corpse.....Antrim have £10 million in the back; nothing like the cashburn that Trap have and they are still only valued at£3.5 million. This isn't an investment share - it's a junk bond! I'm afraid the new low price oil dynamic will be the death of quite a few small companies. There's plenty of evidence already on AIM of the 'walking dead'. Zombies that are neither alive but not quite dead................. Crude

Corpse........how can you say it's over done! Think you've overdosed on optimism pills! Crude.......what with Max Petroleum on Monday and now TRAP, this year is going to be very testing for small cap O&Gs...........that's putting it optimistically!

TIPTOP, your BOD can go & buy some new assets...........then issue a shed load of equity to fund their development. Meanwhile plenty of long term AEY holders have drowned in a sea of shares......................... There is a reason the market values AEY at less than £4 million - it's because they have no real assets to produce. The cash they have won't go far buying even distressed assets - & then they will need funding. Crude

One thing I should have mentioned which is crucial is this: looking back overy two years I saw your share price was over 35p. It then fell to 10p. I am assuming there are plenty of investors who bought in at these prices & are not in at 3.5 pence or lower. For them to double their money with AEY as a stand-alone company company seems a finite possibility. You may be in at a price that you could hope yo make money on: my guess is that there are plenty others who are not. They may hope for an offer that stacks up the premium to current value.............but that premium with us is our cash & drillable assets. I just hope your investors are not left high & dry & profitless. Crude........as ever, all the best.

TIPTOP, I guess you can always hope for a pump & dump & sell at the top. I just can't see even that happening without any news. I can see Sound Oil becoming a £100 million cap company in the next 18 months. What is crucial for you guys is the BOD don't just sit around. They have to spend that money wisely. Either way both sets of investors will have to wait some time before most see much in the way of a profit. Crude

DrRemmington, far from it imo. If my experience of reading books such as 'The Taking of Getty Oil' & that infamous Nabisco takeover are anything to go by. Of course they are much bigger deals but nearly all leveraged buyouts, mergers or takeovers have one thing in common: they all start with an initial offer - then the dance begins. You may not hear from us for a few months. But in that time you may still be valued at under £4 million whilst Sound Oil, with plenty of newsflow expected, could be valued much higher. Any further offer by us would reflect the current Crude price & would almost certainly be lower than the original offer. But the corresponding premium may yet be higher. What your BOD have to do now is get busy either buying assets or touting for another suitor. Salamander are an intending case in point. They had an offer of £1.20 fall through whilst they were £1.10. They are currently low sixties & another much lower offer is sure to happen in the not too distant future. Keep an eye on them for comparison. My motives and reasons are pure and genuine. I've seen too many investors lose money and too many badly run companies on AIM (Assets in Meltdown) & I am convinced a marriage of our two companies would be in everyone's interest. I am sure there are shareholders in both companies who are underwater & dreading the next round of fund raising (dilution). This solution avoids such a horrendous fate. Crude.......wishing us all luck whatever happens.

OK let me put it another way: there has been a complete paradigm shift in the oil & gas market. You no longer have assets that anyone wants to - or can afford to drill right now. You have cash but nothing to spend it on. The question you guys have to ask is this: can our £10 million buy into a portfolio of discovered, producing & potentially high impact exploration assets at least as good as Sound Oil have? How much equity would your company own of any such assets & how risky would they be? If you solely buy into producing assets how much potential could they have to move the share price northwards? £10 million in the bank is all very well, but you would have to spend all of that to acquire assets - and then raise money through more issued shares to produce them. An enlarged company through a takeover would negate the need to dilute Antrim shareholders & their investors could look forward to plenty of low risk drilling and completion of discovered assets; current production that will be rising & two huge on-shore exploration assets that have the capability to greatly raise the shareprice. All investors win out & make money. Crude

Tiptop.........you'd better hope it doesn't end there. This is like a two act play imo. The curtain has come down on the first act..............it could well rise for the second later. Just make sure you've done all you can to make yourselves comfortable in the interval. If you haven't got enough candy & pop don't worry......we'll provide it! Joe........that made me laugh ('we'll just have to live with the embarrassment')............your tongue has never been so far into your cheek! Crude......when you guys wake up and smell the coffee & start to wonder about your cash that could be freeze dried for the foreseeable you might want to look back nostalgically on our offer........................

Dr - you're assets never interested us. We would probably have had to farm down Skellig to 10% - if we were lucky - & even then we may have still had to contribute to drilling costs. Negotiating a free-carry on that asset now the price of Crude has halved will be impossible - let alone be able to drill it any time before you draw your pension. You guys seem to think you can just go out and buy producing assets with your £10 million - good luck with that one. That money is now your only lifeline - spend it wisely. Admittedly the £10 million was the real prize. The sad thing is we have the assets & £13 million on account & together,as shareholders in one enlarged company, we could have all made money. Imo your only hope is to be taken over before that cash dwindles away................... Crude............all the best.

DrRemington........if you lose your money on Antrim all is not lost...........at the least you've got a promising stand up routine! Crude

Fare thee well Antrim. I hope investors here can still hope to keep their head above the lapping waves as the oil price sinks lower........................ 'Who bids the mighty ocean deepI, t's own appointed limits keep, O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in Peril on the sea'. Crude............good luck all.

Be this the Mary Celeste? Has everyone jumped ship? Crude

Tiptop & all......can you honestly say you are happy with you're AEY investment? Are you convinced the board are doing all they can to maximize your hard earned cash? Do you honestly think that the answer to increasing - or even just retaining your cash, is the Skellig Field? Look around at the wildcats that failed to roar. I could name half a dozen off-shore explorers that tanked after eventually getting that one shot at the big time. The O&G is awash with 'strike it lucky'with a COS of 18%................you can get better odds on a roulette wheel! Crude.......don't gamble away your hard earned on a 'one shot'............join a company with a portfolio of discovered assets & exciting, low cost, high profit exploration.........................be a Sound Oil investor.

Tiptop, I've heard Kosmos want to farm down what they have - so buying into Antrim equity is probably never going to happen. As Ducati rightly said earlier, you cannot afford to sideline projects - not that they are now in your control: they are not. Antrim are not the 'Operator' & will be at the mercy or whim of Kosmos - or whoever Kosmos flog their interest to. Our current rejected offer is at a decent premium to AEYs new value (considering the crude price). I'm prety sure we will present a further offer.........but it won't be much more generous. You guys shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Honestly, we represent AEY investors best hope of realising a proifit in the short/medium term. But if you leave it to your board...........what is going to be drilled? How will your share price improve? Crude