Member Info for Juxtapose

There is no ROFR.
It is the shares in the whole company being sold and not the asset.
PUT 8 was a completely different situation (and was the only asset in the Vetra portfolio to be subject to ROFR: ie it is the exception rather than the rule and furthermore, it was not part of the RNS when we acquired our 30% of CPO-5).

If you had been around for any length of time, Backwoodsman, you would know that Ophidian was swing trading this back in the 40s/50s and posting on that basis: smart and quite helpful and probably the way to a free carry/very low average.

For you to impute otherwise is fundamentally dishonest and so I am going to report that last post of yours.

Bert can continue in both roles, but whether he should long term is questionable.

For the moment, HUM is in consolidation mode and the presentation role is quite light: the CEO role at CORA will be much more challenging.

Ongoing, there could be a conflict of interest and then it would be most unsatisfactory: Colin Bird and the JPL/BMR saga shows just how bad that can be for the "junior" company.

My understanding is that if an offer is for the company, then it has to be Xp per share for all shares in the company ie the currency conversion is fixed at point of offer and that is how the offer is put forward to shareholders. The exception to that is a part shares offer, as in the original M & P offer: in that, the share component is not fixed and its value often moves dramatically (usually as some forward sell) and it may be in a different currency/stock exchange.

As you rightly say PP, a part offer for one of the subsidiaries is completely different and shareholders only get to know the size of any dividend when it is declared.

GLA & fingers xed for a straight cash deal for the company

One of the skills of the best CEOs is the ability to delegate: Bert is by far the better presenter and so it makes sense for him to do the updates. Again, outsourcing all the engineering to Senet, including the second ball mill, is a major part of the HUM success story.

Getting finance at all in the 2016/2017 market was a credible achievement: take a look at KEFI, with nothing to show after 6 years (apart from HAA's own fat salary): now that really is having a laugh. Swapping Taurus for Corris was a good move and ultimately saves HUM: it should be seen as management continually striving to do better, rather than rest on its laurels.

In crisis, management needs to "keep calm and carry on" and they did just that: the weather last year, before the company had built up a bit of a war chest, was both unforeseeable and unlucky, but they made a really brave decision to progress the second ball mill, which will see returns for shareholders beyond just paying the wages. This time they have got lucky: increased production from that second ball mill at a time of high gold prices.

Specifically, the strategy was to find near term projects (like Yanfolila) and Bunker Hill fitted the profile. Moving forward, it will be the next project that really proves up the management team's ability. It will be interesting to see what happens to Dugbe, but my guess is that they will be looking out for another Yanfolila, with higher margin. As already discussed here, Cora offers that opportunity closer at home and that should be the next building block: the first step was taken in maintaining the % in the last financing round.

Mistakes were made on the way, but fundamentally the "moderately intelligent guy" sourced a project, financed it and brought it into production in difficult times and is growing a successful company: a rare achievement on the AIM.

Buy back of shares may not be the best use of money.

Firstly, a safety margin is always advisable: an AIM company that needs to raise cash is always vulnerable (as we saw back in June, with the short attack on HUM).

Secondly, once they have that cash cushion, they need to use funds to prove up the remaining substantial resources into reserves (and possibly progress Dugbe to a marketable point).

Finally, they should probably buy out the Cora nearby projects, which would provide a longer LOM (and possibly more expansion of existing capacity, as has happened with the second ball mill) and provide Cora with funds to progress further exploration or to the next stage without further dilution: win win.

"Cora’s Tekeledougou project is located only 6km form Hummingbird’s Yanfolila gold mine. Significant intercepts include 56m grading 2.2g/t Au, 17m grading 6.8g/t Au and 1m grading 35.7g/t Au. Other prospects, Farassabe III, Tagan and Siranikele are also within hauling distance to Yanfolila. As such, we see potential for toll mining agreements with Hummingbird should these prospects prove feasible"

ONGC do not have ROFR on CPO-5: it was a standard farmout to Petrodorado, an independent company which can be sold on without any sayso, complete with all its assets.

The Vetra situation was quite different.

Good find JTD.
An interesting development with Carlyle, particularly given that Nautilus was also experiencing "escalating interest being expressed by multiple parties".

It is beginning to look as if now is the time that multiple parties are chasing Colombian opportunities.

Sometimes in life, there is a "right" moment and perhaps, despite my expressed wish that AMER should progress its own assets, this is the moment, in a sellers' market, for AMER to implement their exit strategy.

24 Jan 2019

AIM-listed Nautilus Marine Services has announced that the Company intends to increase its efforts toward the near-term divestiture of the Company's oil and gas assets located in Colombia in response to escalating interest being expressed by multiple parties during late 2018.

As previously stated in the Company's 2018 Interim Report, the Company began evaluating divestment and strategic partnering opportunities for its oil and gas assets, which consist of the Bolivar and Bocachico contract areas within the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin of Colombia during the prior year.

Following these initial evaluations, the Board and management team at Nautilus believe the sale of the Company's assets in the Middle Magdalena Basin presents a significant opportunity to realise cash value from these non-strategic assets while eliminating the associated annual operating costs and future abandonment obligations.

It should be noted that these efforts toward a near-term divestiture may not result in an acceptable transaction being identified or completed at this time. In this event, the Company would continue to operate its oil and gas assets in accordance with its previously-communicated plans, with a focus on maintaining contractual and environmental compliance at both fields.

The history of ONGC on CPO-5 points to bureaucracy and not sabotage.

Development has been slow over the 11 years since the block was awarded back in 2008 and Petrodorado also had great expectations (see extract below dated 2010 on their acquisition). In comparison, recent progress has been much better and Mariposa and Indico now provide steady income.

Of more importance, is the huge amount of data. Mariposa 1 has flowed steadily for two years and demonstrates an extraordinary return on capital employed. Even Sol 1 is to be put on test and that, again, is important for data.

What it does demonstrate is a steady approach to what has been widely acknowledged as a significant discovery and it may well be that other major players will be more in tune with this than the high risk, wild west approach of AIM companies. As potential purchasers, they are seeing the data and long term plans (unlike us, just waiting for the next spud): they will be in a position to judge the extra ordinary potential beyond Mariposa 1 and Indico 1 and make a realistic offer.

It is Petrodorado, rather than AMER, who suffered, since they ploughed significant Capex into CPO-5 and got next to nothing back (other than avoiding the drilling cost of Loto 1), whilst we have spent little, had tax relief, had a steady income and finally stand to collect mega bucks on the block either through income or sale.

"16 Jun 2010
Petrodorado Energy has signed a farm-in agreement with ONGC Videsh for a 30 percent participating interest in CPO-5 Block of Colombia. This 199,248 hectare block (gross) is located in the Los Llanos basin (Meta Department) and was awarded to ONGC Videsh in the 2008 ANH heavy oil bid round. The CPO 5 block is flanked in the North and North West by the recent discoveries in the blocks of Guatiquia (Candelilla Structure) and Corcel.

In 1985, Elf Aquitaine drilled Metica-1 well in the CPO-5 block, which tested 14.4 API oil and 20.8 API oil in the Los Cuervos and Barco formations. In addition, petrophysical analysis of well logs indicated hydrocarbons in the Carbonera, Mirador, Une and other deeper Palaeozoic horizons.

The work plan going forward is to acquire 650 sq kms of 3D seismic and 240 kms of 2D seismic by the end of 2010 and drill two exploration wells in the first quarter of 2011. Petrodorado has identified multiple plays and multiple prospects in the Tertiary (Carbonera, Mirador, Los Cuervos, and Barco) and Cretacaeous (Guadalupe, Gacheta and Une) formations (14 to 40 API). The assignment of the participating interest to Petrodorado is subject to ANH approval."

Comments from Krishna Vathyam, President and CEO of Petrodorado: 'We are very pleased to have increased our strategic exposure to the prolific Los Llanos basin with this highly significant acreage in partnership with ONGC Videsh'.

Source: Petrodorado Energy

Thanks JTD for the further info: I was being really lazy in asking the question, rather than looking for the detail.

Roth, the Stifel valuation takes account of all the prospects, but heavily discounts them for the COS.

Is there a possibility that we are ignoring the difference between exploration and appraisal wells?

The tender documents for appraisal wells re Mariposa and Indico have, I believe, already been issued.

Generally here, the "go slow" theory is endorsed, but if the alternative theory is held, that the Indian govt stripped the company of cash and it therefore has to self fund out of profits, then appraisal wells make sense (and fit in with the JW 3 wells fund the next on")

It would also make sense if they were to farm out a further % and perhaps the operatorship?

It is called sentiment, Gary, for good reason.

I do not think that negative posting here will affect the outcome of the FSP but I do think that it is intended to damage the SP here in the meantime.

No response from you on my list of positives, some quite recent?

Management did well to get out of the clutches of Taurus, who were in a position to pull the rug during mine construction.

The original agreement is detailed in the RNS of 6th December 2016 and by the RNS of 14th February 2017, HUM already under construction and it was still referring to a bridging loan

"Hummingbird Resources plc (AIM: HUM), announces that, further to the Company's announcement on 6 December 2016 regarding, inter alia, agreement to increase the existing bridge loan in place between the Company and Taurus Funds Management Pty Limited ("Taurus") from US$15 million to US$25 million, these additional funds have now been fully drawn down".

Just the royalty alone, at 0.75% was going to cost , at current POG $1500 x .75% x 120,000 oz = $1,350,000 per annum (and the cap was at 2 million oz. so for many years!)

Generally, HUM did brilliantly to fund this mine at all in times when funding was so difficult. The comparison between HUM and the likes of Kefi is stark. HUM bit the bullet with significant dilution and applied that to building the mine. Kefi has dribbled equity into the market over many years and squandered it on administration (not a single extra oz. of exploration since NYO days in 2013).

Fortune favors the brave and we now have a working mine, complete with 2nd ball mill producing into current POG at $1500 at lower cost per oz.

Gary

Land acquisitions
OBA
CPO-5 discovery Mariposa
OXY farm out
Indico
The bullish take on of M & P with the FSP

No complaints from me about Calao and Sol: disappointed, but that is oil exploration.

On a glass half full basis, there does seem to be a timetable on the FSP with progress to presentations as per the last RNS (as promised "in the coming weeks").

It might be worth mentioning that no leaks is not indicative of anything: they kept the farm out and discussions with various parties under wraps (probably because Bogota is not city stamping ground).

The biggest issue, without doubt, was the excessive wet season last year and the consequences, which impacted the following quarters.

The communication blip was Bunker Hill, when they failed to market the strategy (which was, at that time, to focus on near term projects regardless of commodity and not exploration: possibly the response to seeing the difference in the Dugbe and Yanfolila outcome, with the latter progressing swiftly to production and cash generation, had it not been for the extreme weather).

Generally, the Q updates come reasonably on time.

Q3 will be critical: we need to see production up (likely, with the 2nd ball mill) and AISC down (which usually follows from increased production, because of the high fixed cost element of mining).

The high POG in Q3 will be jam on top.

GLA

Not sure I agree with you visitor.

The guidelines (after 1 month of Q3 had passed) were 110k to 125K. As only 51K produced in H1, that means 60K for H2 just to hit the lowest end of that?

If this were a leaching operation, I would expect the rainy season to impact on production, but as it is not, then it is just the mining component that is tricky and stockpiling material will have largely offset that part of the operation.

The key issue is that 2nd ball mill and if it runs at full capacity for August and September, the results should exceed Q2 (always providing that the grade holds: it was improving through Q2, so that was a positive indicator).

COdey

Of course "tiddler" shorters can close in minutes, but that is not possible for likes of Marshall Wace: they need serious volume over days and that is unlikely to be found prior to Q3 results.

It is the sheer enormity of 26.63%, nearly 50 million shares which makes their current offside position difficult, in this higher PM environment.

My theory was that they were betting on a placement, but TBTT's view, manipulate FRES out of the FTSE 100 and thus create serious churn in the share register, seems more in keeping with the city style. They gave it their all in August and missed by a whisker, thanks to resurgent PMs and a reverse in sentiment. Timing is everything.

PP
Part might be the high price tariff: there were POO peaks in 2018.
I have always thought that OXY will be our purchaser and so my conclusion is that Put 8 as part of the deal, including operatorship, was another move in the game of chess.

As part of that game, I always felt sure that OXY were the preferred farm-in partner because of deep pockets and the ability to ultimately buy AMER out at the right price.

PUT 8 is an important block: according to JW it is the sweet spot, containing both light and heavy oil.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates further below zero and will start open-ended bond purchases as President Mario Draghi overcame critics of his stimulus policies to make a final run at reflating the euro-area economy.

The Governing Council reduced the deposit rate to minus 0.5% from minus 0.4%, and will buy debt at 20 billion euros ($22 billion) a month starting Nov. 1. Banks will get exemptions from the negative rate for some of their deposits after an outcry from lenders about the squeeze on profitability. Draghi will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. in Frankfurt.

Increasing minus interest rates?
What kind of madness is that and what is round the corner for the EU?

Was it the right move to exercise the first right of refusal on Put 8 in the sale of Vetra assets to GTE?

What we gained from it was operatorship.
What we lost was the energetic GTE program when they were going to push forward on existing plans with 2 wells

From a post at that time:
" that should be good for us. GTE now our partners immediately next door in Put-8.Plus Suroriente and one in the Llanos. $104m paid.
hTTp://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/89768f9f-84a5-475b-b179-f62aa84814a1

"Gran Tierra believes PUT-8 contains at least two exciting drill-ready exploration prospects, which could potentially be drilled in 2019 using existing pads."

AMER had one planned for Q2 and now that looks as if it might be drilled before the end of H2 (as one of our 2 remaining wells) .