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It probably was accumulated in multiple ATs, otherwise it would have moved the market.

Nothing to stop someone doing a part rollover either.

Quite rare to see the same figure rolled over for several periods: not the margin trader mindset.

With Indico, it is understandable and more possibly the inside information on REXIT?.

When I "T" trade, the trade appears immediately in the list of trades (unless a delay is requested).

The number of shares I hold is also immediately increased.

I am given a future settlement date and usually transfer funds to cover.

If I don't have the funds, I can get them to "rollover" by selling and rebuying. It can be done for a fee (as explained by Moneylender multiple times now), in which case, the sale and purchase both show as trades at the same amount within seconds of each other and both will go through as either sales or purchases. It is only done for large sums, which would affect the market.

For small amounts, I just sell and rebuy on another "T" trade, myself, close to the settlement date and catch the spread (always looking for minimum spread, of course). Those show up as a sale and a purchase (unless both are done above or below the midpoint in which case both look like buys or sells, that old chestnut!). The sale settles the first "T" and I am left with a long date on the "rebuy "T".

If I fail to settle, the first response is to add charges and interest to the account and after a while, apparently, though it has not happened to me, they are entitled to randomly flog any stock held in the account, sufficient to cover the whole of the settlement debt which has not been honored (and probably whip away any future "T" trade facility) .

Generally speaking, "T" trades, like any margin trading, are a dangerous pastime.

I will concede, Colonel Drake, that it is not impossible that it is a block trade, but those are usually of a complete holding as we saw in the spring of 2017, when Michinoko bought 3% off one of the other institutions: they tend to be a "one off" rather than a frequent happening.

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The 4 million was a rollover.

Effectively someone "holding over" a substantial position on credit: it is a way of deferring payment when "T" trade payment falls due and is the alternative to closing out the trade by dumping the stock back on to the market.

It is a very confident on going bet on Indico by a margin trader and we have seen more than one this week.

I was told at the AGM after the main meeting by JW that rigs were readily available to contract in the Llanos: no mention of specific numbers.

Next news on Indico

"A further announcement will be made on completion of drilling operations"

They could at least have told us how many days, but they rushed out the RNS, without proper detail.

Perhaps we will get more detail with other news: they do quite often indicate the number of feet drilled on wells in progress (as they did with Pintadillo.

They need to be pushed to release their plans on that to the market: obviously, it was the storm raised by shareholders as we got to 31st October, which resulted in that last RNS..

Unless they are part of sensitive negotiations, they should update on what stops the Put 8 drill. Surely they could cut some deal by now, to get this moving?

Doc

Moneylender's explanation of rollovers is the correct one.

"You can roll over a position ie close and re open at the same price but pay the premium separately. It's done all the time".

CFD and spread bets do not show as recorded trade: they are financial instruments, not shares in the company. Providers might hedge their net exposure in the market, but that would only show up as a single trade and they normally "balance the books" in house.

Obviously market makers do not balance off each and every trade (nor can the book) and so they are constantly short or long, but the extent of this is minimal: they rarely take a position and were they to do so, they would quickly find themselves offside (like us) or out of business.

They do play tricks and sometimes appear to be operating on inside information.

So often, we see them create a "dead cat bounce" to get rid of stock, instead of doing the obvious, which is to drop the price and if we all had a pound for every time they drop the bid to hit stops when they are short of stock, we would all be rich! It is a dirty game, in which they take all the rewards, but rarely the risks and we are playing against the wheel and without either their sophisticated computer programs or knowledge of the real depth in the market.

Specifically relating to Amer, it is entirely possible that, as part of the city, they were better informed re RH and played the market accordingly, but that is not precisely the same as finding themselves long because he was dumping stock. Indeed, it will have been quite the reverse: they will have been short, knowing that they could sell stock and then replace it (that of course, being insider trading as RH was not declaring his disposals at one point,) but an example of the rare circumstances when they do take a position ie they have information to which the market is not privy.

"Market makers with far too much stock on their books from facilitating the seemingly endless downtrend here perhaps?"

It is not the way mms work: they are day traders, balancing their books and would only "take a position" if it suits them.

They are algos, simply working the order book, marking stock down to rebalance supply and demand and then mining the SP spread at the new level and "programmed volatility" within the day on volume stocks increases the daily take.

This BOD have a spectacular record on takeovers.

Snow and Clarke, as well as Wardle, have significant experience and success in selling businesses for top dollar.

The model for all the sales has been to build value: none of them have made their money through the management buyout scam.

Currently, Wardle is claiming the success of Mariposa ( apparently, a change of tactics post the acquisition by AMER from Petrodorado: see the recording of the AGM presentatio), so, if CPO-5 comes good, he will be on for a repeat of EE. It must be so frustrating for him to see those sleeping slugs as the operator of the block.

The problem is that nominee holdings are used: hasty email from Nick last year when I promised him a visit.

"On the subject of reviewing the register I’m afraid it may be a fruitless effort and most holdings are recorded in nominees names and the register does not show the underlying beneficial owner"

If anyone does make the trip, they need to go armed with all the movements in the last year or so, to be able, by comparative analysis, to deduce, from major movementsl, where his accounts are held.

From the RNS dated 9th December 2009, it can be seen (along with multiple purchases crossing thresh holds over a 15 month period) that he was using many accounts: Harbour, Gamma and City 1, 2 & 6, so it will not be that easy.

The company need to realize that RH's holding is material simply because of its effect (together with the shorting by others in the know) on the SP over an extended period of time.

RH will not be shorting at this point in time.

Put simply, when he had 150 million shares, he could control the market: he had superior fire power and could cap any rise. Largely, he sold into any rise such as the OBA, Plat 22 and Mariposa and it is doubtful that he would have been shorting, as he had plenty of his own shares doing exactly the same job: if at all, he would have been spread betting on a SP direction that he could guarantee (along with his "in the know" city mates).

Now, however, he is no longer a big fish in the AMER pond and faces the same risks as anyone else: he can no longer "guarantee" the success of a short and could reap dire consequences from cfds/ any spread betting position. No-one who has inflicted such damage on the share will be better placed to understand what might happen once his last share is sold.

Banging out the dregs of his own shares is quite a different matter.

He obviously has been determined to wipe the proverbial off his shoe, preferably on the face of the BOD and this would seem to be his last hurrah.

It is a great pity that mandatory reporting ceases at 3% and I do believe that in these circumstances, it would be appropriate for the company to report on the matter. It would probably make more impact on sentiment that a "fill to spill" Indico 1 result: the end of an era, a wiping of the slate clean after a nightmare period in purgatory.

Well, Bakoven, let us be blunt.

The company's major operation is in Plat, they have just used the drilling rig in the center of Plat, they have "discovered" U and T sands from the Pintadillo pad and may be drilling an appraisal well for the latter: we will know in a month. Your suggestion that they are avoiding Plat for social reasons is ludicrous: speak to the locals with their new school and now making more profit from premium pepper that they did from coca.

Seismics have been completed for Put 9 and 12 and so the company is extending their working area around Plat and the OBA, despite your suggestion that the area is to be quietly forgotten.

Wisely, the photo opportunity focused on CPO-5. since that, chronologically, is likely to be the next piece of news and hopefully we will get spudding in the next few days, as Estella rig is on site,

Mariposa spiked the SP up to 27p in May/June 2017 and had those slugs at ONGC provided a follow up well in any reasonable time frame, positive sentiment would have be sustained and increased (and probably seen RH out in much shorter order).

Anyone looking at AMER's charts over the last couple of years can see that sentiment here turns in a flash.

We simply need drill bit success and our next target is Indico.

Obviously Baz was responding to the subtle poison of your post, all the specious reasoning of a practiced spinmeister. and you certainly have an agenda (as do I: I am long AMER and in size, for success on the drilling campaign, but underpinned by decent production).

JTD

I wholly agree with your sentiment

"my biggest complaint is that as there is no recognition that they ever fail"

and expressed a similar view point recently re 2017 and the LTIPs

"RH (or his son) certainly does have stamina. In fairness, he did have a point: the board are greedy and JW and NH both deserved a good slapping for those awards at the last AGM: NH's thought pattern, that many had expired, was particularly offensive: a wholesale failure to see that the ONLY consideration should be performance".

So, does anyone think that the fat Malcy (at the end of today's podcast on Vox) has an inside track, where he talks of an appraisal well re the Pintadillo "T" sands or is he just speculating on the possibility, like the rest of us?

JTD

That is not correct.

Firstly, I am not a frequent poster.

Secondly, I am not supporting JW. I am asking whether sacking him would speed up drilling, which is the problem here.

For your information, this is one of my posts on JW

"The problem clearly lies with JW as CEO of this company.

He is responsible for news flow.

What we have to assume is that, as the likes of River and Mercantile and Cannacord are increasing holdings, the institutions are getting better updates than us: presumably, the city chaps, such as Snow, are doing their jobs properly.

Meanwhile, it is the CEO who is neither drilling nor communicating and who, apparently, does not see fit to check the share price. I have never come across any other company where the CEO fails to recognize the importance of the share price or realize that disconnection from reality is an open doorway for City scams, as we are seeing here".

I was raising a genuine question and it is your response which is ridiculous both in its attack on me and overall content: taking less than a decade to build decent sized company in this sector would be exceptional and statistics say that most fail.

So, if the "n" sands had been a successful drill at Pintadillo, would we be singing this, or quite another tune?

We wanted the reward, we took the risk and now want someone else's head on a plate for that (and still do not have the full picture, which, apparently, we will get within the month).

That "someone else" has to be JW, as he is wholly responsible for technical matters, but is simply is unrealistic to sack the CEO every time drill bit results are not as expected (and he should be given credit for going the extra distance and checking out the whole stacked play, which is first class data for further interpretation of the area).

What needs to improve is drill bit success, but I am not sure that a P45 for JW would further that objective.

It is not a "baby": it is an investment in an income producing company rather than a junior, exploration only, entity.

All exploration, fully funded, is pure upside.

Any suggestion that the exploration fund should be dissipated on dividend misses the point of this investment.

Simply posit the question "what if ONGC suddenly swing into action with a multi well campaign and we are unable to put up our share?"

RH and basic laws of supply and demand have dictated this current SP and it should be seen as an opportunity for LTHs and short term traders alike:an easy bagger for the latter, if Indico obliges.

According to slide 20 of their presentation, GTE don't actually have an oil pipe: like most in the south, they truck or use barge to the major pipelines, OTA, OCP and SOTE.

The question one therefore has to ask (and it does not look as if GTE themselves have put out any statement) is why they would be specifically mentioned, whilst the pipeline is not named?

It will be interesting to see if GTE do put out an RNS on Monday and whether there are factual inaccuracies requiring correction.

Support for violence was dwindling in the closing years of FARC (more in our area) and the other main rebel group ELN (mostly in the north). It is the latter (and much smaller group) that are currently in peace talks (on and off with Duque and his pre-condition is a cessation of all violence). Putting it into context, there were supposedly about 2500 ELN out of a population of nearly 50 million. Grass roots support even for FARC was shown to have minimal support in the recent elections, not even getting a % of the vote. Even with support from Venezuela, it is difficult to see ELN making any ongoing impact other than to swell the prison population.

Good post Doc.

Not to mention the latest acquisition, Put 14, where they paid us!

"This is an attractive deal for the Company, further consolidating our strategic position in the Putumayo and adding additional prospective acreage to our Terecay-Tacacho play fairway, where we see significant potential in multi-layered reservoirs, proven in our existing operations, in legacy wells and within Ecuador. The block has further strategic importance in that it extends south towards the Putumayo river and Ecuadorian border. This brings benefits in terms of accessibility for operations and eventual evacuation of produced crude by providing a pathway to access the pipeline systems of Ecuador, in a similar way to the existing OBA system in our Platanillo field."

What we have there is a clearly laid out long term strategy (either for a successful company or company sale) straddling Colombia/Ecuador.

In the short term, we have 3 potential drivers of this SP.

CPO-5, where Mariposa is extraordinarily successful: over a million barrels just from the first pay zone and continuing to produce in a steady state and with 3 more wells, hopefully the first spudding this month (and now the rig is on site, action accelerates, as every day is costly).

Within the month, we have the reinterpretation of the Pintadillo operation.

Finally, the company is in the closing stages of ditching that "albatross" RH, which has such a negative effect on the SP, both through basic laws of supply and demand and the psychology.

All this against a background of higher oil prices and political stability in Colombia.

There has been minimal dilution in the downturn and this, with some drill bit success, can therefore return to its previous market cap, implying an SP at many multiples of the current SP.

This company will never be given away: the BOD are excellent at deals and probably more importantly, full of greed and pride, which, just for once, will act in our favor in the event of any sale.

Big Bite.

You need to remember that largely, the discrepancy between production and OBA figures, is down to Mariposa, which does not go through the OBA. (being Llanos basin and significantly north of Putumayo).

Inventory now seems to be dependent on the Shell deal and that also affects current assets and liabilities, making comparisons harder.

Finally your point "The boards focus is to run and grow the business", are you serious "grow the business" -

They certainly have grown the business.

Look at the acreage'

We didn't have 30% of CPO-5 a few years ago and it could be a company maker in its own right..

Of course, the drill bit has been frustratingly slow, but other parts of the jigsaw have been brought together relentlessly and the overall strategy is good.

In my opinion, there needs to be more supervision/backup re JW.

They probably needed a proper full time employee, preferably Colombian, "boots on the ground" to deal with the Environmental permissions, instead of a waste of space Non-executive, full of opinions, but not hands on.

It is more likely that the indians are asleep on the job (again) and AMER cannot put out incomplete figures.

By now, there should be some progress towards spudding Indico, such as the rig safely on site and perhaps news of a second rig: it is some time since we were given any detail (other than that which we pick up from the tendering site and snippets such as the ONGC chairman's farewell address).