Member Info for Juxtapose

JTD Where is the 17,000 BOPD set out? From GC's recent interview the exit figures were 12k and 20K BOPD for 2018 and 2019 respectively. Looking at the recent presentation, the 20k is still set out as the medium term target. 12k as an exit rate is just about achievable, but the drilling delays have adversely affected the annual daily averages. The only good piece of news in that RNS was the perforation of additional pay zones in Mariposa. As for the explanation of the delay on Indico, are they wholly unaware that information to the contrary is on the ONGC site?

Luckcounts Well done: you got there first!

Pijoe. Amer is debt free on every metric and for you to post otherwise is entirely misguided. Setting out the working capital section of the balance sheet Current assets................�60945 Current liabilities'............�37839 Net current assets are therefore �23106 The working capital ration is 1.5:1 The quick assets ratio is 1:1 Both are therefore in the range which would be categorized as good from a liquidity point of view and the company is certainly debt free. Looking at the Shell facility, it is absolutely not debt. It simply transfers one class of current asset "debtors" into another class of current asset "cash" and therefore does not affect overall working capital. (Obviously it improves immediate liquidity as cash is the most liquid of current assets). Before you assert that cash may be a factor in holding the SP back, you need to look at how much each drill is costing, plus any initial infrastructure. At approximately $2 million for our share, the CPO-5 drills are not major drains on capital and for both those and the Put 8, some of the major infra structure is in place. The "N" sands does have a civil engineering cost up front, but the individual wells are not that deep. The real problem is permitting and thankfully, the next 7/8 wells are all now ready to go (3 "N" sands, 1 or 2 Put 8 and 3 CPO-5).

Too much innuendo. River & Mercantile are adding: It is quite unusual for an II to sell down unless it is an absolute necessity. Unlike RH, they understand that exiting a substantial position on market ends in tears: they get sacked for poor performance. The next drill is Put 8 by Vetra and given its proximity to Cohembi, it could give a real boost to sentiment, before either the "N" sands or Indico. To make Amer sound like a one trick pony is simply misleading. 2017 was not a stellar year, but at 4857 BOPD, it was 80% of the all time high of 6242 BOPD back in 2014. 2018 has stalled due to Wardle's failure to organising submission of the environmental extension permits: they anticipated getting them in December, but only submitted the application in August. It is, in fact, Wardle who does not look at the SP. Extraordinary, a CEO who will not face up to the market's judgement re his performance. Currently, the market is skeptical. No wonder: a CEO who RNSed Indico as a May spud and that information turns out to be wrong only 3 weeks later. That said, drilling in 3 fields over the next few months is an exciting prospect and if we add both production and reserves, the SP should respond and Peel Hunt can look the fool, as well as playing it.

Plat 8 maybe, but the Platanillo is unlikely as the infra structure was to take 65 days and unless they sat on the granting of the environmental extension for 2/3 weeks, then it will be early June. It is a quick drill, expected to take 21 days, so spudding and completion could take place within the month.

JTD is right: there is a second tender document for the drillng rig and they state the "tentative" date as June 2018 "The first well to be drilled is Indico-1 for which tentative date of spudding is June 2018. Tentative days for drilling and testing / completion of Indico-1 are 39 & 43 and for rest two wells Sol and Aguila are 32 & 24 days each. A. Time gap up to one month between completion of the first / second well and start of mobilization for the second / third well: The contractor shall be notified of the tentative schedule for drilling of the second well Sol-1 before completion of Indico-1. If the mobilization of the Rig for the second location is to start within one month from completion date of first well (i.e. Indico-1), the contractor shall be required to move the rig directly from Indico-1 location to location Sol-1, and the contractor shall be entitled for Inter-location movement charges (ILMC) as per price format after the rig commences the drilling of the second well. Similarly, the contractor shall be notified of the tentative schedule for drilling of the third well Aguila-1 before completion of Sol-1. If the mobilization of the Rig for the third location is to start within one month from completion date of second well (i.e. Sol-1), the contractor shall be required to move the rig directly from Sol-1 location to location Aguila-1, and the contractor shall be entitled for Inter-location movement charges (ILMC) as per price format after the rig commences the drilling of the third well".

Tender out for the casing pipe for wells 3 and 4. Good diagram of the area showing rrelative positions of Indico, Sol and Aguila to Mariposa. Casing of 12000 feet per well, so similar depth anticipated to Mariposa. Finally looks as if in 2018 ONGC Videsh are going to get some momentum going.

There is a slide on page 5 of the most recent presentation which shows the royalties and additional taxes which reconcile the components of EBITA. Even if the Chiritza upgrade does increase the guaranteed capacity through the OBA, they do need drill bit success in at least one of the proximal blocks and preferably the "N" sands. Given that we are already using the existing 5000 minimum amount for existing Plat production, I don't see that success by Vetra in Put 8 would come this way and in any event, they already will have existing transportation infrastructure/arrangements in hand. Obviously, there is the possibility that our production could be significantly boosted by CPO-5, with the possibility of 4 wells there. As far as our BOD is concerned, they should (and have) been credited with the acquisition, but if that is the only increase in this year, then their own performance could only be judged as dire as 2017: hopefully, that will not be the case. Whilst there might be CGT on sale of assets, we may also have offfsetable losses and any in country taxes would not apply to the sale of the whole entity. In any event, they seem to have backed off a part sale for the moment and that seems sensible, given the old adage about killing the golden goose! So, nearly May and ONGC and Vetra poised to drill, with Amer's own the "N" sands drill in June (65 days for infra structure, plus 21 days for the first drill (In the stacked play the N sand is the shallowest drill, followed by M2 limestone, A limestone, U and T sands in the Villeta Fm and then the Caballos). Edge of seat time for LTHs.

JTD As far as the Chairman is concerned, unless the role is combined with CEO (and that is not good), it is always a very part time role: a company with a full time chairman is the equivalent of a human with two heads. On the CFO, he does a good job for AMER: there is no evidence that he short changes the company in terms of required effort on the finance front. If he can do the job in half a week, then perhaps he should be paid accordingly, but I do know that he does work outside normal hours, particularly when he goes to Colombia (he has responded to e-mails on the weekend). Like everyone else invested here, I am hoping that Wardle's 2017 operating performance was a blip, but he does leave a lot to be desired generally as CEO. It is nothing short of disgraceful that he pays no regard to the SP (allegedly, he does not look at it). If the perception of the company is negative, then he is failing to communicate with the market (either directly or by proper delegation of that function). Regarding this acceptance of the options, he is either wholly out of touch with the market or has knowingly crashed the SP, putting his personal interest above that of shareholders: a conflict of interest. The outrage from shareholders across all the BBs this morning is an indictment of his performance in the role: not fit for purpose, I would say.

Bakoven I don't have any problem with contrarian comments re specific Directors and make them myself. My view of Wardle is unprintable: the polite version would be to borrow George Carmen's words re that crooked MP, Hamilton "on the make and on the take". The sheer effrontery of trashing the SP and then using that as the base figure for evaluation of creating value for shareholders! Perhaps someone can put me right, but when I look back at 2017, I struggle to see success outweighing failure in what he has achieved and the SP agrees with me. As I said before, I don't have an issue with significant rewards for success, but this, ironically, is an enhancement of reward for the 2017 failures: the bad cement job, tardy applications etc. I hope anyone going to the AGM will take that opportunity to point out to Wardle that he has let the whole BOD down by reinforcing the negative perception of them viewed collectively: all are tainted by association.

JTD It is always interesting to read a well thought out alternative view, but to a large extent, it is sentiment, rather than an analytical approach which drives the commentary on the BOD: saying that they should go has become a mantra rather than an ongoing critique of performance. When it comes to strategy, then the whole board have a collective role to play and are recruited for complimentary skills. To identify which of the non execs is under performing, it is first necessary to analyse the strategy and see where it is good and where it fails That in itself, of course, is subjective, dependent on attitude to risk etc. Unlike many of its peer group, Amer is not leveraged: that reduces both risk and reward. So, a criticism of the BOD might be that they have been too cautious and that they have missed brilliant opportunities, because of that. In my opinion, as far as expanding their asset base is concerned, they have done exceptionally well, with major expansion for little money and no risk. Where I would criticize is on the developing and drilling. Whilst it was not the end of the world, either the environmental permissions were put in too late in 2017 for the N sands or the expectation of how long they would take were unrealistic and that follows on from a poor drilling campaign in 2017. The comment in that last GC interview was most interesting: Dana Coffield has the experience to challenge the CEO. Well, that is the area which does need to improve and the non-execs certainly are aware of the need to challenge and monitor targets (against, quite revealing wording in that interview. One of the interesting developments in strategy is that they are now going forward on 5 fields, which evens out the COS: It is quite an ambitious plan and given the current POO,now is the time. Again, the expansion round the OBA, following on from the pumping station improvements, seems a good strategy, as it maximizes margin. It will be interesting to see what decision is finally made on CPO-5: it will all be about monetizing the asset quickly against long term value from that block and it may be a chance to see how good they are at making deals, where timing can be every thing. As far as the CFO is concerned, he has managed the finances successfully through a difficult period and negotiated the flexible funding to facilitate the planned expansion: for me, that is all that I expect him to do (as well as, of course, his routine bean counting role. His decision to personally not buy shares at this time is irrelevant, so long as he does his job well. On the greed, I am in agreement with the general consensus that they have taken excessive reward before the results of their strategy have come to fruition: I have no problem with them being well rewarded, but only when plans have turned into reserves and BOPD, thus being reflected in the SP.

Good to see someone showing an interest in the data and asking the single important question, COS on the various prospects, Daysleeper. What often gets lost in the vast Putumayo acreage which AMER now holds, is the fact that with the acquisitions came knowledge, previous drills and seismics etc and those have vastly increased the understanding across the blocks. That presentation to which you refer shows the full extent of interpretation right across the blocks and significantly improves the COS on the upcoming drills where AMER is operator. The Vetra drill off a pad in the adjacent block into PUT 8 is also in an area where existing data assists the interpretation.Dana Cofield's old mob had success to the west of Put 8 and he probably has an understanding of the up coming drill second to none. Likewise on CPO-5. Not only do ONCG Videsh have their own wells, Loto, Loto 1 and Mariposa, but there has been great success, company makers, in the surrounding blocks (CPO 34 to the north/north east and CPO-4 to the west/south west of where we are drilling) and they are following those trends through into CPO-5. On CPO-5, there was comment on the next well being "updip" by Wardle. The Sol 1 prospect has always been anticipated to be larger than Mariposa by a factor of 25. As nothing is ever guaranteed in oil drilling, the next couple of months are going to be "edge of seat " time, but all three immediate prospects are well referenced to existing successful drills. I have to say that I have some respect for Rex Harbour, who, disliking management, backs his judgement (right or wrong) and sells down his stock. For those who endlessly whinge here and yet remain invested (allegedly) there is somewhat of a credibility gap.

The strategy is superb and if operations can implement it, we are all backing a winner. What we are about to see is the multi strands, of acreage expansion, cost cutting via the OBA and financial wizardry with that Shell deal, all come together into high POO, which the Saudis will engineer (for their Aramco deal: it is they and their chemical pals who can dictate, not Trump). All we need now is drill bit success and I am glad that the risk is not only spread over three fields, but also three operators. At the end of the day, PR does not add a cent to the bottom line of a commodity company and it is quite noticeable that some of the slicker outfits are nothing but con merchants, lipstick on the pig, so to speak.

As others have said, the Shell deal is really good news and part of the most important factor currently: namely, that we are funded to upgrade the pipeline capacity (albeit the money is recovered over time) and roll out the drilling program without further delay. No debt and no need for dilution is a major plus for this type of operation. With drill bit success and the current POO, LTHs should finally be rewarded.

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.

Well, it cannot be all bad as there is every indication from ONGC Videsh that we will be drilling in CPO-5 again. One of the recent tenders was for well completion and that was next month. As JTD rightly says, Llanos is likely to be the making of Amerisur, as it has of Geo Park and Parex. We should be getting this communication from the company itself, by RNS, rather than having to rely on the better researched posters here apprising us of such facts. Sadly, I am beginning to wonder if JW's ego is playing a part here: the most successful part of the company is currently operated by a third party. He does need to wake up and look at the SP and take responsibility for what is happening. What other CEO would fail to be shouting CPO-5 from the rooftops?

Bakoven "PS. Expenditure (our share) on Mariposa of $20-$30m -- just a single well -- is a concern" The calculation of �29 million cost is entirely correct, but it is for CPO-5 as a whole and was largely incurred by Petrodorado (hence the accumulated tax losses that we acquired when we took on the asset. The total cost of Mariposa is said to be $6 million, of which our share is a modest $2 million and by now we should be in profit. We did, of course, drill Loto 1 back in 2015 (from memory) and will have incurred our share of that (Petrodordo had to sell as they could not fund it) and in due course, we will get useful bolt on production from that. There was also the re-interpretation of the data, which will have incurred some costs. Obviously, the preparations for the back to back Indico and Sol will be incurring costs, but those will largely be covered by Mariposa, until it gets to the actual drills.

With the new share issue to fund that acquisition, the SAVP market cap is 4x that which you are quoting (and greater than that of AMER). It remains to be seen if the 20k BOPD is equally misleading in the fullness of time and it might be worth wondering why Severn got into trouble, if the assets are that good: without spending more than 5 minutes, the obvious questions have to be margins and liquidity, perhaps debtor payments as with the unfortunate GKP. As a place to do business, Nigeria has to be well below Colombia and probably would have been, even when FARC was whimpering to a close back in 2016. DYOR is good advice

Nothing wrong with a negative view point based on fact, but there is a thin line between an honestly held opinion and cynical bashing of a company in a manipulative way. The suggestion that there is a problem with the N sands, other than delay on the environmental extension, needs more substance than currently advanced. Whilst the prospect might have been examined as early as 2013/14, everyone knows that it was the POO which halted development. Furthermore, the suggestion that there is some game of chance approach to locating random traps across the Putumayo basin wholly fails to recognize the importance of the acquisition strategy, where a large continuous tract of blocks have been built up, enabling better interpretation of the whole area. I would suggest that anyone who disagrees with that assertion, takes a look at the March 2017 presentation, slides 8,9 and 10 in particular, which show the systematic approach to interpretation of the whole basin. Like everyone else, I am frustrated by the delay and lack of information, but even in that vacuum, the reasonable assumption has to be that the N sands will happen in due course and that activity on CPO-5 is imminent, with Indico and Sol as back to back wells. Thanks to JTD keeping us informed re the tender process, which does indicate imminent action again in this really exciting block.

Nothing wrong with a negative view point based on fact, but there is a thin line between an honestly held opinion and cynical bashing of a company in a manipulative way. The suggestion that there is a problem with the N sands, other than delay on the environmental extension, needs more substance than currently advanced. Whilst the prospect might have been examined as early as 2013/14, everyone knows that it was the POO which halted development. Furthermore, the suggestion that there is some game of chance approach to locating random traps across the Putumayo basin wholly fails to recognize the importance of the acquisition strategy, where a large continuous tract of blocks have been built up, enabling better interpretation of the whole area. I would suggest that anyone who disagrees with that assertion, takes a look at the March 2017 presentation, slides 8,9 and 10 in particular, which show the systematic approach to interpretation of the whole basin. Like everyone else, I am frustrated by the delay and lack of information, but even in that vacuum, the reasonable assumption has to be that the N sands will happen in due course and that activity on CPO-5 is imminent, with Indico and Sol as back to back wells. Thanks to JTD keeping us informed re the tender process, which does indicate imminent action again in this really exciting block.