Member Info for Madpunter

Posted by Moleinahole on the 7th May :-

CF it's politics and always has been to a degree. The issues here have always been an interplay between the geology, finance and politics. The geology and politics are central here at the moment. As with Outrider judge Kawawley observation that there was an animus in the situation that worked against an out of court settlement which was clearly what he thought should happen on the fiduciary case. That instead escalated into a full confrontation.
You seem to see the same pattern here. So a mix of personal animus with key people in Georgia who don't like some of the press FRR have generated let alone threatening sanctions of the Dream people which FRR will get linked too. They don't like anything which questions the view that Georgia is great for business. That is clearly not entirely true!
Combine that with progressing projects in Moldova and Dolphin in Ukraine then it seems to me that FRR and its management have put themselves right in the firing line let alone their links into Atlantic council and Us chamber of commerce.
That is why they needed to play a cool and straight game. Perhaps we had reached the point where that was not possible.
But I do think Outrider have made a difficult situation almost impossible here.
It would be somewhat ironic if FRR went on to win damages against Outrider but maybe that's part of the plan here to bury FRR and with them the court cases.
Steve in his comments to court on the fiduciary warned Outrider what could happen here. He may be proved right on that.

Posted by Chris572 on the 7th May :-

Strange
strange that the GG have put out a statement today with pretty much exactly the same content as before. i wonder if they have caught wind of ZAZA up coming interview

Posted by Moleinahole on the 7th May :-

Chris it's not the same as before.
As I posted the other day material breach is the key. I have seen those who have posted saying don't worry there is more to this. I have not seen any evidence for that. And the contract is clearly the PSA. 100% of the block.
If the arbitration did indeed comment on the transfer legality again without seeing the text it's hard to be sure which transfer to FRR US or the Green farm out. It seems to be the one to FRR US. My read of the PSA is that could not be blocked by GG. However, if they are saying it was illegal then they seem to have joined the arbitration to the Outrider\FIT actions.
That raises the prospect of GG terminating the PSA and the liabilities being on the current owner of the PSA shares which could be the administrators. A liability and not an asset. That would be a small comfort if Outrider lost its Ill gotten gains as well!
I wish I could provide something positive but this can only be resolved by the parties working together be they FRR and Outrider or FRR and GG.
That requires goodwill that is lacking.
Ultimately if the fields geology is poor that will be what has sunk the company. In which case it would not matter what the outcome was as that is what would attract an offer or funding.
I'm still poking around papers which is interesting but does not change the facts on the ground from anything I have seen yet. And before anyone asks yes I have tried again to get a response out of the company and as I said the other week since Q3 2019 they have been totally uncommunicative and my efforts to broke comms either via FSHG or other wider comms has run into a wall of silence. Sorry guys I tried.
Not over yet and we may have more surprises. But as I have said before it is never a good idea to fall out with your key stakeholders no matter what the rights and wrongs. This needs sorting out if it can behind closed doors and away from the press. But they seem miles apart.

Posted by tsbs1 on the 7th May :-

seingred likewise, I cant imagine frr canvassing senators knowing they were talking sanctions and lying about the outcome of the arb

TBH, as economical as zaza and steve have been with anything, if I had to make a choice of who to trust on this one Id go with zaza

Posted by regdik on the 7th May :-

Just let me explain why I think the ink is dry (had a few calls on this)
If FRR did not have a “conditional” signed deal in place then there is little value of FRR keeping the Arb ruling quite. I say conditional as the Major would have inserted the clause of subject to RRR retain what they want. The deal would be pre Covid some way better terms than they could negotiate now so major would want to renegotiate due to the “new world” and not what was done last year.

Posted by Legs1 on the 7th May :-

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the GG's current political party want to do a deal with Russia in Block 12 and are trying to force FRR out before the elections thus advertising how good Russian support is.
IF a western super major comes in on the back of work already done by a western company (FRR) this wont help the Russian influence and we know they are keen to control countries surrounding their boarders.
The pressure FRR have been put under I think is all politically driven. Lets face it, a huge amount of gas is good for the country whoever gets it out, but political parties aren't always aligned with the with the good of the people they serve, they are aligned with keeping themselves in power. Imagine what kickbacks would be had from Russia if they can come in and get the gas out. This is all political in my view.
Let me just take this opportunity to say a massive thanks to everyone that has been sleuthing through the paperwork, its massively appreciated.
Just need Zaza to get that last goal and kick the ball out of the stadium.

Posted by Looed on the 7th May :-

One small point to keep in mind...
FRR agreed with the findings of the Arbitration ("the decision was unanimous") so amidst all this noise is the true story.

Posted by CF73 on the 7th May :-

RE: Frontera refuses to disclose the Arbitration Tribunal award and keeps spreading false information
Once again, am tending to feel (and strongly) that the present Georgian administration are having to work over time on PR given upcoming elections.

FRR commented already. If they are genuinely concerned about releasing sensitive details, then they are severely hamstrung. The push for a Joint Statement is insightful. But if the Georigian authorities do not want to, then they can't be forced. I seek some comfort in the principle there is an objective reality in which some things have to happen and in timely manner. So far what the Georgians are saying is nothing more than ranting in the press. Yes, certain things went in their favour with arbitration, but I don't believe everything did.

We need to see if FRR can say any more or be pressured towards this. Otherwise, we need to wait a bit more.

Posted by regdik on the 7th May :-

I agree with CF73
If you won your case and the other side claimed differently you would not rant and rave but just let the judicial process take it course and continue to plan what you would do with the asset.
What is so important to force FRR to release the Arbitration document.
GG must see that is would damage FRR in some way. I doubt it would be flow rates or tech data as this has taken the interest of Majors. Could it be that FRR are legally bust but that would in itself cause the licence to revert to GG. The only thing is a commercial deal that is subject to an NDA. Breaking that could impact this and cause the Major to walk away. This tells me the ink is dry on a deal. They want FRR to default so they could walk in.
Remember that in previous CC with Hope that the judge agreed that certain documents could not be revealed.

Interesting to see the FRR response.

Posted by Looed on the 7th May :-

Some takeaways from the GOGC statement
1- They pay no heed to the seemingly reasonable reason FRR gave for not discussing the result. As part of the Arbitration Process involves the agreement that both parties must sign off on any disclosure, seems unfair to be critical (I know, we all wanted to see it until FRR explained)

2- The talk about the obligations placed on FRR by the arbitration result - but not about obligations placed in the GOGC

3- I thought FRR disputed the bit about repaying taxes?

4- "Empty Box" - maybe FRR refused to share sensitive info with GOGC. GOGC claim the Arbitration supported them on this. We have no proof thus far.

5- We need clarity on the location of the asset. Mole was working through a heap of papers so hopefully he can shed some light on this.

6- Rectification costs. This hadn't been mentioned before ?

7- They say no more discussion but they didn't have to make this statement. The last statement re termination could have remained their final word.

8- We have learnt some new - admittedly not nice - things here. Lets see how the other side respond so we can better judge the truth in this.

Russian article on the GOGC statement
Long article just and pasting the statement and recent events. Nothing new but here is the link if you want to look. I imagine there will be lots of these today. I will lonely post this one unless the others contain new info -

https://www.newsgeorgia.ge/gruzinskaja-storona-obvinjaet-amerikanskuju-kompaniju-frontera-v-nedobrosovestnom-davleni/

Posted by Looed on the 7th May :-

The 9th Congressman, Rob Bishop, supports the imposition of sanctions on the Georgian government
Let the End Game begin!!

"Another Republican congressman, Rob Bishop, has joined the act of imposing sanctions on the Georgian government. The ninth congressman was added to the bill of Congressman Marquine Malin on May 5.

Republican Marquin Malin, a member of the US House of Representatives, sent a letter to Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia expressing concern over the deviation from democratic values ??and the deteriorating economic situation. He posted the letter on Twitter on January 17. One example of business harassment is that of the oil and gas company Frontera Resources, which Georgia disputes with international arbitration.

Malin drafted Georgia's Fair Sanctions Act in 2019, but his fellow party members began supporting the act a year later.

The document obliges the US President to inform Congress whether Georgia is violating the obligations or agreements it has signed with American businessmen working in Georgia. Also, notify the current or former officials responsible for this. If the rights of American businessmen are violated, the president should impose sanctions on the Georgian government and officials.

Source -https://on.ge/story/55656-???????????-?????????????-??????????-?????????-??-9-???????????-???-??????-???????

If the asset move is illegal - does that mean the asset reverts to GOGC immediately or its back to the original entity. So back to liquidated company / Hope?

This new statements refers to the termination as applying to the whole contract area - before it was 99% of the area.

The GOGC statement starts by saying FRR will increase public pressure. We anticipate an article is already in the works. Minutes after the GOGC statement the article on Congressman Bishop drops. Lets hope FRR come out fighting ASAP. I expect more congressmen will get involved now.

Posted by Looed on the 7th May :-

Frontera refuses to disclose the Arbitration Tribunal award and keeps spreading false information
"Public statements made by Frontera Resources Georgia Corporation to distort the results of arbitration proceedings became more frequent after bringing out the final award of Arbitration Tribunal over the dispute between Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation and State Agency of Oil and Gas, following serving termination notice of the contract from Agency.The Corporation and The Agency are expecting Frontera to increase the intensity of aforementioned statements and keep efforts to politicize the purely commercial dispute, which aims to exert unscrupulous pressure on Georgian side and mislead parties concerned.

In order to provide society with unbiased and objective information, the Agency and the Corporation offered Frontera to disclose the Arbitration award, which the company rejected.

The Arbitration award unambiguously defines appropriate obligations of Frontera including the return of the exploration area along with reimbursing relevant funds and it may not be the subject of discussion.
Despite Frontera’s strong efforts, the Arbitration Tribunal has fully shared the position of the Corporation and the Agency regarding Frontera’s statements over the discovery of volumes of oil and gas were unfounded and could not be substantiated. The Arbitration Tribunal also ruled that Frontera’s attempt to transfer the contract to its affiliated company (Frontera US) was illegal.

Contrary to Frontera’s statement the arbitration claims raised by GOGC and the Agency did not seek cancellation of the contract among the parties. Nor could it, since termination requires a declaration in arbitration of a material breach. The Arbitration Tribunal has unambiguously ruled the material breach of the contract by Frontera. As a result, the Agency has served termination notice upon Frontera based on the respective contractual provision .

The contract will be automatically terminated on July 27 2020 in relation to the entire contract area ..

Frontera is obliged to bring out the necessary steps in order to return the licensing block and rectify severe environmental conditions.

The Agency and the Corporation are no longer intending to continue controversy with Frontera, instead will follow the relevant procedures defined by the contract.

https://www.gogc.ge/en/article/-frontera-refuses-to-disclose-the-arbitration-tribunal-award-and-keeps-spreading-false-information/481

Posted by regdik on the 5th May :-

Do not underestimate greed this a the dream team and they may be Russian focused but the big money will come from the west. These guys are desperate to get hold of the whole block (the empty box). So Arbitration ruling needs to be reviewed and see who is closer to truth.
If GG are correct I would have expected to see the full document leaked (after all they won) and then play dumb of how/who leaked it........this has not been done (as yet). You could read into this that ZaZa has spoke some truth regarding the privacy required regarding the possible commercial side.
GG will find it hard to sell B12 if FRR seek a ruling on the Arbitration (Majors will want to see 100% ownership before they deal and not another CC). I doubt FRR would do this until the 90 days have elapsed and this takes it right up to the elections and will probably be a key issue (moving away from US/NATO and EU). Not a vote winner so I would expect some sort of deal unless ZaZa wants to damage the dream team.
This is Political to the core and in the hands of those who have a different agenda to SH’s.

Posted by Looed on the 5th May :-

Extra comment by GOGC on their FB page
On 29 Apr GOGC posted on their FB page their intention to terminate the PSA. In the comments section, the GOGC also make the following statement -

"13 oil and gas operations are carried out by 13 companies on the basis of share distribution agreements with the state and 20 general licenses for the use of oil and gas resources. Work is underway under the minimum work program and approved plan for each contract area. Which includes both different types of geophysical works as well as the drilling of exploration wells and the intensification of extraction works in existing wells."

Can anyone extract anything from that? We already have lots of projects on the go ?

Here is the FB page - there are only 2 comments of which one is above - https://www.facebook.com/StateAgencyofOilandGas/posts/2898599013697213?__tn__=K-R

I should have added that the website is Russian based and is full of anti western articles ie - The West sent CV to Moldova and only Russia and China tried to help.

With that in mind, it is not unreasonable to think Moldova, Ukraine aren't watching whats going on.

Posted by Looed on the 5th May :-

Part 2
The environmental requirements that the company must comply with and the obligation to pay all taxes and to hire at least 60% of Moldovan citizens are also stipulated.
MPs from the Socialist Party faction harshly criticized the contract. According to Vlad Batricci, the terms of this contract are such that if gas deposits are discovered in Moldova, it will have practically no rights to it.
It is noteworthy that a few months before the conclusion of this contract, the then Democratic Party leader Vladimir Plahotniuc met with the head of Frontera Resources Steve Nikandros during his visit to the United States. Is it worth asking the question how this company ended up in Moldova?"

Source - https://bloknot-moldova.md/news/gruziya-razorvala-kontrakt-s-frontera-resources-sl-1219964

Article - Georgia’s Economic Dependence on Russia: Trends and Threats
Quite a long article that touches on energy and that old favourite - wine.

Snippet - "In recent years, energy dependence on Russia has become less relevant for Georgia, as Russia does not play a significant role in Georgia’s import of electricity and natural gas. In 2019, the share of electricity imported from Russia was up to 4% in total electricity consumption of Georgia.[1] In terms of natural gas consumption, in 2018, the share of gas imported from Russia was 1.7% of Georgia’s total gas consumption. [2]

Foreign direct investments from Russia have not been significant in recent years. In 2015-2019, the share of Russian investment in Georgia's total foreign investment averaged 3.4%. However, about 38% of Georgia’s foreign investments come from offshore zones, and in some cases, they are linked to the money of Russian origin. [3]"

Source - https://transparency.ge/en/blog/georgias-economic-dependence-russia-trends-and-threats?fbclid=IwAR0mdNvy10OnRxhlqFppSjvNl9m6SgPf4S0J8Oby05W7iFopLvzhI-Bor6M

Posted by Looed on the 5th May :-

Article -Russia terminated the contract with Frontera Resources. What will Moldova do?
A moan from Moldova - Note that Russia apparently cancelled the contract!
Pt.1
"The Oil and Gas Corporation and the State Oil and Gas Agency of Georgia broke off the contract with the American company Frontera Resources International LLC.
It should be noted that in this case we are talking about a company with which the Democratic government in 2017 concluded a concession agreement for a period of 50 years for the right to explore oil and gas fields in Moldova. The Georgian authorities filed a lawsuit against the concessionaire in an international arbitration court. One of the demands put forward by the Georgian side was the return of territory that Frontera does not use for oil exploration and production (99%). The company was also required to pay corporations a natural resource charge and legal fees.

What is this information for? Everything is simple - the American investor, thoroughly caressed and advertised by the previous government, has not yet begun to fulfill the obligations undertaken with respect to Moldova. More than three years have passed since the signing of the agreement, and no American investments were received in the republic - the “partners” did not even think to start any work in this area and begin exploration.
In July last year, the government, led by Maya Sandu, decided to suspend the concession agreement signed with the American firm Frontera Resources International LLC. However, on this, the principle of the AKUM bloc was exhausted, no further action was taken. Apparently, in the light of the new “priorities”, the so-called right-wing opposition pushed the solution to this problem into the background so that, God forbid, not cross the path to our “Western partners,” since only the Russian Credit Agreement can be criticized and disassembled "This leg, the one who needs a leg!".
The agreement with Frontera Resources states that the concessionaire receives the exclusive right to geological exploration of hydrocarbons in Moldova with the subsequent exploitation of the deposits, and the conditions for the extraction of minerals, if discovered, will be stipulated in a separate contract signed by the parties. The concession period is 50 years, of which five years the company can engage in exploration of deposits, and then 45 years of their development. The area on which Frontera Resources is allowed to conduct subsurface exploration is 12 thousand square meters. km, we are talking about the south of Moldova. The contract stipulates that the study will determine the amount of minerals that will go to the balance of the state, after which the government will develop the conditions for their extraction.

Posted by bugsy-b on the 4th May :-

GOGC study 2020
"Oil and Gas Sector of Georgia in the transition period" Tbilisi 2020

A large report of 180 pages long, A couple of sections caught my eye.. One saying Georgia's gas security from Azerbaijan is secure only until 2026, Then they will need other sources ...

Another section on page 83 states the following...

"Currently, 16 fields are being developed in Georgia, including 15 oil fields and 1 gas-condensate
field (see the Figure): Eastern Chaladidi, Supsa, Shromisubani, Norio, Satskhenisi, SamgoriPatardzeuli-Ninotsminda, Samgori South Dome, Teleti, West Rustavi, Mtsarekhevi, Baida,
Taribani, Mirzaani, Patara Shiraki, Nazarlebi, Rustavi (gas condensate)"..

6 of those fields are ours.. Mtsarekhevi, Baida, Taribani, Mirzaani, Patara Shiraki & Nazarelebi..
I had no idea that Patara Shiraki & Nazarlebi fields (both in block 12 shallow fields zone) were being "developed"...
I also had no idea we are also developing the Baida field (which sits along side the Taribani Field Unit Complex)
phase 3 of Varangs exploration option was going to target well at the Baida field..

Next question, Who's in there and who's developing them ?..

https://www.gogc.ge/uploads/tinymce/documents/Book%204,%2025,%2021.03.2020.pdf

Posted by Gipps51 on the 4th May :-

RE: New Company
Thanks ODR ,
The application process for the new company was started on 16-5-19, only 12 days after Hope resigned from the board.

Quick out the blocks there for some reason !

Posted by Moleinahole on the 4th May :-

But was it and the transfer approved in writing before FRR lost control of its shares in the entity that controlled the PSA!

ODR first link with its date was interesting as that linked into the FIT actions in my opinion - indeed when I plug the CompanyIdentification number: 204905674 you get the request for an extract. Which is the doc you found. There is a name Mariam Chikovani who requested who seems to be a lawyer/accountant in Georgia. Interestingly the company in that register entry is still active. Is that the pass through entity for the company that runs the block?

The bit of information that is totally missing is all around the attempted transfer and who Green were. FTI sought to find out and since then the trail went cold till the arbitration information started to seep out!
It is key to understanding what is going on here and whether we lose to GG, jump out of the frying pan into the Outrider fire or escape from both with something.

Posted by Looed on the 4th May :-

Article - "The USA supports Georgians"
Hopefully they also end up supporting the USA!

Source -https://warsawinstitute.org/usa-supports-georgians/

Posted by OneDayRodney1 on the 4th May :-

Seingred: the only evidence, is the registration of a Company in November jointly owned by Frontera and GOGC. Here's the link I posted yesterday: http://bs.napr.gov.ge/GetBlob?pid=400&bid=boVlyOwlsX3qmYsntmLmFLryVrz3NZJYReuslrlALP7WZiQqOT1npQihZsjWoJav

Posted by Moleinahole on the 4th May :-

The current reality is that no one posting on here can produce the definitive piece f evidence that says what happened in 2019 around a prospective deal and the transfer. That is key to understanding and interpreting the arbitration and the actions of GG last week.

This is political as well as economic. All I can say is that Zaza has continued where he left off in 2018 with an optimistic view in the face of a ferocious onslaught from GG at arbitration and Outrider in the courts. You couldn't make this up if you tried. It's so unusual a set of circumstances. Even FTI didn't know who Green could be but still carried on with their litigation. Outrider renewed interest in the security of shares in Texas shows they might still see some value in them.
So its either the best kept secret or a pretty cruel and prolonged punishment of shareholders.
I retain an open mind as I think this is so unusual that an unexpected outcome can never be ruled out.
As of today we do not know for sure what contract anyone is talking about. But I am suspicious around the PSA as changing that should have generated a paper trail. The only one we saw was the initial refusal. Exactly what Out of court settlement is everyone referring too? Settlement between who and when and what?
It would be nice to know in black and white. In the absence of that we see only a murky grey.
Looking forward with interest to the next promised revelations but remain very concerned that my investment has become a political football and item for interest in the local press for all the wrong reasons as I remain of the view these issues need working through quietly and methodically for the best outcomes for all stakeholders. That does not mean some stakeholders here see that differently.

Posted by Fibber on the 4th May :-

i think GG are just using their win (the 99% and partnership in new company) as an political PR opportunity to show Georgians the success they have had ahead of elections. The PSA notice i think is probably (i hope!!) more just the fact its so far removed from the original that the need a new PSA (new company, new area, new sharing rights, different expiration dates etc). It won't help FRR relationships but do they need relationships with FRR?? The FRR share in the new company is being sold to BP if we are led to believe the rumours so again GG can take the credit for this. I am however concerned that there will be some pro Russian politicians that see Zaza becoming the most powerful man in Georgia after this - can't remember his % holding but any % of $10B is alot of power.