RE: Bullish analyst comments26 Jan 2025 12:16
Boom or Bust.
The results, specifically the production rates from Shenandoah South 2H & 4H after hydraulic stimulation with the 80,000 HP Liberty frac pumps from the US Secretary of Energy, are going to be the final tipping point for the Beetaloo Basin and FOG.
After about 50 years of exploration history, after CRA Exploration, FOG, Petro Hunter, Sweetpea, Hess, Sasol, Santos, Origin, TBN, EEG studied the shales there, shot 2D & 3D seismic, drilled Kalala S1, Beetaloo W1, Amungee NW-1H, Amungee NW-2, Amungee NW-3, Amungee 2H, Amungee 3H, Carpentaria-1, Carpentaria-2H, Carpentaria-3H, Shenandoah South 1H, the end of the possible current learning curve is reached.
After Shenandoah South 2H, (3H), and 4H are drilled with the best available technology and hydraulically fractured with the best available technology, this marks the end of the current possible learning curve. Thus, the welltesting production rates from Shenandoah 2H and Shenandoah 4H are the final tipping point for a long time.
Would you like some examples? Poland saw a gold rush. All possible shale gas concessions were covered by oil companies. Poland brought brand new drilling rigs with the best available technology to Poland and drilled horizontal wells. Brand new frac units were brought from Texas to Poland. Unfortunately, the test production rates were disappointing, and since then, shale gas is dead in Poland.
Exxon drilled with FOG in Hungary. Halliburton transported their biggest frac pump to Hungary. The test rates disappointed, and since then, the Mako project has been dead.
We can expect that WHEN Shenandoah South 2H and 4H do not deliver commercial shale gas production rates, the Beetaloo shale gas will be considered dead for a long time. It is not necessary that both wells deliver. TBN is in the comfortable situation of operating two wells. So they can practice and potentially "screw up" one well, but they must deliver at least with the second well.
In the case that both wells do not deliver commercial gas production rates, there is no need to drill the other 4 wells, and nobody will bring in the 5 drilling rigs to create the second successful shale gas basin outside of North America after Vaca Muerta.
In the case we see a commercial production rate from Shenandoah SH2 respectively S4H the whole Beetaloo including FOG will definitively boom.
Reducing the FOG percentage for Shenandoah S2H and S4H can make sense. But reducing the share to zero for the next 4 wells makes no sense, Mr. POQ.
After the results of S2H and S4H, the Beetaloo will be considered dead anyway, or FOG shareholders will lose money because the Beetaloo booms (because we do not participate the important early cash flow from the 4 wells with zero FOG participation).
For a successfull production case. Losing ~1% of one of the biggest shale gas assets worldwide is not small. Relative % perhaps small. But the loss of absolute dollars for FOG share holders could be big with thi