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Some people are getting rather prickly regarding comments about the state of FI infrastructure and the cost of its upkeep.
No one's criticising the Islands, or the Islanders, but merely stating 'facts' as reported by Islanders themselves and the prospects for their longer-term future.
The FI may only have a very small population, but they still need a national infrastructure in a very remote location, which costs a lot.
In 2016, Keith Padgett said he was confident that the Islanders don’t NEED oil to have a successful future. So where did everyone think such sums of money were coming from?

Jockosjungle's account differs substantially from that of the 2021 General Election candidates, interviewed by Richard ****well on FITV. These are not the biased accounts of those "only interested in their own bubble". Richard ****well was an MLA from 1997 to 2009.
All were pretty candid about the long-term problems facing the FI, if considerable funding isn't forthcoming from somewhere. They all rejected the salmon farming proposal and dismissed any suggestion that HM Treasury might make a meaningful contribution (in addition to funding the defence of the Islands). All rejected to idea of borrowing and that was before inflation and interest rates suddenly took-off at the end of 2021.

I'm sure most Islanders prefer a less frenzied life than in, say, London, but that doesn't mean they don't want to be comfortable and secure, which all candidates were concerned about and how it was to be funded.

As well as the new port project likely to overrun in time and cost, there's the need for a reliable, uninterrupted (and preferably sustainable) new electricity supply, good and affordable communications (internal and external), adequate affordable housing (especially for first-time buyers), education (including upgrading/replacing the dilapidated infrastructure and staff retention), roads, ferries, medical care (including upgrading/replacing the dilapidated infrastructure), guaranteed fresh water, modern sewage system in Stanley, improved facilities for tourists/visitors, pensions, etc.
There's nothing extravagant about that list - i.e. these are just day-to-day capital expenditure needs, which according to the Islanders' own representatives are in serious need of funding.

If pisciculture, HM Treasury and borrowing aren't going to fund all this, with something left over to maintain it all, as well as running the Islands' day-to-day activities, then where's the money coming from, if not from oil & gas?

I suspect the 2020 pension freeze was more about the: "....significant deficit on the Retirement Pension Fund", as confirmed in the 2020 FI Budget Report.

Those who have "worked on your fine islands a few times and enjoyed it very much" are probably unaware of the condition of the infrastructure and the cost of bringing it all up-to-date.

The point is, that despite Keith Padgett's words, the FI really do need oil revenue, so let's not pret

'Actually they do pretty well out of fishing rights- the standard of living is high'

The FI reserves do look quite buoyant until one considers what needs to be done. If living standards are high, why did the FIG freeze the Islands' fairly modest state pension in 2020, claiming that there weren't the funds for an increase? The need for an increase is even greater now, with inflation taking off.

A couple of the big concerns about the Islands' main revenue stream is that climate change will affect the dependability of certain key species in FI-controlled waters, plus overfishing by visiting boats.

In any case, fishing revenues won't address the costs of putting right the dilapidated state of FI infrastructure, badly in need of repair and upgrading to modern standards.
It's pretty clear that the Islanders don't want their homeland to be turned into an oil-fuelled circus (like Dubai), but they do want economic stability for as long as possible with a few more modern facilities. Not all want to be living in the 1950s/60s, with power failures, poor communications and fairly infrequent deliveries of goods.

There are undoubtedly many who enjoy the quieter life on the Islands, but probably more who would prefer some of the facilities they have experiences elsewhere, such as good and affordable broadband, with a proper mobile phone service - tourists/visitors (an important revenue source) would expect this.

For a population about the size of Chipping Sodbury, to depend on fishing rights to provide all this might be somewhat fanciful.

FFS, the LSE filter didn't like '*******tail'!!
Wonder if it can cope with 'S****horpe'!

WRONG Kurg, even if the British can't get their act together, if Argentina were to get their hands on the FI, they'd lose little time getting oil & gas production up and running.

It seems to need Israeli get-up-and-go to get this thing started - without them, I would definitely see this as a lost cause.

Oil/gas in these quantities will be needed for decades, not just the '10 years' that some forecast. Oil & gas will form part of a new ****tail of energy sources, with renewables and possibly nuclear fusion taking more and more of the strain. But oil/gas have proven themselves to have been very reliable and pretty cheap, if one considers their energy density, and we know how to use them, whatever the consequences of carbon emissions.

Galtieri and his advisors misread the signs, and the UK didn't regain the FI by very much, especially with Argentina getting help from the French.
Once back on the islands, retaining control is a bit easier, but still a serious ongoing overhead.

If the Islanders don't get funding from oil/gas revenues, HMG is unlikely to provide the sort of funding needed to rebuild the Islands' decaying/out-of-date infrastructure, improve the infrastructure for 21st century living standards (not just to retain particularly younger Islanders, but also attract enough, increasingly demanding tourists), provide much needed administration facilities and decent pensions AND have enough left over to provide longer-term security.

Otherwise, with such a small population, they (particularly the young) are going to start drifting away to somewhere with a better standard of living and future prospects, Islander numbers will dwindle, until a final few will be left to switch everything off and turn out the lights.

With so much oil/gas left untapped, there will be plenty of candidates who'll lay claim to The Falklands, Las Malvinas, or whatever else they choose to call the place.
So FIG must know it really is now or never and they appear to have people ready to make it happen right now.

Ths who say this is 'simple' clearly have noidea and certainly never been involved in contract negotiations.
This certainly isn't 'simple' and as LTT & JEBR say, if they were to rush things, the moaners here would be the first to moan about the disastrous outcome.
Ignore the moaners, they moan about everything and then when everything's OK, they moan that there's nothing to moan about.

"Has RKH issued a ton of shares recently ?"

Godders, instead of your incessant and inane burbling, why not spend some of that wasted time investigating the company you claim to be invested in.
That way, you'll be able to answer your own questions, give us all a much needed break from you and perhaps, you might even be informed enough to make just one sensible contribution.

Ephemeral, there is the pure mathematical component of the award to RKH's balance sheet (assuming payment is received), which could be less than the award, if, say, RKH decide to sell the award to someone who can/will enforce it.

There's also the psychological component, not only regarding the extent to which it makes RKH solvent, but also, after so many failures and false dawns, Sam has actually managed to pull something worthwhile off. That would bode well for SL progress, etc.

Therefore, what will it mean for the SP? Initially I'd say quite a bit more than just the bottom line figure divided by the number of shares.
Then we'll have to see what news comes from RKH/Navitas/FIG.

I'm with Citizen on this one - if U insyst on poesting incezzant drivul, then at leest spel it propally.

"Godders, i bet you are fun at parties!"

Parties? Who would invite Godders? Not even Boris to one of his 'bring your own booze' variety.
Godders would bring a bottle of Listerine.

Just to add to that - if HBR were to have a change of mind, would we really want them as a partner?

I think we need dynamic participants, with the ability to raise funding, with the necessary strength of mind to get the project done without even thinking about any noise from Argentina. Navitas seems to fit the description far better.

I suppose there's an absolutely minute chance of a change of mind, with HBR deciding that they might wish to retain some involvement in SL and the FI, rather than being the lead contractor, but I doubt it.

Much more likely is that however 'black & white' things may seem for their departure, there are always detailed issues that need more attention than perhaps anticipated, especially as they've declared that they want a 'clean break'. i.e., they don't want loose ends to come back to haunt them, perhaps costing a lot.

I think most of us agree that the RKH historic contract negotiations haven't been that great and the one with PMO was probably one of the worst, so HBR may be dotting Is and crossing Ts to make sure everything is covered. You can just hear how it might be going, especially with things like responsibility for decommissioning the TDF. Is it actually going to be decommissioned and when? If so, who pays and how much? As well as the proportion to be paid, does anyone really know how much it will cost, when HBR want to be rid of all responsibilities long before it may happen?
You could imagine the FIG insisting that it's going to be decommissioned immediately, so pay-up the £10Million (or whatever) NOW. HBR pays its bit and then makes their 'clean break'. Then, as soon as they've got the cash and HBR have gone, FIG say: "Actually, we could make use of that TDF because the New Port project is delayed, and/or we might need it for SL, etc.". HBR would be justifiably very annoyed at having paid for something that might never happen, or at least not for several years.

So, just like with the OM award, there's lots to be discussed/negotiated so that ghosts don't come back to haunt those involved.

In case you don't believe in that idea, look no further than RKH, which is now haunted by poor decisions, negotiations and contracts to the point that it's hanging-on by its finger tips. HBR do not want to be in that position and to avoid that, it takes time and intellect.

NOFEAR's been a busy little boy overnight, telling just about everyone to switch to Capita.
Just have a look at its posting activity in the early hours of this morning.
I just hope it knew how to 'Cut & Paste'!

As I said last week, he went to pick up a penguin from the Post Office!

You've all got it wrong, Mikey's got a "roumer"!!
Don't know what that is, but it sounds intriguing - Come on, tell us Mikey2021.

Cheers Falky! I did the same a few weeks ago, making a proper public tit of myself!

Oh well, KBO!

Godders, how about you give us all a well-deserved break from your constant, inane burbling.

With HBR going and a new arrangement having to be agreed between multiple parties, I'd say that some delay indicates that things ARE going on, but that it's complicated and all the 'I's need to be dotted and the 'T's crossed. There have been some pretty sloppy negotiations carried out in the past, which have resulted in confusion, or worse.
If nothing else has been learnt over "the last decade", it's that negotiations and contracts need to be to a much higher standard, which takes time.

Just like with the OM award, if it was all over, then those involved would have said: "this is a dead duck, we're throwing in the towel", but they haven't. We also know that Sam (for all his faults) is busy trying to get a satisfactory outcome (as he has considerable skin in the game).

So either stop burbling, or take Falky's advice, which is to sell and leave us in peace.

Hey Mikey, who's spreading the rumours you refer to?
Don't tell me - it's not Minnie the Minx and General Jumbo, by any chance?

I would say that Michael2021 is someone who does his research thoroughly - reading The Beano.
His favourite character is Dennis The Menace (on whom he models himself)!

Well, the bottom hasn't fallen out of it - yet

I agree, the size of some trades makes it a bit disconcerting. Surely these aren't just nervous PI's cashing-in their chips.

However, assuming Sam has gone to Port Stanley (maybe now back home), would he have gone all that way just to get a plastic penguin from the souvenir shop?