Member Info for Phil_2018

True, if the post 2027 situation is all that remains in the arbitration to be discussed then we might start coming out of the woods soon. I tend to get the impression that this month of November is perhaps the last particularly sensitive month for FRR. FFR also have by the 18th of this month to find replacement counsel in their case against Hope, if not I'm assuming it will all be dropped with FRR having to pick up the costs at some point. Overall if both end up out of the way then stuff could be happening from this December onwards hopefully on a more positive note.

I've no idea, but considering all we have heard of late I'm thinking surely there should be a way of getting some kind of Shareholder representative on the board to oversee that matters are not going unnecessarily awry and work towards disclosure to shareholders at some point in the near future as to what is happening at FRR. With Hope out of the picture of the BoD there is little reason left for the info blackout. Maybe this could be done through an emergency AGM? December seems reasonable to me. Any others have thoughts on this front?

I understand that a general principle of business is to avoid or at least be very cautious about pouring your money into a business you may not ever see again. I'm not saying FRR will fail but if matters are uncertain then it could be a difficult for Zaza to recover his money if he loans it to FRR. From his perspective he is not out to risk going from a millionaire to a pauper or much poorer person. It is totally wrong that the workers have not been paid of that is true as it is now looking. I'm assuming if that is the case then FRR hasn't got any room to move on it and are stuck until some money is forthcoming from oil or arbitration. I think Zaza should explain to the workers when and how they can reach payment realistically.

True, I've also heard they steal stuff probably more so if not paid. Perhaps some oil is going astray though it needs refinement they might still be operating somehow like this. Oil etc out there can probably be exchanged for a fair bit.

Don't see any advantage in a story like this being made up. There is no share price to affect, the tendering process in Ukraine is on hold and it wouldn't affect the company at all.

I was coming to think 10 months unpaid a bit far fetched but who knows and in what way. So maybe a full 20 months without pay is possible. I know back in the nineties a lot of workers in Russia, Ukraine, etc went without pay for maybe up to six months or more as the country was in such a financial state. No doubt some salary delay might still go on out there. I'm also aware that a lot of the old Soviet style accommodation had minimal to no cost for their residents. Maybe it's a case of the workers just withholding payment for rent etc and just paying for food. I myself couldn't really imagine how I would live that long without pay or what support if any may exist, something I guess is keeping them alive.

I'm guessing like said before FRR put paying off YA as top priority. Well at least we hope they are paid off as we know of no court case. I'm guessing FRR sees not paying the workers as less of a threat as it would take time for them to pursue the salary debt and money which they apparently don't have.

My guess is that it is taking time to build up some money from paying YA off. The court case costs would be cutting into this, at least whatever they have paid the lawyers. I'm guessing they gave only paid the lawyers what they have to keep things going and stopped doing so when any objectives were achieved.

For me this tells me that Zaza & co feel that they have no other option than stick with the legal proceedings to date. The arbitration is self evident while the Hope case was a situation of staving him off from taking control of the company. The arbitration sounds like it is either done or nearly done now. The Hope case may have a little longer left to roll but it sounds like that may soon be coming to an end as well, maybe one, two or three months.

Like thought though it's sounding like November is a precarious month for FRR, that it just needs to make it past this month and things could start coming good, money coming in to finally pay people off, court cases finally being resolved or getting towards that, etc. If money is still coming in from oil and lawyers are not being paid my thoughts are that most of the money has gone to paying of YA and money will soon start flowing in to resolve all their problems.

I doubt the company will file for insolvency since they know it's workers have little option other than to wait. While the workers know if they took legal measures that ended in FRR being declared insolvent then that might mean them not getting their pat at all. It must be terrible being in the workers situation but financially they are the least dangerous option unfortunately for them.

That is true Aubree, I doubt many people could last ten months without pay. Even in a company where it was thought it might happen or an industry that is prone to it, etc. At some point workers would start to leave, one month's, two, three even. They would seek a new employer and put in a claim for the money owed. Other workers meanwhile would stay clear of such a company like the plague or on starting and hearing of such leave quickly. I'm guessing these oil workers are skilled enough & got enough experience to easily enough find work elsewhere. More easier than going without pay for ten months though.

Maybe some pay since the YA final payment might have not been forthcoming as that could have had a strain on the cashflow. So one month or two maybe, possibly not the whole workforce and maybe just a part payment.

The finance guys going could be for any number of reason. The company may need finance guys with a different skills set if takeovers, reorganisation, etc are on the cards. They might have had a problem with how the finance side of things was being ran in the company internally and needed a shake up and so 'asked' to leave. Sometimes old hands at the job can get a bit too old and a fresh insight is needed.

I've work in minor accounts/finance roles in smaller companies and the above reasons come up. If a company keeps coming up against problems with the finance team not working as it needs due to its well worn practices then after a while the company gets fed up with it keep causing issues and a solution is sought. I know Zaza in his previous end of year accounts update stated that the company was moving through reorganisation and coat efficiencies.

I still think that FRR are not through the woods yet and are probably at a sensitive time to come forward again with a relist, etc. In a month or two's time perhaps it might be in a better position. I do think early in the new year if no news within the first few months then us shareholders should start to look at what can be done to get some transparency from this company, whether it be through an emergency AGM or other means.

Well I think it's a pain with the arbitration hearing, etc running on so long. Maybe FRR thought they might get a better result by delaying and getting the US gov to sort it with the Georgian government for them. If they are wanting closer ties then strategically the oil & gas could be pivotal to that alliance. Hence why the US may be able to demonstrate to the Georgian government that playing it straight with US companies willing to invest in Georgia will serve it best long term.

I'm not sure whether at this point if there is any news astounding enough for us shareholders to know about. From what we hear both the Hope & GG Arbitration cases are still rattling on. Possibly they might be sorted in a few months but until they are all we seem to have is apparently some oil money flowing in from the wells but without it being fully able to come to fruition until these court cases are resolved. It looks like some progress is happening on the cases but its proving to be a lengthy process.

It may just be that Zaza & co know that they have little choice but to go along with the long game to get the needed result, we hope.

I doubt Zaza & co. Would dare miss payment of the final YA installment with all the trouble they had on the previous year with them. The YA thing was a major pain tin the bum and threatened to de-rail the company over triviality and bs. I recall that the payments were restructured as part of the agreement reached. There where payments for each month that were small up to one big one at the end I think around July/August time this year. The small payments I don't think would have troubled FRR and it would have been worth paying them to keep YA off their back. I'm guessing the final payment was made by whatever means necessary as another court case over unpaid debt would be the last thing FRR would need.

If it were me as CEO I would look to pay that first as a clear default could ruin FRR. Unfortunately that leaves payments of salary, lawyers fees as debt that will wait and not immediately tear the company apart, as bad and unfair as that is of course to those suffering as a result of such an approach. I'm guessing that now that YA are paid (I hope) that Zaza will start paying off employees salary debts and probably later the lawyers. Theoretically in a few months, perhaps early in the new year that could be sorted by perhaps.

Sometimes a lot of resignations in finance are not good as they can have the inside track on the company finances first hand. If they see they are not likely to be paid in a fair while they may leave or if they see things going bad.

On the other hand there could be many other reasons for it. If there has been a lot of work because of the situation they may have just got fed up with it all. They may be wanting to retire or any other number of reasons.

I still personally think that as the oil resources have been proved and some of it pumping plus the gas even in a bad situation there should be a high price tag willing to be paid by a Major even for a bankrupt company. So theoretically potentially still a good return for us.

I recall Zaza & SN signed solvency statements that they are and likely to be foreseeably remain solvent for the next year.

At those years of service of those employees they might even be retiring so not bothered to update their LinkedIn resume, etc.

Even if it did go bankrupt with the large oil reserves discovered, some of which is being pumped out I'm guessing many Major's would be interested and would compete, offering a good buyout price, probably more than giving us back a good return anyway perhaps.

Zaza in his Ukraine news article seemed to give good progress to the situation on the ground.

My guess is that there is more in it for Zaza & SN to get FRR to a deal with a major than trying to recoup money they have put in. I reckon there could be a cashflow situation but one that can't not be resolved or is deep enough to sink FRR. One that will probably be resolved over the coming weeks/months fairly naturally is my guess.

If there's been a non payment of employees and the latest set of lawyers (on top of the Caymen ones) representing FRR withdrew through lack of payment it might just indicate FRR were putting these payments off.

FRR could well regard them as payments that could be put off while others can't such as the YA final payment. If all the money FRR had coming in went to pay them off so as to not default and have another court case and claims against it then that could explain it.

It could well be that money will then be able to be put forward for paying Employees, lawyers and with prejudice fees in the coming weeks/months but again more time needed.

I'm assuming that on this basis FRR have so far been unable to secure any other loan agreements to replace Hope's loans or to pay employees, lawyers, etc as otherwise it would be easy for them to do so. Odds probably also that Zaza hasn't made any loan to FRR as he either never really had the money or doesn't want to risk it as it wouldn't get Hope out of the picture entirely by paying the $20 million loan notes.

I read it as FRR have 30days to find new lawyers.

The dates in Jan are just in case things run on, ie, they find new lawyers and don't wish to come to terms with Hope.

Looks like it's all standard practice from the Judge.

I think it would be better for FRR to withdraw now if the playing for time job has served its purpose. I think paying Hope's legal fees would be little bother set against moving forward to shareholders getting a good payout from a deal with a Major.

It could be a delaying tactic to 18th Nov then FRR pick up the ball again from there. It depends how long FRR feel they need to play for time. They might just need to 18th Nov for some particular reason, they may want longer or they may already be done. I'm thinking it's the latter and the 18th Nov is just time for them to organise towards settlement and company matters.

For me this whole case has sounded like it was more about getting Hope out of the picture once the Oil started to flow as they knew it was him or them that would clean up. It's achieved that objective and they have managed to play for enough time to get him out of the picture. For me this case was never about FRR winning anything other than time and out manourving Hope which they both seem to have now done.

Along with that it odds are other matters are now dealt with such as arbitration and YA. Plus likely development of the field and more money flowing in.

In current situation it's likely FRR has been able to get hold of finance to replace/repay Hope and get him out of the picture. That may happen up to the 18th Nov maybe.

Going forward FRR will be in a stronger position if they pay off Hope's loan notes and finish the court case. Court cases lingering on line this don't look good if going for a deal with a Major, they would want a nice clean sheet.

Hopefully this will all be resolved soon and FRR can get on with the job at hand. I'm thinking that it's starting to look that way, hopefully.

I'm guessing also that FRR don't want to disclose Discovery as yet so now is a convenient moment to drop proceedings. However Hope would prefer to know Discovery if he could. Also that if the case is dropped without prejudice then restarted again it could be another long wait period for him before the disclosure of Discovery stage is finally reached, again.

My thoughts are that hopefully an agreement may be reached. I think FRR will have to settle for an agreement with Prejudice and paying fees. Though perhaps they could in turn be allowed to withhold Discovery information till they wish to and are able to inform us shareholders at large also.

Thanks Timster, I get what you are saying.

Yeah as I was saying on here just the previous few days to this that I saw the Hope case as a situation for FRR to buy time and get him out of the way. I think FRR foresaw the move he was going to make and had to jump the gun to avoid him getting his hands on FRR/Block 12. That he would swoop in like a culture so they had to take action to get him out the picture even if it meant that, that action would have to happen before substantial enough evidence could be collected as by then it would have been too late. As I said the other day the court case against Hope must have served its purpose by now so little point carrying it on and this info seems to support this.

I see you are correct Timster in that it's Hope's lawyers that want payment from FRR not FRR's lawyer (at least as yet) they have just been fired as they couldn't see how Hope would settle without prejudice.

Maybe FRR are concerned in case Hope tries to work his way back in again, who knows. I can't see how though.

I can't see how FRR can get out of paying his legal fees as it's them who have brought the case then dropped it. Hope may have done some wrong doing or intention off but it's sounds like it's not anything that would stand up in most cases in court as not substantial evidence enough of it.

Maybe some other lawyers with a fresh mind may find some other way through with an agreement for FRR to pay some or all of Hope's fees but also have an agreement that does not bind their hands if that is the problem.

Either way I see it as potentially good news that that whole saga is 'hopefully' coming to an end and matters can move forward. Potentially this could open the way for a deal or relisting around Christmas time perhaps? :)

Only briefly skim read as I don't want to waste too much time on the ins & outs that seem to ebb and flow all the time these days. Am I right in thinking that this is telling us that FRR are dropping the case against Hope at this time? Maybe for good? Also that they seem to have fallen out with their lawyers? Lawyers possibly not paid?

If enough has been left in the liquidation to pay Hope his $2 million and the liquidators etc then he had his interest money. He is also off the BoD. Would there then be any point left pursuing him for breach of fiduciary duties?

I know some of the stuff we have seen and court cases so far on it give question as to whether this case could actually succeed against him. Not because there is no truth in it but because the evidence might not be substantial enough. If a case of playing for time has served its purpose, might FRR chose to move on from this now? Pay off Hope the rest of his $20 mil to get rid of him for good through a preferable lender, do a buyout or similar deal with a Major, or even relist, etc?

I just hope those wells are being dug/have been dug and all these court cases are not holding things up. That's the worse case scenario I think if he's just been sat on his hands. I sincerely hope that work has progressed and not come to a halt. As long as revenue & profit can increase through more wells dug the chances of frr turning out good will be.

I believe and hope work has been ongoing and think odds are it most likely has been as it is the best way for the problems of the company to be resolved. A company that turns into a big profit making company within a few years can get rid of its financial woes. So the longer FRR goes on the more likely a better outcome I feel.

In some way it may not be so bad us all being locked into FRR as it avoids us selling out too early and to be honest development of the field to the position a Major would be interested in a buyout etc was always likely to take some time. The worst part is being in information blackout for so long. Hopefully not too much longer left with that we hope.

Think the date of 15th October was banded around on here a few months ago as the date for the arbitration hearing, no idea if this is correct. Anyway October nearly gone and odds are the hearing has happened and hopefully a final resolution that is favourably to FRR. It's good hearing some on here regard this as the last big hurdle and some sort of favourable agreement with a Major could come along. That would be most welcome. I get the impression Zaza had been playing for time and hopefully clearing the decks of these sorts of problems will pave the way for the situation to get sorted without longer waits.

Came up a few months back I believe. A guy on here reckoned they didn't have to file public accounts unless they wished to due to the country they were registered in and their laws. I think the accounts for this year are due by now, possibly even past due.