Not a surprise to Lorna, I suspect.7 Jul 2023 11:53
Thinking about how this has arisen.
If Noble had a cut off date in the LOI everyone would have known about it including He1, and He1 could have adjusted their plans accordingly. Obviously they haven't.
However, I think it possible Noble had an internal cut off date ie now, for rig share with He1 and Sofori.
So if Noble had filed a Notice of Rectification with Sofori (so as to avoid any possible claims under the LOI) say 7 or 14 days ago, to expire yesterday, then He1 may not have been given notice of that and have been unaware of it until the following day, or possibly a couple of days.
So Lorna would not have been surprised that this thing was thundering down the tracks.
What may have surprised her is the speed at which Noble then contracted with Marriot, possibly within an hour or two of their NoR expiring.
But what would He1 have done 6 or 13 days ago, as soon as they found out Noble had filed a NoR?
Yes, that's right, they would have filed their own NoR to expire 7 or 14 days hence, ie probably expiring today or tomorrow, and hoping that they could make the time up with Marriott, who I suspect has been on some radars for a week or two now.
But they were out manoeuvred by Noble who put pen to paper as soon as their NoR expired, leaving He1 holding the baby. He1 could not contract earlier to save holding two babies. That was the surprise this morning.
So end result is that He1 could be free of Sofori, if they so wished within the next few hours. Question is where then?
But at least Rukwa will get drilled in 2023, that is effectively guaranteed, and is significant progress from yesterday.
It just may not be He1 doing the drilling.
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