Member Info for Starchild

Razorman: 'Has anyone considered that the motivation might have always been to disrupt the investment case'.

Yes, this is why I have alleged 'malice' all along. Although BPC has funding for Percy-1 pre-paid or in the bank, we may need funding for contingencies and to develop ex-CERP assets as per recent RNS. With the injunction threat hanging, funding options are limited. We are not Exxon. I believe the court will take this into account based on timing of the injunction to cause BPC as much pain, if the injunction ever happens.

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Lalle 'please don't write back to him [Smith]'

No I will not write to him. Instead I have a Zoom call scheduled with Mr Smith QC and the Attorney General who both seek my legal opinions. However I may postpone the call due to the footie this evening which takes priority.

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Some rebuttals to Mr Fred Smith QC’s opinions in yesterday’s article http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/dec/07/insight-worst-case-scenario-questions-raised-oil-s/ ……

1. Covid-19 https://opmbahamas.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/01183727/Emergency-Powers-COVID-19-Pandemic-Risk-ManagementNo.2-ORDER-2020.pdf See bottom page 9, clause 6. Furthermore, the IceMax undoubtedly has Covid-19 test kits on board in case a member of crew needs to travel onshore.

2. Immigration/visas http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/100366/120371/F763627670/BHS100366.pdf

3. UK/US citizens don’t even need a passport http://thebahamas.ch/Downloads/Information%20Booklet%20on%20Visas,%20Immigration,Employment%20and%20General%20Entry%20to%20The%20Bahamas.pdf

4. Work permits. Under UK law, off-shore workers get special clearance. See https://www.davidsonmorris.com/offshore-work/

5. Under maritime laws, international law and treaties, seafarers such as crew do not need work permits while temporarily docked, passing through or working on ships in a nation’s territorial waters. This is a fact, otherwise ships crews’ who are often from developing nations would be breaking the law.

6. The Stena IceMax is a British registered ship which will temporarily be at Freeport and then in Bahamian waters. Stena Drilling is a British company. The Stena crew and workers are normally under British laws (probably Scottish) while sailing.

7. Although the spud will happen in Bahamian territorial waters, anything 24 miles from land is considered INTERNATIONAL waters. An international shipping lane exists in the spud location. Refer to https://www.lipcon.com/blog/cruise-ship-law-what-you-need-to-know/ ….’Once a cruise ship sails more than 24 miles off of the coast of any given country, it is considered to be in international waters’.

Caveat: I am not a QC or versed in Bahamian law. However I do believe and allege some of Mr Smith’s ‘new points’ as presented in his article, are pulling at straws for populist reasons rather than serious legal arguments to use in a threatened injunction.

IMHO. DYOR

Have a great day

Starchild
https://www.lse.co.uk/profiles/starchild/

icemax: thanks for article. Interesting point from attorney general.....

1. 'Attorney General Carl Bethel suggested yesterday the government will deal with legal proceedings concerning oil exploration in The Bahamas if and when the legal action is taken. When contacted on the contentious matter, Bethel, who was reluctant to comment, said: “I will not get into a matter before the courts.”He continued: “The Bible says sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. “Deal with every evil, day to day.”

and
2. I have no idea who these experts are called 'Sea Change Economics'. However their arguments are so flawed, it is not worthy of me wasting time commenting on them.

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Carscoffee: I think it's probably to set a low bar which can be bettered after the spud result announcement in February, or another reason should you care to PM me.

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Eggchaser: Thanks. No wonder PRD wanted to buy-out CERP's share in June. Do you or ex-CERP LTH's know how many wells this has potential impact to and overall revenue projections?

The other good thing is it costs approx $20/b to extract, BPC financial projections are on $40 PoO and WTI is currently over $46/b

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Dan1191: Super find. Thanks for sharing this 50 minute live interview with us. I found Nahaja Black to be a very good host asking probing questions to BPC’s Simon Potter and Roberta Quant on her ‘Hit Back’ show. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN0nmOPcMV0 between 55 mins – 1hr 45mins time stamps.

Simon and Roberta did a great job answering all the questions. A large chunk of the interview was environment related, however near the end, Simon unambiguously clarified the term ‘double royalties’ he has used in recent press interviews. Put simply, the petroleum act calls for a minimum of 12.5% Gov royalties for hydrocarbon exploitation. As we’ve known for some time, the higher the daily extraction (in barrels per day), the higher the royalty up to a maximum of 25%. Hence the term ‘double.’

Furthermore to possibly exceed expectations in future he down-played the amount the Gov could earn in royalties to $5B. This would be from just ONE structure. (Based on recent presentations, this $5B was modelled on a maximum 700m boe commercial discovery at $40/b PoO in just one structure. If there’s 1.4boe and more than one structure, the Bahamian people will do very well and so will BPC shareholders.)

Even though I am well-versed in BPC, I learned new things by listening to this interview such as how and why BPC has EXCEEDED the legal requirements for EIA and why Simon, a seasoned geologist is so excited about the Percy-1 drill on a technical level.

GLA

Starchild
https://www.lse.co.uk/profiles/starchild/

For newbies:

Here are recent very good rebuttals to the alleged (non-confirmed) injunction to stop the Stena IceMax from drilling an exploration well this month. My commentary in brackets.

19/11 http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/nov/19/bpc-director-blasts-preposterous-action/

2/12 https://ewnews.com/bpc-slams-11th-hour-environmental-critics-says-bahamians-have-a-right-to-know-if-there-is-oil

3/12 http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/dec/03/oil-explorer-just-20-opponents-bahamas/ (I suspected the vast majority of petitioners were NOT Bahamian all along)

25/9 https://ewnews.com/bpc-issued-all-environmental-clearances-drilling-now-set-for-2021 (Gov viewpoint is that EA has been given, despite Stena replacing Seadrill)

30/11 https://ewnews.com/opposition-leader-i-support-environmentally-friendly-oil-drilling (Even the opposition leader supports drilling subject to usual caveats)

(New) BPC’s official position: https://www.bpcplc.com/enviromental/

(New) BPC’s excellent elevator pitch summary https://d1ssu070pg2v9i.cloudfront.net/pex/bahamas/2020/12/03113504/100760-BPC-Environmental-Fact-Sheet_revised_02-12-2020.pdf

(New) https://d1ssu070pg2v9i.cloudfront.net/pex/bahamas/2020/12/04110937/Perseverance-1-FACTS-Presentation.pdf (The FACTS vs rumours and allegedly FAKE news stirred by some in the minority!)

IF IF IF an injunction is attempted, (1)I have full confidence in the Bahamian judicial system. (2) I firmly believe the meritless injunction will be lost, especially as they had ample time to do so but waited until the last minute in an attempt to seriously hurt BPC, allegedly out of malice by some.

Have a great Sunday.

Starchild
https://www.lse.co.uk/profiles/starchild/

CoMan: We are grateful for your insight. Excellent posts from an experienced oil engineer, who has worked on many rigs.

Read them all here https://www.lse.co.uk/profiles/coman/

Starchild

I am pleased to have received a response from Stena Drilling senior management on our proposed IceMax Christmas whip round. The response (personal details removed) is shown below…..

………..‘Normally the crew puts on a Christmas raffle with a variety of prizes. Additionally I like to provide the crew with small awards, based on individual safety contributions. Items such as mugs, Polo Shirts, and even wireless Bose speakers are very welcome awards. We always have special meals on Christmas and New Year. Of course if there is anything you would like to do for the crew we are open to many possibilities. It could be managed by our Human Resources department, Rig Manager and / or the Captain offshore. We are looking forward to drilling this highly interesting well. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.’…………

Come on folks, let’s show some festive spirit to the +/- 125 IceMax crew who are drilling OUR WELL during unprecedented Covid-19 related times. Injunction or not they will still be away from their families. A quick show of hands please over the next few days. No need to disclose the gift you plan to order online in the next week or so. A simple ‘yes’ to this post will suffice.

Next weekend, logistics details will be provided here who you should email at Stena Drilling. Our gifts will be picked up by the winners when they return to Aberdeen or delivered to their homes by the company. Tax efficient and great Karma.

Have a great Saturday.

Starchild
https://www.lse.co.uk/profiles/starchild/

Stressful: 'Have a look at the Bahamian High Court, there is a hearing listed there for next week'

kindly provide a link

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The environment Minister is Mr Romauld Ferreira. If you refer to the bottom of the 25/9/20 article it states an interesting legal point ….

‘When asked about promises made to the environmental community early on in his tenure as minister, Ferreira said, “We did meet and we did say there were no new licenses issued. That was the crux of the meeting. “This isn’t a new license. It’s a continuation of an existing license and we were advised by our attorneys at the office of the attorney general that this arrangement had to be honored……” (source https://ewnews.com/bpc-issued-all-environmental-clearances-drilling-now-set-for-2021 )

Tragically, Minister Ferreira’s teenage son was found dead yesterday in an apparent suicide. ( Source https://ewnews.com/environment-ministers-teenage-son-found-dead-in-apparent-suicide ) It must be a very difficult time for the family. The situation is not helped by the threatened injunction against the Government which would mainly be Mr Ferreira’s Ministry. There is no comparison between the death of a son and work related challenges or day-to-day government politics, however I just wanted to share the above points.

The above also puts life into perspective compared to a share price going up or down by a few percentage points. RIP.

Starchild
https://www.lse.co.uk/profiles/starchild/

ooooops...i meant to heap praise on JBT007!

IceMax: good find again....and told ya all!!! I knew it!

ps...It's great BPC are now on the offensive with back to back articles.

Starchild

PI: wise words!
IceMax: good find. The irony is the Greenpeace spokesman Mr Ben Ayliffe, is wearing a jacket, the fabric of which I believe (but may be wrong) is partly derived from....oil. And if not, probably manufactured in a factory powered by oil/gas products.

Perhaps he should wear woollies in future PR photos.

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Carscoffee: good point re apparent general unity between gov and opposition. On a separate matter, please PM me.

Re my last post, I believe it is the Supreme Court where a plaintiff attempts an injunction. This is based on an article from 2014:
https://www.bahamaslocal.com/newsitem/103849/Injunction_imposed_against_government_over_Nygard_Cay.html

It also appears more than one judge sits in on these case.

The supreme court listing is, I believe, updated here https://www.bahamasjudiciary.com/courts/hearing-list/

I believe the case for the injunction is VERY weak, however I am not versed in Bahamian law. Furthermore, I don't think we should do deep dives of injunction cases...It's like searching medical symptoms online for 'ear ache' and ending up with a list including some quite dire possibilities.

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Bynari: Useful intel thanks. Refer to https://practiceguides.chambers.com/practice-guides/comparison/473/4420/6979-6984-6992-7001-7002-7003-7004-7005-7006-7007-7008-7009-7010 which explains the Bahamas legal system quite well.

I am wondering if it will be the Supreme court in the first instance, as the Appeal court is a higher one. See above link.
From what I read, IF they plan to attempt an injunction, in most cases they must give notice to the other party. The question is, which is the party? I suspect its the Gov and not BPC.

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Carscoffee: I never alleged corruption. What I do allege is the attempted injunction is to hurt BPC at the worst possible time, ie, after it has paid several million to Stena. This will leave a funding hole unless the gov pays it.

We are not party to how many of the 45,000 signatories are Bahamian. Campaigns such as theirs use international social media to get more signatures with the help of NGOs also from abroad. Even if the vast majority of the 45,000 are Bahamian, which I very much doubt, this leaves 350,000 currently in the silent multitude.

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Jimtheknow: if you find my posts annoying, block them.
Llalee: kindly go forth and multiply.

Debate is good. Disagreements on share forums provide opinions for readers to decide while making their own investment decisions.

Simon Potter’s recent statement was excellent https://ewnews.com/bpc-slams-11th-hour-environmental-critics-says-bahamians-have-a-right-to-know-if-there-is-oil
I totally agree with his eloquently put comment …….. ‘there is a silent multitude of Bahamians who are in favor of knowing the outcome of our 45 to 60-day [exploration] fact-finding exercise…’

What Simon did not state nor allege were points I brought up as an independent shareholder in my open letter aimed for the silent multitude but mainly to lay seeds for the COURT if an injunction is attempted………..’How many of the influencers and financial backers of the campaigns to stop exploratory drilling and eventually production, are connected to the Bahamas? Do they have conflicts of interest? Are they attempting to delay the drill or financially hurt BPC and its shareholders for personal gain? Based on the timing is there malice involved? And for those vocal objectors who are Bahamian, is it really about the environment or merely a conduit for political protest?’

12 people publicly disagreed I should have sent the letter. Some quite offensively (while also implying they are PR experts whose after-the-event unsolicited advice I should heed), others politely and respectfully. Of those 12, 2 disagree or mock nearly anything I and others post, 2 openly manipulate this BB depending on their trading decisions at the time, and one appears to be an environmental activist who recently joined us.

I do NOT regret writing the honest letter whatsoever. It’s my shares and my money and I will write to whomever I chose. As shareholders we are separate to BPC the company which we part own. However if I could turn the clock back I would have done one thing differently and that is NOT to have posted it on this BB for feedback. I should have just sent it direct or via a 3rd party for anonymity.

IF IF IF an injunction is attempted, it is on the record for the court(s) now and in future that at least one BPC shareholder alleges malice, based on the timing of the injunction to financially hurt BPC the most, including you and I as shareholders. The letter may make a difference or it may not.

I suggest we now get back to discussing BPC rather than me.

Have a good day

Starchild