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Yes, the company's debt position is crucial to its success. As I have said before, it seems to come back to its earlier plans. Elikhulu and the debt linked to it was based upon a ZAR Gold price of ZAR 16,319 per oz. Today the price is around ZAR 17,606 per oz. Just as importantly, the project has been delivered on time and under budget. Its production targets appear to be on track and the ETRP has been folded into the operation.

Of course, the Gold price could come unstuck but that goes with the turf. Thus far, the company has delivered on its plans and so, presumably, the debt should be under control. It might also be worth bearing in mind that the CEO is an accountant rather than a geologist!

When I last attended a Trinity presentation at the end of September 2018, I was given the impression that the company was about to sell its West Coast offshore assets. Since then nothing has been mentioned. It would be interesting to know just what the company does intend to do with something that appears to be non-core.

Considering the efforts over two years that were put into assessing the potential of Shuak, I was surprised at the outcome. That said, it was forthright and honest. Therefore, we must move on.

The company is certainly on the lookout for another acquisition target but only if it meets its stringent criteria. According to a recent update, it screened some 22 potential targets during 2018. If it fails to find anything suitable, it will simply pay down its debt. And that, in my view, is a very sound approach. In the meantime, it offers a generous dividend.

Supplying electricity to the Grid should provide another useful source of income for the company. According to Peter Levine in the recent interview he gave Malcy, the company is in the throes of constructing 16 kilometres of overhead cable to link the generators that it's leasing on Estancia Vieja with Puesto Flores. Not only will it power Puesto Flores but it can also be supplied to the Grid. The time frame given was six months. It appears to be looking at 2/3 MW being sold into the Grid. No indication of price was given but presumably, it will receive the local wholesale rate?

The upside for 2019, in my opinion, could be substantial if CPO-5 lives up to expectations. However, the company's core Platanillo assets have performed badly over 2018. It appears to have exited 2018 with lower oil production than it did in 2017. Q4 2018 production was almost 30% lower than the same period in 2017.

At the end of 2017, its goal was to drill “Up to” 16 wells by the end of 2018 and it was fully funded to do so with oil at US$45 per barrel. In total, it drilled just two and one was in a block where it has a 30% non-working interest. It has given every indication that it's sitting on a sizeable cash chest.

Putting its failings to one side, and it has immediate and possibly large prizes in front of it but these appear to be in CPO-5. And Amerisur is very much the junior partner in this block. It will not decide the pace and scope of development. The decisions lie with ONGC.

As for the OA deal, in terms of drilling, this will not kick in until next year. It's very unlikely to impact this year's production.

There may be major potential ahead but I think a note of realism is required. In the meantime, I eagerly await the company's final results. So that we can more clearly see the costs of producing from the Platanillo. Basically, just how cash generative this operation really is.

The lack of action in its offshore Vietnam acreage may explain the news drift and, to some extent, the flagging share price. In my view, this is a serious company going through a major change in direction. And there will be a period of quiet while the acquisition is bedded down. It simply, thank goodness, does not provide the same type of news fodder that outfits such as UKOG supply.

In terms of developing its assets, H2 2019 appears to be the starting date. And let's remember, one of the attractions of this acquisition is that it offers the opportunity to drill in an area where not only the cost of drilling is relatively low (It expects to use a replicable format) but the success rate is very high. However, we may need to accept that there is going to be very little to move the share price, aside from the price of oil, before then. Incidentally, there is some academic evidence to suggest that stock prices tend to drift after a major announcement.

Garnhiem, the operational update issued by Trinity seems to indicate, in my opinion, a generic problem with payments due to the reorganisation of Petrotrin. So presumably this is impacting most Trinidadian oil producers. But the real point I am making is that this could facilitate consolidation in the local oil industry.

If the article paints an accurate picture then it seems to indicate that no UK listed company chaired or managed by Giles Clarke has been sold/taken over or paid a dividend in the last 16 years.

in4cedros, the following comes from an operational update issued by Trinity Exploration on 15th January 2018: “ The quarter on quarter reduction in cash balances is partially due to delayed revenue receipts of US$5.1 million as a result of the Petrotrin restructuring”. The read-across from that seems to be that other Trinidadian oil companies may be encountering similar problems with payment.

Whether it's Sons Of Gwalia or Patisserie Holdings (CAKE), the lesson seems to be to limit your exposure to what you can afford to lose. The unknown unknowns seem to be an ever-present problem. Although I am an investor in President and I have met the management and looked carefully at the company, I still think that not getting over-exposed to any one stock makes a lot of sense. And also not getting emotionally involved.

Just curious to know. But is anyone aware when the last public company chaired or managed by Giles Clarke was sold or paid a dividend?

Just a thought. But Petrotrin appears to be stalling on payments to oil companies. No doubt it will settle its debts at the end of the day. However, it will be putting pressure on those oil producers with shaky finances. It does seem to raise the spectre of M&A activity. Possibly indicating a consolidation of Trinidad's oil industry.

A quick glance over the company's recent update shows its production moving in the right direction. However, it also demonstrates a growth in monies owed by Petrotrin to Trinity. Bearing in mind that the latter is debt free and has a considerable amount of cash, this is not an issue. At least not for the moment. But I could not help but think that many of its rivals, especially those that are indebted, may not be in such a healthy position. The situation could present some interesting opportunities for Trinity in terms of acquisitions.

My understanding is that its gas reserves could be substantial but the real issue was how to get the gas to market. The acquisitions of Las Bases and Puesto Prado provide the pipelines at a fraction of the cost of building them from scratch and, of course, it saves a huge amount of time. Basically, it diversifies its production – it's no longer solely dependent upon the price of oil.

Just for the sake of clarity, the production reporting figures have been moved from monthly to quarterly. However, I assumed this was quarterly ie three months from the last released production figures. That means that the first quarterly figures should be released within days. But is this a correct interpretation? The move could mean that the production figures will be released on the quarter days – March 25th, June 24th, September 29th and December 25th.

With the ZAR Gold price up almost 9% since Elikhulu went into production in August 2018, the project appears to be well on track. I would suggest that from a cash-flow perspective, this was going to be a risky part of the programme. It needed a strong Gold price to ensure that it met its year-end debt covenants and, of course, in preparation to meet its loan repayments with respect to Elikhulu starting in April 2019.

It will be interesting to see how Elikhulu pans out in the New Year. For obvious reasons, the company's recycling operations are concentrated on its own dumps. However, it has expressed its intentions to bring in material from outside its licences from January 2019. Just how the economics will work on that is unclear but if it can pull it off then it will present another income source. And that was not in its original calculations. The viability of the Elikhulu project was based only on its own dumps.

It might be worth remembering that Trinity has a very successful business model with a WTI price just a little lower than US$50 or north of US$60. So long as it avoids the SPT or earns more than enough to cover the cost. Taking a broader view, today's relatively low oil price could create opportunities as its higher cost producing rivals struggle to adapt. Especially those laden down with debt.

For those who tend to look closely at the balance sheet, Zytronic's accounts are worth a mention. It has a current ratio of 9.58, an acid test ratio of 8.22. And it carries no long-term debt. Of course, it's not without risk and is highly dependent on a small number of customers in the gaming markets in the US and South Korea. But if we are entering a recession it appears to be in a stronger position than most.

It might also be worth noting that it's sitting on a cash pile of £14.6 million as at 30th September 2018. Over the period it paid £3.66 million in dividends. Unless there is a complete collapse in trading conditions, it appears able to maintain its dividend for the foreseeable future at least.

For now, I would like to see it re-invest and develop the business. It appears to be gaining traction and there are many synergistic opportunities. A good example of that is its recent purchase of the Las Bases and Puesto Prado concessions. They provide the pipelines to get its gas out of Estancia Vieja and to market by H1 2019. But I would suggest there are many deals out there that could, at the right price, drive the company forward. In my view, it's also important to demonstrate the viability of its Puesto Guardian acreage. If its 2019 drilling programme for the latter is successful then maybe it should look at paying a dividend.

Incidentally, I would have thought that Peter Levine, owning almost 30% of the equity, would be in favour of distributing at least some of the profits.