Gordon Stein, CFO of CleanTech Lithium, explains why CTL acquired the 23 Laguna Verde licenses. Watch the video here.
I listened with interest, trying to be positive.
Mostly about kicking the can (debt) forward.
And an indication that a bondholders agreement is immanent.
Campo Limite well, near future? Nothing concrete. Not convinced!!
Opening up shut in wells, how many? To provide 500bbls/OEPD!?!
Workover program, plenty of time for planning this inactive year - when do we see real work done and our rig utilised??
But Martin said what we all know, that we truly are a "hostage to fortune" with regard to the price of crude.
We do not know at what price our production becomes profitable.
And as far as acquisitions, how do we pay for them, being cash strapped?
If and it is a big IF, how do we pay for testing and a development at Campo Limite, if there is something there?
How do we get back into Tapi Aike, being cash strapped?
Nothing as to when this VAT will be repaid to us.
We are at best treading water.
All fine words, but only oil and gas sales and/or a meaningful hydrocarbon discovery and development will drive the SP forward.
Have a good weekend.
WT
We restructure increasing debt, we endure more dilution, we buy "assets" on their last legs and we provide the funds for very well paid employees that seem incapable of drilling just one well that produces income.
We are meant to be an exploration company that discovers assets.
But all we seem to do is dig a much deeper financial hole, not an oil or gas well as we lurch from one crisis to the next.
In this latest RNS, not one word on Tapi Aike, the Palermo Aike well test, the "profitability" of operations or quite how daily oil production has increased by 109% since last July. I shudder to think what they did to those oil fields to achieve those numbers!!
The most disquieting thing is that Echo, having released this RNS will think that they now have 2 -3 months before they are forced to issue the next statement.
So it will be the annual Company Christmas party for them, with the prospect of a lovely Christmas and New Year bubbles funded by us. The only work to note as to how much oil and gas has been produced every day (a daily email from the operator), whether profitable or not.
And possibly a committee formed to meet in the New Year, to dream up which improbable scenario they will seek to sell to us, when the next RNS is due.
It will probably revolve around "sorry/regret but on further external expert technical review, the Palermo Aike well project is not worth pursuing as it seems unlikely to be able to deliver a commercial outcome , and given our limited financial resources we should examine other potentially profitable prospects within our portfolio in order to maximise benefit to shareholders!!"
I really want to vomit!!
I have no idea how these people can sleep at night?
And I do wonder what they tell their family, when asked as to what they do for a living??
WT
We require an RNS that is open and honest.
I have had enough of RNS' that do not pass muster.
What positive work has been done of late to increase production, not "pie in the sky" hopes for tomorrow or next month.
What are the latest production numbers.
What work are the directors doing to justify their salaries.
The investors have bourne the pain of a collapsed share price, should that be shared around.
More on this fairy story that equipment and personnel arriving to complete the well test please!! We have NOT forgotten!!
Answering those questions , should be a good starting point!!
WT
Another scraping the bottom of the barrel (lol!!) RNS.
No Palermo Aike news?
Nothing on the seismic "anomaly" that was found?
Nothing on "incoming" equipment and personnel?
Nothing on workovers?
Nothing on Tapi Aike?
Bolivia?
Effects of Covid - 19 on operational matters in Argentina.
Oil & Gas production numbers?
Buying gas compression and "thinking about" opening up a presumably knackered old well.
We really have to consider what HAS NOT BEEN SAID, rather than these RNS's that have little or no significance to our bottom line. I have no problem with being optimistic, just give me something substantial to get excited about.
These last 2 RNS's are dross, plain and simple!!
WT
And on the 23rd of February you said "I'll not be back!!"
I take it that the Alzheimer's medication is NOT effective YET!!
WT
And your posting history, says it all!!
WT
I refuse to insult you!
Ergo, no response.
Now wasn't you enquiry successful??
Another Troll!! LOL
WT
I have spoken to Martin several times.
And emails, many of which were responded to!!
I take people at face value.
I placed my trust in Martin, as much for his refusal to throw Dr Bessa under the bus, post the infamous interview/ MacAulay debacle.
I was cognisant of the anomaly that they "said" was found when drilling, which may have meant that the seismic that came with the purchase of Palermo Aike may have been inaccurate and misleading. It is cheap and quick to do a localised survey in the vicinity of PA to confirm this, but nothing.
Given the fact that Schlumberger operate in Argentina, it stretches the bounds of possibility that equipment/personnel are the main factor in not completing the test of the PA well. Covid-19 may have been a heaven sent opportunity to obfuscate, along with "apparently" bad weather. Southern Argentina in the winter has little in common with the Bahamas, EVER!!!
Given my decades experience in Oil & Gas, very, very little is delayed; especially on a land based operation.
CAN DO is a given, everybody who has worked in this sector knows that and excuses are not tolerated.
An example is, that on a drilling rig, every 6 minutes of operation must be accounted for!!
And given the disquiet and loss of confidence on this Board, one might think that Echo would do as much as they could to be honest with Shareholders. Another month, more unearned salary cheques, our minimal income being bled dry by many who do not have a stellar record dealing with shareholders.
Faith and Trust should be earned, and not given away with boxes of cornflakes.
If an RNS is due by the end of the month, then so be it.
The last one was just hopeless, telling us that 5 closed in Oil wells have been opened up and are producing at increased rates. That is just normal, as will be the rate reduction over the next month or so from the very same Oil wells; as the reservoirs balance out.
I wonder which book of Hans Christian Anderson will provide the next improbable fairy tale , in a pathetic attempt to placate the disbelieving hoards!?!?
So bring on the next RNS!!
WT
MrMarkyB
Argentina has a very well developed Oil & Gas drilling environment.
Schlumberger, the "Big Daddy" of Oil Service Companies have an office in Buenos Aires and employ 1600+ in the country.
No matter what you want, they can get it in double quick time.
I didn't believe the "story" then, nor do I now.
We have been held on tenterhooks for almost 6 months.
This has the foetid & rancid reek of Ms MacAulay V2, and we all bit down hard on that fantasy!!
The next RNS may well be the denoument, where we all get to hear "Sorry, but NO CIGAR" but thanks lads, we REALLY appreciate that you have paid Mr Parsons , his mates & "the Doctor of Rocks" hugely over inflated salaries and pension contributions for the last year or so!! Ka-ching!! lol
Bye!!
That is my sincere expectation.
WT
trellis 35
We have ALL heard what you have to say.
We will have formed an opinion, one way or another.
Banging on, ad nauseum does not help your "cause;" at this point readers will be mentally shutting down on you.
And that is precisely how I feel, enough is enough.
Invoking wine as a common passion is a ploy that will not work with me.
My advice, find some other board that has not heard your diatribes.
I hope that I speak for the majority of Echo posters on this board, when I say that we have heard it all before and now you are just a disgruntled investor with the same message, going on, and on, and ...!!
My advice is to seek counselling or even psychiatric help, and I say that in a spirit of Taffy Fellowship!!
And maybe cut down on the wine, I find that 4 times per week is sufficiently enjoyable, with as many half bottles as 0.75l ones.
https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/facts/alcoholic-drinks-and-units/how-much-alcohol-is-too-much
Drink "better" but less!!
Please DO NOT RESPOND to this post, just think about what I am saying?!!?
WT
Another example of "Kicking the Financial Can Down the Road!!"
And high salaries are an ongoing concern and drain on our bottom line.
Our Oil & Gas "revenues" just seem to be a scheme to pay for Echo executives Salary, Pensions and Share options.
No MORE, no LESS!!
My question is, what is the ACTUAL upside for us shareholders??
WT
This is a knee-jerk RNS, due to online criticism.
We are given numbers indicating that the recently "opened up" 5 oil wells are now producing an additional 108 barrels of oil per day.
That would be expected, but as the reservoir pressure falls, so will the production rate and that is normal.
I would expect that by the end of the year, or even much sooner; the daily production rate will return to pre-shutdown rates.
What should not be forgotten is, if the production rate is allowed to rapidly increase then a phenomenon called "coning" will occur and the water cut of these wells will increase, reducing the life of the wells.
This is not a good news RNS.
No word on the Palermo Aike Well, and the fantasy of incoming unique to Argentina equipment and highly skilled personnel ??
No word on Tapi Aike operations.
No gas production numbers and revenues.
No oil sales numbers.
No indication of positive news on the horizon.
To open up 5 oil wells back to production, is the work of a single morning!!
Look for what has NOT been said, rather than the little that has been!!
WT
@nyforever
@MrMarkyB
@abzzba
We have all posted positively in the past, we have believed and given the benefit of the doubt - but now we all seem to be of the same mind.
This silence is cowardly, taking our money for salary might be the only reason to keep the boat afloat.
An RNS, please??
I am aware that Echo Management look at these posts.
I am a patient person.
I trust people.
By the ongoing lack of a RNS dealing with whatever the "current situation" is, we really have to fear the WORST!!
This would appear to be Parsons "raison d'etre" of extracting every last penny from gullible investors and then walking away. He does appear to have found other avenues to apply his considerable skills in!!
His first CEO, the redoubtable Ms MacAulay who has scampered off to fresh pastures after leaving us high and dry.
Now Martin Hull who we all believed played with a straight bat.
With high salaries and self awarded share options, I do wonder how many options have been drip fed to the market to scoop up our cash??
I ask myself, are these well paid employees giving us value for money or like vampires sucking the last drop of blood before they drop the hammer on our heads.
My question is, how do they sleep at night??
When their children inquire , "What does Daddy do?", an honest answer would be hard to come by!!
No one to blame but ourselves.
A RNS, please??
WT
I wouldn't invest another penny in Echo, until they can demonstrate that the past few months have been spent productively.
That means London with much more than "planning" as you require cash to enact them
Argentina, production reports, sales numbers etc What is our drill rig doing, maintenance, upgrades, well servicing???
Tapi Aiki - has CGC got a plan for the Western Cube drilling??
WT
I am at a loss at why the silence at Echo, is the current default.
How can this be good for the share value?
The cash on hand is being depleted by salaries, but we have no reporting as to ANY progress. AT ALL.
We may be told that the Winter has been bad, and that has affected local operations.
Yes, Argentina has been badly hit by Covid-19, but their Oil & Gas industry has not shut down.
The "people and equipment" for the Palermo Aike well could have arrived by other routes, but nothing -no effort or word?
The workovers, planning?????
What is happening in Tapi Aike?
This is just embarrassing, this is the "Marie Celeste" of oil companies, no one at the helm, no one on board and directionless.
And for those rampers who may disagree, be my guest -give us your highly improbable take!!
WT
I do wonder if little or no work is being done in Argentina, if our remaining resources are being spent on executive salaries??
No word from those being paid by us seems to be a cowardly way of operating.
Planning workovers?
The silence is deafening!!
You think!!
You should have seen the email that I sent to Martin Hull on the 27th July!!
It would be great to be mistaken but this has the "Parsons Hallmark" of the Ms MacAuley debacle deja vu - all over again.
Argentina is in a right Royal mess with Covid -19.
Key personnel & equipment cannot get in, (if you can believe that!!); this will go on & on - ad nauseum!
Salaries must be paid, how are workovers being funded?
We never found out how "successful " the last workover campaign was with the Dr of the Rocks lol, in charge.
WT
I have been here for a while.
I saw Ms McAuley and her moronic adventure, ably assisted by a geologist of questionable abilities.
All our cash got spent, Exit stage left for Non Exec roles all over the place, to be replaced by Mr Hull.
We reduced our involvement in TA.
And our first TA well bit the dust.
Bolivia, another cretinous involvement, where Majors have failed, the in - Country politics awful and now Covid -19 with 100's of bodies being discovered all over the place.
Fast forward, we buy into Santa Cruz Sur with an oven ready well.
Not the best of luck, Hydrocarbon prices crater and what was supposed to generate funds is now down the toilet.
We are now seriously uneconomic - BROKE, but we have another plan.
Workovers, we did that in ECHO Mk1 for those who remember that.
We never found out what a huge success that was, because we GAVE it all back to CGC.
And now to regain involvement in TA, we shall have to stump up funds we do not have.
We do have better prices for our output, profitability - really????
Covid - 19 ravages across Argentina.
And our salvation, the Palermo Aike well.
Hark I hear, there MAY be a bigger target than originally thought due to inaccurate 2D seismic.
We drill and drill.....forever, and just when we think that we might get the FIRST POSITIVE DRILLING result, it is ALL SHUT DOWN!! We require specific equipment and Key personnel from outside Argentina. And the Government have imposed travel restrictions until September, I think.
And I try and think what sort of equipment and people do we require, when Argentina has a well developed Oil Industry that drills very many wells every single bleedin' year?? What is so "special" about this well, or possibly are we being fed another line from Echo. Make no mistake, this is hard to get my head around BUT just possibly, this will be DEBACLE No.2 and we will have paid for it all. And so it carries on, ad nauseum!!
This is just my opinion, I do not RAMP or the reverse, I just tell it as I as one long suffering investor sees it.
Today, I see the Palermo Aike fizzling out to naught.
There will be reasons, excuses and 1001 explanations of why it happened, but happen I THINK it will.
And what will we then be left with, a mountain of debt and no way to rationally pay it back.
I wonder what fine words, hopes & dreams will be spoken at the AGM??
Charts, graphs, technical opinions from our best geologist perchance.
It should be on ZOOM for investors who cannot attend BUT we know that it will not be.
Echo has truly hit the ROCKS, (in my opinion) and for those who can, should abandon ship, because you can be assured that our Captain. the redoubtable MR PARSON's will be on the first lifeboat!!
WT
And for those that missed it, WAS the CLUE!!
The question is quite how much greater the volume is??
There is also the question of the vendor supplied historical seismographic survey, which lead Echo to surmise the position of strata, but was wrong!!
How wrong, and can this inaccuracy be extrapolated across our permit area?
What might that mean in potential reserves?
I am certain that is why for the moment, there is a focus on Palermo Aike.
I speculate, this fine Monday morning -the RNS when it arrives will give us a clue!!
WT
Or even - infamous!! lol
Have a good weekend.
WT