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I must admit, when I first read the RNS, my initial thoughts were similar to Vince, another distraction taking vital resources away from the push to commercialisation elsewhere on MSAR and BioMSAR.
However, having given it more thought, I think this is very good news. Not only do we get more news exposure as a potential supplier of the (holy grail) net zero carbon fuel but also, this trial is likely to be much smaller and more manageable for a company our size.
Very rich yacht people seldom get rich by investing in pre-commercials like QED and those that do, may feel like they've already hit the jackpot and be more likely to adopt a more conservative approach to protecting their wealth, rather than speculating to increase it substantially. That said, there could be the odd one of course, and given the pathetically low market value of QED, even small, (for them) speculative inflows could have a positive bearing on the SP.
The more people read the QED story and potential of the fuels on offer the better, so yes I think this is very good news indeed.
Hardly earth-shattering news and I wonder why they felt the need to RNS it as there have been many, many other project delays over the years where we have had to sit in the news vacuum for months.
I now expect the usual apologists saying "complain when there's no updates, then complain when we get one".
Apart from what looks like one seller running for the hills, this has not caused a frenzy of trading and the SP remains relatively unscathed.
I did expect a bit of a sell-off as people who supported the raise but did not want to increase their exposure, take some minor profits from buying from the company @ 1.25p and sell into the general market @ 1.75p or thereabouts.
Don't expect any major downward move and hopefully SP ticks up again once buyers outstrip selling demand. Further positive RNS releases will obviously help too!
Another good day for the SP and just what I hoped for post-fundraise, steady growth on minor news snippets. Hopefully this will continue to 2.5-3p before the big news drop re. MSC/Cargil/QED agreement, which could hopefully see a 100%+ increase, taking us to 4-6p range. Everything crossed it's onwards and upwards from here and the OO does indeed signify the last chance to buy-in at 1.25p or lower!
Yes, plenty positives in the interview and nice to see the SP continue its upward movement this morning.
I'm a bit disappointed with Morocco though. Sounds like commercial supply negotiations have not even began and further, larger trials prioritised.
As has been said before, it might even be a left-field project which provides us with our first commercial supply agreement??
My understanding of Valkor's role in numerous Utah projects, is to supply the engineering expertise, rather than producing and selling bitumen/oil/MSAR/BioMSAR or any other commodity???
Do they have land leases of their own to exploit?
I'm not sceptical regarding the possible success of the Utah project. It's the timescales given, (by QED or Valkor?) appear to me to be very optimistic to say the least. I guess I've had enough of missed deadlines to do me a lifetime.
Also, as havealot intimated, marketing is not selling. We've been "marketing" this stuff for years without success. Hopefully, this will be different and with our Utah partners we can get to actual sales without too much delay.
Also hope this is just one of a series of good news RNSs to come our way in the coming weeks/months. I would also like to see some upward trending prior to the big "re-rating" tri-partite announcement due imminently.
From the RNS;
"The Company understands that Valkor intends to commence drilling of the initial oil well at the Asphalt Ridge in Utah next week, with completion before the end of April. This oil well is expected to yield between 20 and 40 barrels per day of heavy sweet oil. Samples from the first well will be treated to remove impurities and then sent to Quadrise for conversion to MSAR® and bioMSAR™ and for testing. Commercial marketing to the marine, utilities and industrial sectors is expected to commence before the end of Q2 2024 once samples have been received and tested at QRF."
Not wanting to (p) on anyone's bonfire but here we go again. "The company understands", wells drilled next week and completed week after. Oil to be sent to QED for conversion to MSAR & BioMSAR before testing. AND this MSAR BioMSAR is going to be commercially marketed by end June. What could possibly go wrong?
For a start, IIRC, the last oil samples from Utah took over 3 months to reach the QED facility. Anyone else think the Company's understanding of timescales may be a tad optimistic once more? Looks like the market is taking the news with a Jason Miles sized dollop of salt! Understandable....
I concur Barkingcrazy. Although I think it will be oversubscribed by OO holders.
I would not be surprised to see the SP rise to near 2p by close tomorrow as the good news on funding percolates and those who do not receive all the shares applied for. potentially buy on the open market while the SP is sub 2p.
There will of course be some element of selling by those who did not want to increase their holding but support the OO. They could easily sell their "excess" back into the market to return to their desired holding.
I doubt very much it's QED "holding back news", more likely it's our two juggernaut partners telling us what we can say and when we can say it. While they are privately owned and with less stringent reporting requirements, they will be calling the shots. Just like a supposed 3-4 month delay is down to lawyers - yeah right!
I can't get the image out of my head of two super sized oil tankers manoeuvring for position in a small sea inlet, with a tiny rubber dinghy in between them trying not to get crushed as they position themselves.
Whether the fund raise is holding up final signatures is anyone's guess. However, for me, this funding shortfall was the elephant in the room which IMO held back the SP since the AGM.
Once this is sorted, I expect things to improve steadily, with the potential for serious gains should positive RNS flows follow. I believe this is the last chance to buy in at these low prices, unless of course bad news manifests. Hopefully the end of the dark days and we can all look forward to a brighter future.
With the OO due to close next week, will this fundraise be the "last chance saloon" for QED to make it commercially? or
Is this the "last chance saloon" to cheaply buy into a fantastic success story, revolutionising shipping and other industrial fuel usage?
Could be both of course.....