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So who has confirmed them as extractable ? Are we to assume BP / Baker Hughes are estimating this ? Or is there a new CPR ?
Has Zaza been pushing to make a joint declaration with the GOGC regarding a development deal and they have now reneged on it ?
Remember, in January, he said that he was close to a settlement with the GOGC and that the only sticking point was the extension of the contract to make commercial exploitation viable.
‘verified by the best in the business’. Who has verified these reserves ? The old Netherland & Sewell CPR was dismissed by the arbitrators as valueless since it referred to ‘undiscovered’ (ie not shown to be commercially extractable) oil and.gas. Are these estimates from Baker Hughes or BP ? Is there a new CPR for the 1% ??? As always, we only have Zaza’s word but admittedly he is putting up a robust verbal defence against an abrasive journalist who is asking good questions. Zaza implies that partners and investors are ready to start full development. We can only hope that is true and not wishful thinking.
Thanks for clearing that up, Well-Oiled
I notice that Bryce Linsnmeyer and Steve Nicrandros are both given the above title in Zaza's letter to the GOGC requesting a conference call. Is this some kind of company war cabinet ? How are Frontera funding all this legal backing ? They certainly have a formidable adversary, so, while this new information is welcome, the battle is not easily won. Also worth noting that Bryce says the assets are estimated at more than $1 billion. I think we are all hoping for much more !
Did the phone meeting happen on May 16 ? Zaza was keen to start operations in the field again !!!! It's all as clear as muck. who is leaking these documents to us - and why ?
We have a new guardian angel . JJ Carter has appeared with correspondence from our lawyer and from Zaza. What to make of this ?? Why has it suddenly appeared? A crumb of hope for the long-suffering shareholders? If this is genuine, our lawyers believe we should retain the main asset according to the arbitration ruling and the PSA but the Georgian Government are trying to snatch it fraudulently. Curiouser and curioser !!!!!
Zyder, this is a key point. Why spend all that money in arbitration over territories that are not worth the effort ? Winnifrith has just repeated his claim that the company is a sham run by liars. Which is it? Is this an asset worth fighting over or not ?
Zaza is certainly a Panglossian figure, always putting a positive slant on everything: OMF legal case - we can win it; Arbitration - it's nothing to worry about; Niko well - it was a success; loss of the Nomad and delisting - just a bump in the road. We have no idea whether Zaza and Steve have been liars, fantasists or optimists but we know that they have bent the truth and withheld information from shareholders. The question remains: why go to arbitration over something of little value? And if it has the tremendous value we all hope for, can Zaza and Steve retain some of it ? Does the information gleaned in the field over 20 years give them leverage ?
Mole and Abkaz, thanks for the comments after my last post.
The evidence of the court documents from the Caymans, the USA and now arbitration have revealed that Frontera do not have a strong hand to play. As investors, we knew little of what has come to light over the past year and a half: hidden debt obligations, hidden flow rates, hidden details of ongoing battles with the host government. The London meetings were designed to keep private investors onside and impress us with glossy booklets, guest appearances from Dustin Aro (he didn’t stay long)) and hints of super major involvement. Zaza sold the company to us very well. He is less convincing before judges and arbitrators, unfortunately. I sincerely hope he has an ace up his sleeve but the odds are overwhelmingly against him succeeding. There were plenty of warning signs along the way but we chose to believe the dream he was peddling. Hard now to ignore the reality of the situation.
When it comes to deciding which side to believe, both FRR and the Georgian Govt have shown themselves to be experts at bending the truth into whatever shape suits them. Are we to believe that Zaza has lined up a mega-deal for developing the assets and it needs public acknowledgement from the Georgian Dream Govt before he will reveal his hand ? That seems to be the implication in all these recent interviews. If the Georgian Dream Govt is trying to stymie this for its own ends, then as Zaza says, everyone will lose. Does he have that kind of leverage ? Can he force the GG to backtrack and align itself with FRR and two American backers (rather than the Russians or the Chinese ?). We should know soon enough. B-20 ? JRjnr? KickMuck ? Anything to offer ?
Your geopolitics point is key, CF73. Whatever Zaza’s intentions and reassurances over the past few years, this situation is not in his control or America’s. I think we investors all turned a blind eye to the true state of Georgian politics and thought that a supermajor or a successful gas drill or a new CPR could steamroller things through to success. Clearly, Zaza and Steve, with backing from paid lobbying US senators, are trying to exert as much influence as they can in the political sphere. Where this ends is anyone’s guess but some kind of ending is surely close. If only it had been as simple as poking some holes in the ground and extracting billions.
Does anyone recognise the other interviewees in this new story. Government spokesmen ? Zaza being doorstepped in his driveway is a new look. And what’s that puncture mark in his neck ? Hope he’s not had Covid.
This feels like the final confrontation. Steve Nicandros has finally come out of hiding. A least we know he's alive ! Whether or not this political showdown has any real force behind it is hard to know. The US has certainly has other things on its mind at the moment. The full arbitration decision is still being kept secret and we seem to be in an escalating propaganda war. Let's hope we have more than strong words on our side. GLA
Wasn’t $60 million also the amount they were (fruitlessly) suing Hope for in the Caymans ? Is this the magic number that gets them out of a huge financial hole ? How long ago those Cayman court sessions seem. Justice Kawaley is a distant memory now. We’ve moved onto trying to decipher the Robert Peston of Kavkazia (Caucasus) TV and his laugh-in with Zaza. This whole charade gets more and more bizarre. Nothing would surprise me now. I just hope Zaza manages to avoid Covid to see this to the end - whatever the outcome.
Lots of laughing and joking in this interview. The interviewer seems to be a bit of a Georgian Robert Peston: eccentric body language and seemingly playing Devil's Advocate in his questioning. The YouTube heading translates as :" American companies are being persecuted, we have staged performances, there have been attempts to sabotage." From the few words of English that I can identify, Zaza is outlining a concerted attempt to thwart American business activities in Georgia (companies names are mentioned and American senators cited). The interviewer seems to be winding Zaza up at times but it all ends with matey laughter. Zaza is still fighting his corner. This is the strangest of battles.
Is he on TV again tonight ? He looked tired and exasperated in the second TV interview but kept on repeating the phrase ‘business practices’ in English. Would love to know what else he is saying. Presumably that the Government Ian taking liberties and misrepresenting the arbitration verdict and damaging Georgia’s standing in the eyes of foreign investors.
Hard to say what this means. Is this a vehicle for the remaining 1 % ? Is this part of the settlement deal which the GOGC are publicly denying exists ?
The right to pledge / lease movable property and intangible property
Pledge / Leasing Register: R19125407 25/03/2019 18:34:57
Creditor: JSC Bank of Georgia (Georgia) 204378869
Would love to think that Zaza can win this battle with the Georgian Govt but he didn't fare well in the Cayman High Court or the California court. We were, of course, coming to the conclusion that the court cases with Hope were an exercise in buying time to put together a farm-out, buy out or mega loan. Perhaps this is the sensitive detail that is part of the 172 page arbitration document and Zaza needs a joint statement from the Georgian Government publicly acknowledging and accepting that deal instead of the triumphalist mudslinging that is going on now. Last roll of the dice here, surely.
Yes, Abkaz. It is certainly a form of never-ending torture. However, the pendulum has just swung ever so slightly back in our favour: ‘The document itself is 152 pages long and contains a lot of commercial, confidential and personal information’ and, as Regdik has just pointed out, would require the consent of others to be made public. It does seem like other secret players are involved. Whether or not we can out fox the machinations of the Georgian Government remains to be seen. But B20 and Shatner’s theories do seem to be holding up. GLA
The Georgian Govt have spent millions on arbitration over a piece of land they now claim does not have substantial gas and oil. Hope has been chasing shares in a company that is being depicted as worthless. It can’t be positive that FRR seems to be at war with the Georgian State. What possible leverage does Zaza have left if the gas is there but the government is hostile ? Hard to see the strength of our position. B20? Shatner? KickMuck ? Can anyone point to our route to success ?
This makes for sober reading. Admittedly, it comes from a Georgian writer who objects to American interference in her country but until Zaza reveals the true extent of the assets (and his ability to hang onto them) this interpretation of events is compelling. The CIA origins of the company, Steve’s overselling of the company’s success, the mismanagement of the company - it all rings true. Come on Zaza, prove she’s wrong and pull an almighty rabbit out of your hat.