Once an entity is or becomes aware of any information concerning it that a reasonable person would expect to have a material effect on the price or value of the entity's securities, the entity must immediately tell ASX that information.
Section 677 Corporations Act defines material effect:
...a reasonable person would be taken to expect information to have a material effect on the price or value of securities if the information would, or would likely to, influence persons who commonly invest in securities in deciding whether or not to subscribe for, or buy or sell, the first mentioned securities.
Obviously price sensitive and would appear to be an oversight - all other drilling updates are marked accordingly.
The shock has come from the fact that the story has turned from good (C1-C3 over 350m with hydrocarbon bearing dark grey to black marine shales) to poor (C1-C2 and more carbonate dominated likely impacting TOC) with the flick of a switch. Question is, wouldn't it be reasonable to expect an update once the logs/cores started to show this deterioration in quality? Considering the positive nature of the prior update, as soon as information was to hand that the shale quality/gas readings were diminishing wouldn't an update be suitable? Would we have got to the same point, but perhaps in a less rapid fashion with less associated shock?
My take is that NSE were always at pains to downplay the "shows" and emphasise the "data gathering/science" of the well. In their view, there was (or shouldn't have been) any expectations of anything from this well other than the successful recovery of Goldwyer core. Which, as GB points out, may have been largely missed anyway!
Roll on well #2 - over an area this size, HC generation potential remains firmly a part of this play.
NSE Price at posting:
37.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
