Peter Strachan of Perth-based StockAnalysis, meanwhile, seems to have been underwhelmed by the annual Excellence in Oil conference in Sydney, noting organisers had obviously found difficulty attracting many top exploration companies to present, reflecting the tough times in the sector.
By contrast, he notes the presence of what he termed several (unnamed) constant attendees.
"Some flew far too many executives across the country for no apparent shareholder benefit, then arrived to present after clearly enjoying far too much Sydney the night before," Strachan says, noting these miscreants would turn up as "sells" in future notes.
Strachan's snapshots from the presentations include Strike Energy (STX), which is playing the eastern gas market and exploring deep (2220m), thick gassy coals in South Australia. His conclusion: STX will need a big brother and/or a lot more cash.
He thought Otto Energy (OEL) scored the best presentation by the company in three years. It is aiming to be debt-free by May, is working towards drilling in The Philippines and Tanzania this year and has a strong cashflow from its 3200 barrels of oil a day output.
But Perth Basin play Norwest Energy (NWE), in his view, gave the worst presentation of the day at the conference. He sees the company as under-funded, lacking the necessary skills base, but says it has been strategically clever to get permits cheaply and farm them out.
NWE Price at posting:
1.4¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
