rogermontgomery.com, page-13

I remember being at a university lecture a few years back with Roger as a guest speaker. One thing he said was that he would not invest in oil and gas stocks because of the inherent risk of there being nothing in the ground being of value.
I think by now AUT and Hilcorp have proven that theory incorrect, and although there are still some risks as he has mentioned, IMO they have been overstated.
We have seen the well payback periods continually decline so I'm not sure where he's getting his info regarding the 10 year period.
With regards to the directors, the majority have just recently been appointed due to the booming business AUT has been doing, so I don't see much credibility in his statement that they are supporting a lifestyle. Although they are a major cost to the company it's better to have them to support the business rather than not being able to keep up with the pace that Hilcorp is working.

I respect Montgomery's views, but I don't think enough research has been done on his part prior to him making these assertions. Look at the impressive decline curves, the small payback periods, the increasing reserves and (soon to be announced in the quarterly) the revenues to AUT from production.
When AUT reaches it's (supposed) high production rates of 29k BOPD we may see a change in Montgomery's tone.