give us a break, page-31

The CoS was/is much improved by the helium survey, in that it took out one of the variables we did not know (were hydrocarbons present? We know they are now, but of course, unless there is a seal, they may not be of commercial value). I actually did some more research about this issue after reading the posts of Stu255 on iii (a poster I recommend following- he's not all that popular on the board, and doesn't post much, but when he does it's normally good reading)- the 70% of the helium survey figure is accurate in terms of a 70% success figure- but some of this data is also based on appraisal wells (which are made after a commercial discovery has been found- this is where finding the 'sweet spot' in the helium survey becomes valuable, concerning flow rates etc. When you're originally looking for the oil, however, as it needs to be of sizable volume to be commercial, there is no 'sweet spot' in the initial drilling stage that matters- what matters is finding the oil- worries about how to optimise flow rates can come later.

That doesn't make the helium survey worthless in this case by any means. Hydrocarbons were identified, so we know there has, at one time, been oil/gas down there. From what I understand of the oil and gas industry (which is based on what I've researched online, I don't have a job in the industry), the main 'gamble' now is whether there's a 'seal' to keep the hydrocarbons in place- which could potentially be this volcanic rock talked about in the last RNS. Alternatively (as also mentioned in the RNS), it's possible the basement has been hit already and there is no 'seal'(this would require a huge mistake to be made with regard to seismic interpretation it seems, given Range are still a good 1000 metres off TD- but they wouldn't have mentioned it in the RNS if it wasn't a possibility, hence the discussion about a potential non-commercial well over the past two days).

Yes, I still think Trinidad is a good investment. Right now it's not as valuable as it 'was' at the time, due to declining oil price, but you can't really judge these things on a quarter by quarter basis- long term it will come good, we just have to hope it's quick enough to ensure Range have the funding they need and don't need to dilute again. Buying Trinidad was a good move by the BoD- if Range didn't have Trinidad now I suspect the share price would be about 7p- as markets don't price in much exploratory upside right now as we're in a bear market. It was, of course, a good move to raise lots of cash at 17p, considering where the share price is now. Trinidad is the security incase Georgia fails- patient investors should get their money back (providing Range don't run out of funds and have to dilute- the worst case scenario) within 12 months no matter what happens at these levels, and within 36 months, the planned production uplift should get us up to 18p a share without accounting for anything else. However, remember what we know about Landau and timescales- that 36 months could actually mean 72 for all we know.

21 wells by the end of the year? I'd doubt it. From what 'm reading in the announcements it seems 2 or 3 wells have been drilled so far in Trinidad, so another 18 from this point until December seems like a tall order. With that said, I don't know how deep the wells are- I remember it was mentioned some would only take a week to drill, so anything is possible. I wouldn't worry too much about the exact amount of wells drilled however- what needs to be seen is that substantial progress is been made and the rigs aren't just sitting around collecting dust. Trinidad is more about slow and cautious upwards movement of the share price, not any large rises/falls (until the Herrera's are drilled that is).

As I'm not a geologist, I could not comment with any accuracy on the likelyhood of the well being abandoned. Truth is, I have no idea. It'll depend on whether we've hit the basement or not- if we have, the well will be abandoned without question, if not, they'll keep going. And yes, it was a good move by Greg Bandy to cap RMP's drilling costs at a certain level.

I decided to start posting again just because I think the time to get back in could be quite near. It seems that time is been delayed by a couple of weeks either way because of the new logging they have to do on this well, so TD will be a while off yet. I intend getting back in at some point no matter what the results of the well- paying a higher price if it's successful of course but that's the price you pay for security. I'd suspect it'll be at least 4 weeks before TD now- 2 weeks to run this logging, and then at least 2 more to complete the drill, if they elect to proceed- so perhaps my return to posting was a bit premature- but then again I had expected the well to have progressed beyond 1500 metres by now.

Gavtech- yeah, what seemed to happen is that I had my feet on the ground in the 5p-10p era, and used to comment quite often of the problems Range had as well as the upsides. Having seen the share price rise quite a bit, and the purchase of Trinidad, and the commitment to finally drill Georgia, I had kind of hoped these problems were behind Range. But then a couple of months of watching prices trend downwards, and no drilling taking place, gave me a feeling of deja-vu. Just like in 2010, many wells were promised- and only one was actually drilled (RB #1 in Texas). Decided to sit on the sidelines and 'wait and see' at that point, and yeah, it seems the timescale problems, and over-promising by the Board are still present- will never make the mistake of thinking they might have turned a corner next time. But that's life, and no one gets every call correct (and those that say they do are liars).

TerryA- To be honest I'm not sure on this point. Early on in the drilling stages, it seemed Range were operators. With the latest RNS, Strait are mentioned as operators. It doesn't really matter who is 'operator' with regard to the success of the well, only in terms of who we can blame for missed timescales. And I've seen enough missed timescales from Landau that I can't believe he's just some guy who's constantly mislead by our drilling partners, considering none of the projects Range have ever been involved in have started or finished on time.