cold,hard light of day

Reflecting on our position as I watched the decommissioning of a MEL well down the road from us.

$100 million has been spent by the company for very little reward.

The current program of decommissioning wells will involve 19 wells at a cost of $3 million (Northern Star 19th April,2013)

Only Harrier 01 and Corella P1 will be fitted with mechanical plugs which will allow production to proceed in the future. Does that mean that all other wells had no hope of being production wells?

Had a chat to the contractors and they confirmed that once decommissioned the wells will not be used again. Tried to glean some more info they just do their job and move onto the next site nominated by MEL. The next site is out near the showground.

Is it a legal requirement for MEL to undertake this work at this time or could it have been delayed and the money better spent somewhere else like getting another viable project.?
Simon Hahn is quoted in the Northern Star saying that "MEL Board had elected to decommission all sites out of fundamental corporate responsibility." Well that's a relief. Heaven forbid that any anti-csg protesters would think less of MEL if things had been left on hold as they were.

Having supported this company and its decisions for a long time it finally dawned on me today that this project will never get off the ground. How on earth could they raise further funds with the disaster that followed the last raising. Having a relatively low entry point I think the time may have come to look elsewhere. A change over to DTE last week would have been worth a try. At least they have been green for a run from mid 4's to mid 6's. Could go a lot further as it dawns on the Brits that they need gas.

Normally I'm an optimistic person but it is really hard to see anything happening in the short term and funds are constantly being used up.

Good luck to all holders. I'll look in to see how you're getting on.