Ann: CENTRAL ACQUIRES 50% OF MEREENIE OIL & GAS FIELD FROM SANTOS, page-7

WOW. This is big news - massive news. Probably the biggest news in CTP's history. I'm actually kind of shocked - I will have to consider buying more CTP at this rate. Not something I expected to be saying...

RC is a canny player, no doubt about it. Santos is a distressed company at the moment with the hit to the oil price, CTP was able to secure debt funding under the previous agreement. Santos will be only too pleased to pick up some cash for it, especially with CTP carrying their development costs too.

Santos will be glad to hand over operatorship as CTP will be able to do it cheaper. Santos will still provide technical expertise through the JV, no doubt.

And best of all, CTP got what it really wants which is the gas. Mereenie is an oil field, the gas has been sold incidentally but mostly it's been reinjected to provide pressure support for the oil wells. Now there are potentially hundreds of PJ of gas that will be available for NEGI. If the oil price recovers Mereenie will generate some nice money there too.

The only concern is whether CTP will be able to service that debt if oil and gas prices don't rise. But CTP will now have a commanding position in being able to provide first gas through NEGI into the eastern market. And with PV, Dingo and now half of Mereenie that could be a pretty significant volume.