Petroleum Sector., page-8

Agreed. RC was claiming at the last meeting in March that because of native title claims the NGP was in significant peril and that had greatly blackened the outlook for CTP which was a diametrically opposite to optimistic story that he had painted at all previous public meetings and investor presentations. And as you know this convenient dark outlook has turned out to be a load of rubbish that has happened to have served the interests of his new patrons at MB.

I don't believe that RC got anywhere close to exhausting the fund raising prospects for CTP, but the alternatives would have required more initiative, innovation, imagination and dedication than has been applied. He has merely taken the conventional and rather lazy approach of loading up CTP with debt but with only one supplier. Only having one supplier of any necessary input is rather dumb and naïve, so I don't think he is the corporate messiah some that some believe.

He had a fabulous opportunity to strike strategic deals with major corporate gas consumers for them to make strategic equity investments in CTP at the same time as locking in forward gas supplies. Rather like what the coal pioneers did with Japanese trading houses and some have done in oil & gas with Korean trading houses. I asked this question of RC and by his answer I concluded this is something he really didn't try and was rather dismissive of. Opportunity squandered!

If the MB deal fails to go through there may be a temporary slump in share price but there is plenty to work with to greatly increase CTP's market cap and share price which I think has been held back by this MB distraction. Look at BUL & COI for example.