extremely bullish after bouncing off support, page-37

Apologies to the long termers who have already read this article but it clearly shows that SHELL a super major does get it wrong and in a big way by passing up huge opportunities only to see others
(Tullow, Woodside, Dana, Hardman )take the glory and oil.

IMO shell cant afford to pass up the Senegal offshore licence gift they have been given by FAR remember the CSEM was only over a very small part of the 7491 sq km.

The offshore licenses cover an area of 7,491 sq km over the shelf, slope and basin
floor, with potential MULTIPLE untested plays in a proven hydrocarbon system.


Max and Teds excellent adventure.....

Ellyard liked what he saw and went about finding a large partner with deepwater experience that would give Hardman and Elixir a shot at the big time.

In early 1998, it looked as if everything had finally come together when the Anglo/Dutch behemoth Shell agreed to farm into the acreage.

On the day Ellyard was due to to fly to Mauritania for a signing ceremony, however, Shell changed its mind.

"We were all crushed," de Vietri told Upstream three years ago.

"It was very difficult," Ellyard says. "We were ready, the flights were booked, the tickets were booked and at the last minute, they pulled out."

Crushed or not, Ellyard then pulled off what de Vietri describes as one of the "most amazing things".

By August, Ellyard had struck a deal with the normally conservative Woodside - whose largest shareholder is Shell - to fund $14.3 million worth of seismic work over the acreage.

"We had been talking to Woodside anyway and they became interested in some reprocessed data we showed them," Ellyard says.

In keeping with Ellyard's reputation for making shrewd deals, Woodside could not earn any equity in the blocks until exploration wells were drilled.

Analysts could not name another case whereby a junior oil explorer, particularly one trading at 5.5c a share, had secured itself such leverage to a major exploration program.