trading halt for cap raising, page-61

The board/CEO tussle could have started quite some time back. From the information at hand, one can postulate what happened and what the Board may hope to achieve.
1. Johnston-West failure. Board said, “I told you we need 3D.”

2. Surprise failure. Board complained, “The contractor was a poor choice.”

3. Surprise-1 failing. Board said, “I better bring someone who knows what he is doing.”

4. Board brought in Dalton, shale oil horizontal drilling expert, as COO, preparing to replace JH and with shale oil/gas in mind.

5. Surprise-1 achieved some success. Dalton the hero. JH threatened.

6. JH appointed a lawyer as alternate director to tell the board, I know my legal rights.

7. Nevertheless, Board fired JH.

8. JH tries to recruit SH loyal to him for a show down. Not enough shares to gain any traction.

9. JH goes to court.

10. Rumors flying around, big buyers turning up. Could be HESS, Shell, CIA, the list goes on.

11. Board issues more shares to friendly institutions to shore up their positions, dilute JH holdings, and pay for drilling another well. Thus, killing three birds with one stone.

12. 3D over Surprise shows basin formed by salt-withdrawal, salt completely sealing the trough and trapping the oil within. 3D also shows the fault, running through the basin, separates the basin into two parts.

13. CTP drills on both sides of the fault.

14. 100mmbls defined. SP shoots up to $2/s. SH now back Dalton 100%. Board says, “I told you so.”

15. Dalton now has the midas touch. He goes for kerogen in the Horn Valley Basin. CTP defines the largest shale oil resource in the world. Hess shows it can convert Perika coal and kerogen to gas for the five LNG projects.

16. Shell/PetroChina JV offers $8/s. Offer accepted. CTP delisted.