On paper the deal is a good one- but I too have major...

On paper the deal is a good one- but I too have major reservations aout David Lenigas. Him and PL are cut from the same cloth IMO- both look after themselves and feather their own nests nicely, with shareholder interests coming very much a distance second in their priorities.

Proven+Probable on the Goudron field is 8mmbls. We're getting 50% of that in the end, so 4mmbls to Range. We're giving up 15% of 12.8mmbls, so we're losing 1.92mmbls there. In other words, we're 2mmbls up overall compared to whlere we were yesterday. Not too bad a deal- and it'll be much better if a waterflood program can move the other 14mmbls of Possible (P3) reserves to P1+P2, which would of course give us another 7mmbls, but the jury is still out on whether that'll work yet. Certainly on paper though, it's a good deal.

However, David Lenigas has ran the share price into the ground of virtually any company he has ever had a role in (and to be honest, PL's record is hardly exemplary here either). I've got my doubts as to whether the Goudron field development will happen- remember, we're not operators until the initial development is complete, and with Lenigas's record, I'm not convinced that the $4m payment isn't just to keep him drawing a salary for the next few months, and little will be done on actual development. Time will tell I suppose.

The best part of the announcement IMO was this section:

"The opportunity is of particular importance to Range as
it is in the final stages of choosing an appropriate debt financing facility to develop the major aspects of our Trinidad operations for the next 18-24 months."

If we are able to successfully secure debt finance, that is fairly big news. That means no dilution, which is always the big worry with Range. At least PL is considering the option anyway, ratehr than just issuing more shares at a discount to his mates.