At the time of the last webinar (about a week ago) they...

At the time of the last webinar (about a week ago) they indicated that they were in "robust discussion" about what to do with A1. Even assuming they managed to come to a conclusion, they would still need to negotiate with the rig operators: I presume that A2 and A3, plus the P&A of A1, were in the original plan/quote: but if you then want to amend it slightly to isolate and perforate A1 (at Unit 1B level) then I am guessing that the economics (costs and timelines) are slightly different. And working it out (with the rig operator) may take a few days, at least.

So the delay in news on the A3 spud may (no pun intended) actually mean that the discussions and negotiations around A1 are still ongoing. I am confident that we would get an update if A3 was ready to spud; so the lack of news usually means that something is afoot.

For my ten cents worth: in the next day or two we will get an update, and this will include details of the A1 isolation/perforation intentions. This may actually disappoint some punters who are convinced that anything less than API 30 is useless; but may please long termers who know that bringing A1 on line (alongside A2/U1B) will yield circa 2,300 bbl/day - a good base income before we hit the light stuff in Marti.

Just a guess.

Kit.