That was in the context of significant excess capital to return...

That was in the context of significant excess capital to return to shareholders, which obviously would be affected by a significantly lower commodity price environment.

So , yes the current situation has been a huge fillip to BRK and it’s coffers . But, the 3 DSU’s were “ constructed” in a much lower price environment, and Jewell was given the go ahead at WTI ~ US $ 50 and HH gas below US$ 3 per mcf where well payout was guided at 18 months, vs the actual 6 months. The rapid payout was a function of both high commodity prices and well over performance.

I agree that the company obviously hasn’t got control of commodity prices. But it has control over the business model, which impacts on the geological location they choose to do business in, staff they retain, funding decisions etc.

So at US $ 60 or less, which actually is the environment they are used to, and expecting to operate in, BRK wouldn’t be doing anything different and still building assets and monetisation which give the best outcomes for BRK shareholders at the time… the only probable difference would be they would have stuck to the original plan of just drilling the initial DSU wells, and selling all the remaining reserves as PUD’s…. The high oil and gas environment meant that the best way to monetise the Sycamore reserves was for BRK develop for themselves rather than selling the PUD’s

I totally disagree that the entire fortunes for BRK ride on things they can’t control. On the contrary, their business model allows them to take advantage of things they can’t control .
We are seeing that play out right now.

Cheers

Dan