Your post sums MEL up perfectly. - We don't know the sales price...

Your post sums MEL up perfectly.
- We don't know the sales price and we don't know the costs.
- We do know that Odin and Vali have potential
- We do know that if MEL/VEN had cash that potential would be unlocked

It feels like VEN/MEL are scratching around trying to cobble together enough cash to get to the next stage be that Vali 2 0r 3 or Odin 2. It is slow process and there is not much cashflow. One mis-step and either VEN or MEL could need more capital.

On the other side anyone wanting to run a ruler over MEL/VEN would have access to sales price, costs and required capex to open the fields. With that data it's simple to arrive at a value (and an offer). VEN could make a script offer but are already tighter for $$ than MEL. Bridgeport on the other hand is already in the JV and has a strong parent. It may make sense for them to step up from 25% to 50%.

Even at $1m/BCF gas in place MEL is worth nearly double its current MC and that ignores Odin resources. (which you could argue are basically 2P) MEL can't afford to stay to cheap for to long.