another good week for rrs, page-23

As far as I was aware Pete wasn't leading anything pre-08. Mike Povey was the CEO then, yes? Pete still had a pretty high-up role in the company, though I forget exactly what it was.

I'd strongly disagree that Pete's managerial performance has been acceptable. The yearly share price rise (since the Texas acquisition) has been acceptable, but that's not the same thing.

Without the NCR, where would we be now? That March 2010 rights issue would have taken place at 1p not 2.9p,the options wouldn't have being converted, and the placement in July would have been at a much lower price (or we simply wouldn't have taken 10% of Trinidad). We'd also be facing a large dilution to cover 60% of the costs for the first two Georgia wells.

Now yes, I realise this is all hypothetical, as we do have the NCR, and are not facing a large imminent dilution. But the 'Pete is a great leader' thinking comes primarily from the fact that he made a singular good investment in the NCR. Yes, well done Pete for that, but basing an idea that he's a good manager on one good decision isn't enough evidence for me.

From the market cap increase brought by the NCR, the Trinidad acquisition was able to be acquired, and we now won't face a large dilution to drill multiple wells in Georgia. But it's all because of one good decision.

But looking at what is the true function of management- making good deals and pushing the projects forward. How has PL really done?

Puntland- nothing happened as of yet.

Georgia- OK, stuff is happening. But remember we were supposed to get those seismic results at the end of Q2/start of Q3 last year, and we were supposed to have spudded Georgia by the end of 2010. Neither has happened.

Trinidad- the deal was made in July, yet 7 months on we are not much nearer to drilling those Herrera formations.

Cotton Valley- nothing has happened, despite this acquistion been made at the same time as Trinidad. Why we haven't drilled yet is a mystery.

North Chapman Ranch- remember the 4 wells a year, $20m cashflow per annum that PL promised us? Seems an awful long way off now, with 2 wells drilled last year and the flow rates not exactly setting the world alight on those.

Yes sure, you can say AOI are just about to mobilise for Puntland, that Georgia will be spudded Q1, that Monitor are just about to sort out the funding and get drilling, that we can open the other 2 Smith #1 zones in the NCR, drill Cotton Valley this quarter and have more oil than we know what to do with by the end of the year.

And we could. But this has, so far, been very much a 'jam tommorow' company, promising much but delivering little, in terms of how the story unfolds (not in terms of share price action, which is a completely different thing).