asian roadshow

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/decades-of-wealth-from-boom-as-commodities-exports-forecast-to-hit-480bn/story-fn59niix-1226132689353

Much of what follows is speculation but in their latest (August) Investor Update I was much intrigued by this "Asian Roadshow".

It hasn't - to my knowledge - been reported anywhere in the media.

Very odd don't you think for something so important? It's as if they want to keep it quiet or, alternatively, another example of their poor marketing

What is coming from all sides of the print media , both here and overseas, is the M&A plans of cashed up Chinese govt enterprises - particularly oil and gas.

Glenda and PH are going on this "Roadshow" but I don't know when and I don't know where but it does not include India.

And I am informed they will not be be away for very long. Perhaps only 24 hours.

Some Roadshow!

So I speculate that long drawn-out difficult negotiations are close to agreement and the "roadshow" is a final one-stop presentation to the highest echelon of a Chinese? oil-and-gas state enterprise before approval - and we will once again have to wait - is granted.

(If they were going there to sign off on a deal there would have had to be a ASX announcement.)

Hence Glenda's: "we are talking to people you have never heard of" and "you'd be amazed at the people coming through our front door."

I ask myself again and again: why did they raise $21m at the worst possible time and horribly diluting to boot - other than as a blocking manoeuvre?

And why, having all that cash, have they no great plans to spend any of it for 9 months?

Unless of course there is going to be a big dollop of cash coming in from a JV partner?

An entity wanting to secure ownership of long term gas supply.

(A capital return is not out of the question!!)

-50% ownership of such a giant resource would also avoid any FIRB opposition.

What really caught my eye in the "Update" was the use for the first time of the term, "world scale acreage"; followed by v impressive GIP figures.

The highly esteemed Seamfiend has posted on the BOW thread that GIP is what is thought to be there and not what can necessarily be extracted but 26+ tcf is still - according to the august Mr LA's calculations - 26,000PJ!

If any of this comes to fruition then BGF's forecast last year of " a new gas major emerging" will have been most prescient.

And a floating offshore LNG plant could also be back on the agenda.

After ESG & BOW, MEL is the last one and it's quite clear that the rush to secure gas is on.

The ANZ Report at the top has gas exports possibly exceeding iron ore in 5-10 years.

And the hiring of a Liberal Party identity with the ear of the ministry should hustle their infrastructure (pipeline/RVPS) plans through a tardy bureaucracy.

One final point, MrPH stated at the Casino meeting that the NSW govt insisted that 15% of the gas be dedicated to domestic markets; what he didn't say was wether this would be at global market prices - and of course it will have to.


Thank you for your time.