Hi all, I've spent the past few days realising (thorough first...

Hi all,

I've spent the past few days realising (thorough first hand research) that absolutely nothing in my extensive wine cellar is going to numb the shock on this one.

2 weeks ago, I said."...this is Galp's first OPERATED offshore well". Galp have invested in many offshore wells, but have never operated one until TAO. When DW came out and said costs were to be US$73m for a dry hole to 3600m, I thought that's a bit high for a 60 day jack-up to relatively shallow depths. At the time, I excused this as Galp being a conservative newbie when I should have flagged it as inexperience masking incompetence. Ahhh......hindsight.

I had no idea we were going to pay an additional $10-20m for Galp to do a "How to operate an offshore well" course.

DW: It is very possible to withhold $/sue for professional/operational incompetence.

Normally I end posts with "Cheers". Just don't feel like it on this one.