re: the difference between australia and america Croupier,
The other factor is drilling costs are lower in the US.
Couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a guy in Texas ... costs about US$300k to drill to 4000 feet there. Here, you're talking A$1m, absolute minimum.
But, and this is the big but ... Aldinga was a failure in Australia, coming in at only 150 bopd. Nobody rates Beach for finding it, or upgrades the fairway, or anything. In the US, it would be a notable success.
So be aware that as far as oil cash flow goes, a marginal Australian success like Ventura could be worth 2 or 3 American successes.
Sure, traders may not see it that way - and there's a lot of people specualting in oil shares who know absolutely nothing about the business and care less - but as far as fundamentals go, it's something to be aware of.
Ian Whitchurch
NEO
nuenco nl
