Concerning matters raised in the AFR article related to the...

Concerning matters raised in the AFR article related to the obtain of a frac permit it's worth remembering previous announcements (way back) which detailed ES et al BRU management liaising with the WA Govt on an educational basis in order to circumvent the PR debacle faced by eastern state CSG operators. This was done by differentiating between shallow CSG fraccing and the likely deep fraccing associated with BRU's unconventional wells.

LT holders may recall these efforts preceded both the award of the WA Domgas agreement and Wulff's appointment.

In my opinion, the eastern state CSG operators clearly failed in the PR stakes and suffer to this day as a result. Due to the tight political environment (particularly in Victoria) and the perception that votes are going to be lost advocating fraccing as a means to obtain future resources, the industry is at a standstill.

Paradoxically, this has occurred despite eastern state/federal parliamentarians' acknowledgement of a looming gas shortage with onerous implications for general industry costs attached !!

The absence of any political leadership in these states will assure the eventuality of the shortage if current forecasts are correct.

On the flip side, the WA liberals have demonstrated long term vision being quick to lock in a domgas agreement with BRU. To my knowledge, such govt agreements are rare and only previously done with RIO and BHP.

In any case, BRU management's early recognition of the need to bring all stakeholders along and efforts to enlist the full support of the WA Govt a very clear example of a competent management team effecting a long term strategy. That along with other examples is why a lot of my posts have be littered with praise for management despite the tough times endured over the last 12 months.

Concerning the imminent permit decision, if you were a betting man understanding the WA govt's pro O&G industry agenda and aware of the lobbying done to date by BRU management, you'd consider the odds of getting the permit are good.

Notwithstanding, the current market has been loathe to reward BRU until milestone achievement so I would not anticipate any sustained SP uptick until the permit is granted and the proceeding unconventional drill results start rolling in.

Regards

JC