excellent research on ete

At long last we have an Australian Broker in Hartleys who have initiated coverage on ETE. Their comprehensive research report was released today and to quote ": Entek Energy Ltd (ETE) - Large Exposure to Emerging Shale Play - Initiating with a Speculative Buy".

Hartleys conclusion as follows
"RECOMMENDATION & RISKS
INVESTMENT THESIS & RECOMENDATION
Our investment thesis for ETE hinges around several key areas of the Company?s strategy. We believe that the Gulf of Mexico can provide low risk incremental value growth coupled with a high rate of return, payback and cashflow. This will allow development of the Company? s onshore acreage in the Green River Basin, where we see considerable growth potential through leverage to two resource style projects.
The most attractive of the resource style projects, in our view, is associated with the Niobrara Shale play, which may provide significant oil production. ASX listed peers in the Eagleford Shale, which has produced good results recently, are trading on Enterprise Value to Acreage ratios of A$8k-$15k and we believe that there is still significant room for valuations in the Eagleford to increase. The Eagleford is more advanced than the Niobrara but gives an indication of potential value for Entek.
For example, Entek?s net share of prospective acreage in the Niobrara is 36,300 acres. If valued at A$8k per acre, this would translate to a market capitalisation of A$290m or 130cps (A$15k => 242cps). The progress of the Companies that have had success in the Eagleford provide a possible road map for Entek, in our view.
The coal seam gas project also has significant upside potential; however, we view this as a discretionary, low capex option on potentially improving gas prices in the USA."