just a thought re: new directors, page-15

Lauzza,

Sorry but I don't agree.

I don't believe that the board had a bunch of plans, and JH stood in their way. That simply by his removal suddenly everything was in place and the magic would finally happen.

I don't believe that at all, because I don't believe that JH had the power you seem to subscribe to him. He was ONE PERSON on a board. If the other two board members agreed together then they would overrule JH on any vote (as the chairman on votes on a tie).

One of the other posters summed it up the other day.
- After the findings at Surprise-1 JH and DH had chosen SEVERAL drilling targets in the Surprise province (hopefully I have used the correct technical term there, I'm not a geo), to use the rig that would only have to move 50-100m to start a new drill. And this time they could put in several laterals.

Instead the board overruled JH and DH's plan. They would do 3D instead, to increase the chance of success for any drill, and to prove up resources further. Fair enough, it's a more conservative plan, but not unreasonable.

Ok, so let's move the Drill on to Mt Kitty, as promised. No, says the board, and voted that option down too. They instead vote to RELEASE THE RIG.

I know I am harping on this, but it's the big point, and not a single poster has offered any reason for this.

WHY did the board RELEASE THE RIG, when they could have sent it on to drill Mt Kitty, as planned before the drilling at Surprise resumed?

WHY?

There is only one reason I can see - because they don't believe in themselves. They don't believe that they could raise the finances quickly enough to do both the 3D seismic and drill Mt Kitty. They don't believe that the staff is capable of doing both.

But really, do we need someone like JH or DH onsite for 3D seismic? I don't think so. I think they could have easily moved on to observe at Mt Kitty while the 3D was in progress.

You ask why I don't want to wait a few more months after 6 years. The answer is, because if the EGM doesn't replace the board, then they will be in power until at least Feb 2013. That's only 13 months before CTPO expires.

Well, I have money in both CTP and CTPO. As I'm sure a lot of people here do. I need CTP to continue, for it's price to rise much faster than it had been.

This process began before the 2 week rise that doubled our price. But even that was not enough. If you watched, CTPO fell further and further behind each day, it only got to 3.9 at it's top.

Look at it another way. We had a rise, great. But with the plans announced by the board, with 3D to go through to August (November, my guess), and EPT to start after that, we wouldn't have any reason for the price to rise till that EPT began. We would have seen it slowly drop, bit by bit, as people got bored of waiting.

The stock market is impatient. People pull their money out if they have to wait a few days! I am not prepared to wait another 12-15 months before any action occurs.

So finally after the 3D is finished, they will consider drilling more wells at Surprise then, right? Great! Now how long before they can get the drill? Another 11 months perhaps?

No Lauzza, I don't believe that the board had a plan, and they just had to get rid of JH to implement it, and now it's all falling apart. The board had NO PLAN beyond 3D and EPT. They didn't have a plan for how or when they would drill more wells at Surprise.

They have been caught with their pants down, and now they are rushing to react and try to improve their position.

And you ask about the support of JH from those pushing for a spill. Well firstly, we have never said that JH should be returned to CEO. I want the new board to decide what his position within a re-organised company should be. JH needs to be kept around in some role with the company, for now, because he just knows far too much about the company. That is knowledge we can't afford to lose.

I put it to you that things have been wrong between JH and the board for a while. And I remind you that the company has not performed over the last 4 years to the level I'm sure you would have expected. Well, the board can over-ride any suggestion that JH puts to them. They outnumber him 2-1 (chairman only votes on ties, again).

The announcement today about a possible coal split off, well what does it really tell us? Details will come "soon". So why bother telling us at all now? Why not just announce it when the details are organised?

The two directors announced yesterday? That just tells us they are running scared. They don't need two more ppl. The board does not need two accountants.

I expect we will see similar announcements every day until the EGM. Most of them will be meaningless. They will just state things we already know, ideas that have already been discussed. Why? Because this is a board running without a plan, reacting to events going on around them, and easily blind-sided and distracted.

I won't wait any more. Bring on the EGM!