chumpy old chap,you are so right. karoon is definitely not a...

chumpy old chap,
you are so right. karoon is definitely not a sister stock. and why it is at the price it is beggars the imagination. it has deep water gas prospective acreage with a majority gorilla partner who has the fire power to run the venture however it likes. the first well poseidon had logged gas but the production test failed. i recall that when that happened to MEO with Heron the SP went through the floor. but not in this case for whatever reason. although the circumstances are more or less identical.
so here we are with very expensive wells in deep water a long way from the coast, a failed production test and a second wildcat coming up. and even if gas is proven to flow, remember that Scott Reef with its 10 tcf or so discovered in maybe 1971 or thereabouts and others like Brecknock and Icthyus and so on that are already in the basin have yet to flow a single cu ft of commercial product. i would suggest that most of the people associated with karoon will be in their dotage before the company achieves a positive cash flow from a development project. that is not to say that investors will not make some handsome profits in the meantime, that of course is the magic of the market. but let us not lose sight of this real world reality despite the exuberant market.
why then is central not sister. simple. it is operator with a majority interest. it is onshore near infrastructure and being onshore can drill maybe 15 or more wells for the cost of one deep water well offshore and in a fraction of the time. it has oil and gas prospects and oil can deliver a cash flow yesterday though gas may take a few months longer. it has already announced a major coal discovery at a time when coal is at a premium in Q and NSW and proven helium prospectivity.
this is not a post intended to disparage karoon, good luck to them, wish i had bought some of their shares, but it is important to realise the very great differences in the games being played.