Good question. I figure BHP will announce their plan before the 5th August but at the moment they are probably reworking their budgets because of the new bosses budget guidelines. I'm supposing they will make a commitment to drop some ground in return for a further extension. Seems like a low cost approach. I would like to see them farm out a share - perhaps CNOOC would be interested? Do they have a preferred partner in the area? Whatabout Shell?
Organising materials and mobilising a rig is a 90 day minimum and given the challenges of this well perhaps 120 days is a more realistic timeframe.
BHP would have no problem renegotiating with the govt so I don't see August 5 being a drop dead date.
OEL Price at posting:
9.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
A personalised tool to help users track selected stocks. Delivering real-time notifications on price updates, announcements, and performance stats on each to help make informed investment decisions.
(20min delay)