Welcome back. Agree with pretty much everything you said. This...

Welcome back. Agree with pretty much everything you said. This is the second second super-major to have left money on the table re FAR acreage but if you've ever dealt with them you'd appreciate the unique mindset. They're like investment banks. Knee-jerk thinking. One minute they're hiring like mad and doling out bonuses like a Powerball and the next they're axing everyone in sight, selling the potplants and cancelling the after-hours aircon.I have heard rumours of the numbers they got for the in-line sale of the deepwater assets and they were truly awful. Abysmal. So a half-decent lowball offer for senegal probably looks great in comparison.

CNE won't stump up. And have hobbled themselves somewhat by their stick-in-the-mud approach to date. But I have a feeling (in my waters) that there may be some parties already warmed-over and semi-ready. I don't think we are quite as un-prepared as yesterday suggested....

Oddly enough, I am miffed that it was WPL which had the smarts to try this. Have always found them so flat-footed and here they have been anything but.

I'm incredibly excited by this. It's a long shot but with a bit of luck we could end up with a seat at the big table just before what I see as a strong cyclical recovery....Conoco remind of those guys that do the hard slog of the marathon and quit a few ks from home.

Can't remember who the poster was with this Shakespearean line as their sign off but I think it's appropriate - "there comes a time in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads on to fortune". I think we're at that point now. The amount of capital required from shareholders is going to be daunting but I think it's do-able and am aching to sell all my frothy goldies etc and chase some value for a change.