Mediterranean Oil & Gas Share Discussion Threads

[bad robot] 27/3/2014 13:03

Tick up is due

[bobobob5] 27/3/2014 12:59

hash: the Malta COS is not high; Ombrina Mare has been the big prize for years. The issue is: how to fund it? Cracking that issue is the task. The very deep Italian onshore mega-target was briefly mentioned yesterday at the Oilbarrel presentation.

[1waving] 27/3/2014 12:57

The judge has made his judgement clear.
Doubt that Neil Ritson had read the full judgement when appeal was mentioned.
Appeal not on the cards as far as I can see.

Good luck to both companies.

[hashertu] 27/3/2014 12:34

Now let's hope that the new Italian prime minister Renzi can rejuvenate the O&G industry as well as the legislature.
Getting Ombrina Mare back on track is our bigger prize, not winning an ego-spat with LGO.

[bad robot] 27/3/2014 12:30

7p is coming chaps

This should be 10p.

Market just catching up with news.

[hashertu] 27/3/2014 12:15

The extracts at the end of the RNS make for interesting reading.

I don't recall reading mention of some of this during the trial.

[garymegson] 27/3/2014 12:05

RNS Number : 3558D

Mediterranean Oil & Gas Plc

27 March 2014








27 March 2014



Mediterranean Oil & Gas Plc

(the "Company" or "MOG")



Litigation Update: MOG wins legal case



The Commercial Court today handed down judgment in the legal case brought by Leni Gas & Oil Plc ("LGO") against MOG's subsidiary Malta Oil Pty Limited.



MOG is pleased to announce that LGO's case failed at every stage and was dismissed by the Court with judgment being entered in favour of the Defendants, Malta Oil Pty Limited and Phoenicia Energy Co Limited.



In the opening section of his judgment, Mr Justice Males said:



"...the claimants' case fails at every stage, in particular,... there was in my judgment no question of any intention to mislead on the part of Dr Higgs."



Mr Justice Males also said:



"On the critical issues Dr Higgs was a frank and straightforward witness in my view. Despite vigorous and even hostile cross examination in which he was personally accused of deliberate fraud over almost a day and a half, his answers were for the most part clear and compelling. They were also, in my view, in accordance with both the contemporary documents and the inherent probabilities of the case. To the extent that his account of the critical telephone conversation was in conflict with Mr Ritson's, I have no hesitation in preferring Dr Higgs' evidence."



In the closing paragraph of his judgment Mr Justice Males said: "To borrow the oil industry terminology... it may have seemed to LGO that the prospectivity for these proceedings and the amount at stake were such that the economics of this litigation were positive. However, litigation like the oil business is a high risk activity and LGO has failed to strike oil."



Further extracts from the judgment are set out in the appendix below.



A further hearing has been set for next Thursday 3 April 2014 to deal with issues arising out of this decision such as the payment of the costs of the case. MOG will keep shareholders informed.



MOG's Chairman, Keith Henry said:





"The MOG Board is delighted by the strength of the court's decision to rule on all matters in our favour. We never doubted that we would win this case and Bill Higgs would have his reputation as a straightforward businessman and honest person upheld.



"In 2012, LGO was not prepared to risk a relatively small sum of money to maintain its interest in Malta Area 4 and yet has been prepared to risk very substantial sums of money on High Court litigation. LGO's strategy, including the issuing of certain RNS announcements, has been difficult to understand. Our strategy, when all else had failed, was to let the court decide based on the evidence as presented. With this episode now behind us, Bill and the MOG team can look forward to focussing on the much more positive aspects of continuing to grow the company."



MOG's Chief Executive Officer, Bill Higgs said:



"This outcome will come as no surprise to anyone. We have worked hard to protect our shareholders' interests and we will ensure that we take all available steps to recover our legal costs from LGO without delay. In addition, we will also be consulting our solicitors in relation to certain public statements made by individual directors of LGO during the course of the litigation process. As this case is now at an end, I am very much looking forward to spending my time progressing our business and in particular the spudding of the well offshore Malta Area 4. I can assure shareholders that the court case has had no impact on operations and I thank them for their continued support."



MOG was represented by Memery Crystal LLP

LGO was represented by Mishcon de Reya.



ENQUIRIES:

[glyn10] 27/3/2014 12:05

that would be now then !

[glyn10] 27/3/2014 11:39

how long do we have to wait until the suspension is lifted and trading can begin?

[monomono] 27/3/2014 11:30

Where do I find the judgement?

TIA
MM

[ohisay] 27/3/2014 11:26

Just got to deal with some more clowns in Italy now.!

[glyn10] 27/3/2014 11:20

onwards and upwards !

[cashstrapped] 27/3/2014 11:14

case thrown out it seems. what share price now?CS

[ohisay] 27/3/2014 10:59

Curse of Winnyfroth .
Just do the opposite of his opinion and you'll be quids in.

[luminoso] 27/3/2014 10:58

Well, well. Apparently the board's confidence of winning the case was well founded. Don't hold here anymore but the next few hours will be interesting.

[12bn] 27/3/2014 08:03

Maybe because Leni aren't concerned about what the ruling will do to the sp,work it out for yourself.

[apache_dropout] 27/3/2014 08:01

How come Leni hasn't been suspended

[dfunk1210] 26/3/2014 09:11

mdchand - I know for a fact that at pre-trial stage, LGO were advised judgement would probably follow in 1-2 weeks. The speed of the decision is in keeping with those estimates.mdchand - 26 Mar 2014 - 07:20 - 7361 of 7366 - 0No one was expecting such a fast judgement - so it must be clear cut in one direction or the other.

[hamlette] 26/3/2014 08:57

p@ - The MOG Board believe there was no case to answer (see extract below from their Annual Report 2013). In my view there will be serious implications for the MOG Board if the judgement goes in favour of LGO.

"The successful defence against LGO's claim in an open court process will ultimately allow us to defend ourselves, and the interests of our shareholders to:
a) set the record straight;
b) enhance the reputation of the MOG team;
c) re-establish investor confidence and interest in MOG stock;
d) recover legal defence fees incurred; and
e) demonstrate MOG's determination to protect itself from speculative
rumours and legal claims."

[12bn] 26/3/2014 08:42

That would be a good outcome for everyone imo.

[p@] 26/3/2014 08:38

Likely outcome,-LGO gets some cash (they need it),MOG still gets Malta (their cash position is adequate).