Providence Resources Share Discussion Threads

[funtimejonny] 01/9/2019 08:05

Good find Jack. Thanks for posting.

[jack jebb] 01/9/2019 04:00

BRIAN CAREY: AGENDA
september 1 2019, 12:01am, the sunday times
Providence holding out for end to China crisis

It has been the market’s version of Groundhog Day. Every week or fortnight, Providence Resources shareholders wake up to the same tune: the company is extending the deadline for Chinese partner Apec Energy Enterprise to stump up $9m (€8.2m) to kick-start drilling at the Barryroe oil field off east Cork. There is the same reason for the non-appearance of the cash: the payment is being processed, the cheque is in the post.

The original deadline for the Apec loan drawdown was June 14. Summer passed, credibility drained. Chief executive Tony O’Reilly Jr let go all his support and technical staff, including chief geologist John O’Sullivan, and moved to an outsourced business model using consultants and service providers.

He plans to hand back the keys to the company HQ and head for a serviced office. Ireland’s largest domestic-focused oil company has just four staff.

O’Reilly says the costs base will fall from $5.3m to $1.9m a year. Yet Providence simply does not have the resources to implement the plan. Cash balances stood at $1.45m at the start
of August.

By the middle of this month, the Groundhog Day spell will be broken: the Chinese money must arrive, or O’Reilly will have to find alternative funds to pay severance to long-serving staff.

The company is no stranger to such ignominy. Four years ago, it selected Sequa Petroleum, backed by German wunderkind Lars Windhorst, as a partner on Barryroe. In an eerie portent, Sequa failed to come up with the funds.

Worse followed. In April 2016, Providence was on the wrong end of a $7m judgment in favour of Transocean, a rig services supplier. That in turn derailed plans to roll over a $20m loan from Melody Capital, a New York credit fund, which was due just two months later. Melody held security over all of Providence’s assets.

O’Reilly saved the day, raising $70m from shareholders to pay off Melody and Transocean and fund future drilling. He then landed Apec as a partner on Barryroe, a deal signed in March 2018 that appeared to be a coup de grace. The Chinese would fund a $200m appraisal programme.

The farm-out transaction is nothing if not opaque. Apec is an advisory firm. It is pulling together equity and debt for the Barryroe investment from Chinese investors and banks.

One presumes Providence had proof of funds when it signed off on the farm-out almost 18 months ago. Yet it is not clear where the money is coming from, or more precisely not coming from.

Why has O’Reilly persisted? In fairness, there have been 18 months of planning on the drilling programme with COSL, the Chinese state oil services company, so the deal should be given every chance. Equally, there is a sense that O’Reilly cannot afford for the Apec deal to fail. If it goes down, he may go with it. It may be a setback too far.

If the Chinese do not stump up, shareholders will have to fund the redundancies and pay for the Barryroe site survey. They will insist on change.

O’Reilly’;s €426,000-a-year contract, renewed on April 1, would be a good start. A board overhaul will follow.

[hermana3] 31/8/2019 14:44

Still up in the air re timing of drill. Hope they apply for permit early after Site Survey completion and get drill underway asap.

[billcn] 31/8/2019 12:12

Steel, thanks

[funtimejonny] 31/8/2019 12:06

That is one hell of a beast! Should make mincemeat of the drill if it ever happens!

[matt] 31/8/2019 11:40

Current nomination in Feb is a semi,

[steelwatch] 31/8/2019 11:26

bill - Icemax wasn't used at Barryroe. Kommandor may carry out shallow seabed coring for geotechnical testing, particularly if a jack-up rig is planned to be deployed to help ensure the seabed is capable of supporting one without it toppling over. That's not the case here, as far as we know, where the intention is to use a floating semi-submersible rig which would be anchored in position.

[matt] 31/8/2019 11:23

Hopefully PVR find the money to actually start the survey. In the meantime I hear the new distillery in Waterford is worth a visit.

[funtimejonny] 31/8/2019 11:15

That should be fun!

[hermana3] 31/8/2019 10:43

Kommander doing Site Survey. We don't even permit for owt to do with drilling yet

[billcn] 31/8/2019 10:34

hxxp://www.gardline.com/about-us/fleet-equipment/offshore/#

[jam2day] 31/8/2019 10:17

Gone quite on here!

[billcn] 31/8/2019 10:02

Hi, does anyone know if Kommandor is equipped to carry out drill tests. Was this originally aloted to Icemax ?

[hermana3] 31/8/2019 09:37

Can see the oil already...

[jonnyfro] 31/8/2019 08:29

Monday 7pm eta Waterford

[mcbull] 31/8/2019 08:12

Off Dungeness as in the Kent coast this morning........will be in Waterford soon.

[1cagney] 30/8/2019 23:31

Druid, I might just drop in and take a couple of photos. I REALLY hope that this is positive.

[roadster750] 30/8/2019 21:25

Get in 😂

[steelwatch] 30/8/2019 21:06

westie - get out of jail card must have turned up again, fingers XX,d 🃏

[billcn] 30/8/2019 20:27

Thank goodness. This needs to be brought to its conclusion.

[hermana3] 30/8/2019 20:15

Tis Showtime!

[druidinvestor] 30/8/2019 20:09

Kommandor set for Waterford now 1cag: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:248918/zoom:10

[bones698] 30/8/2019 16:42

All depends what price they get the funding away at and how much . The more they want the lower the price will be . If they go for 15m plus it will be 3p imo but better to get it while they can as next time the share price will be a fraction of that

[hsfinch] 30/8/2019 16:19

I'm surprised this dog has held above 5p. But don't worry, it will be be 5p before long. And after that ...well as others have said...it's worthless. Avoid like the plague.