MROMO,
A lot of what you have posted today I find very interesting and much of what you post I agree with. Also I take my hat off to your knowledge of E&P in the GOG.
I agree that both Operators knew to a limited extent exactly what they had found (in this respect, Oil, Condensate, Gas(bio) or Gas(thermo)) in respect to how far into the zone(s) they went. It is still my suspicion that they went to a certain depth and either found what they were expecting or encountered something they were not expecting and pulled out (in this case pressure).
What I do not agree with in your post is that, "no news in this business is bad news". That is contrary to everything I know and have experienced with regard to exploratory drilling.
In existing fields where rights and control are locked I will agree with you, companies love to shout about their success.
In this case these wells are as tight-holed as anythiung I have ever encoutered and I was on the MUKLUK well in the Bering Sea in 1978. We both know you can never keep drilling crews quiet about what they find and we also know that everyone on the rig knows what they are seeing (bit pressure, shaker pit, returns, even tripping pipe will give you some knowledge). My point is I keep searching the blogs to get any crew knowledge and have found nothing. That is very unusual.
My point being if the Operators found nothing or very little it would make a lot of sense for them to quickly release this information as it could give them an edge on the EEZ lease sale.
I know they are different zones but If the JDZ was verified as being a duster (it would) affect pricing in the EEZ that surrounds it. BUT if they found what they thought they would and limited their drilling profile then they could legitimately say they found some gas but needed further analysis.
The Chinese are too desperate to secure their energy future to sit on acreage because of any reluctance to relinquish acreage, they would cut and run if there was nothing there.
The truth is I do not know what they found but my experience in the energy sector tells me that thier silence is not due to the JDZ being a bust.
My interpretation,
Bay
