Mr Sano, I am pleased you feel the TransCanada development is a positive step.
I think there are a couple of things that can be surmised from this test.
1. TransCanada would not embark on the program unless they were pretty confident from previous tests held at Temple, the DOE and PetroChina that the technology works. It has been argued elsewhere that if they really believed in the technology they would fit out an entire pipeline, but I don't think any company would be so incautious. I think they are doing exactly what you would expect them to be doing in the circumstances
2. To sign a lease agreement involving hard cash, even if it is not a lot of money by TC's standards, they must know that STWA are capable of delivering the relevant units, not only for this test but also for an entire commercial pipeline should they decide to adopt AOT on a large scale. On this basis, I think we can assume that STWA have established the necessary manufacturing partners to roll out production.
Of course, it is always possible there will be problems with the test, and it may be that having evaluated the technology TransCanada will decide not to adopt it. Which is why, as I have said elsewhere, we are in a holding pattern until the test is complete next year.
In the meantime I think it is reasonable to believe that STWA are establishing comparable test programs with other pipeline companies. They were as good as their word in relation to the TransCanada program, there is no reason to believe that at least some of the other NDA's they have signed will not also come to fruition.
I know you have concerns about the salaries paid to senior STWA management, but as the saying goes, 'if you pay peanuts you get monkeys'. If they are producing these kinds of results I personally think they are worth the money. I don't imagine any Tom, Dick or Harry could walk into a major pipeline corporation and negotiate a deal of this kind.
Whatever may or may not have happened in the past, and I think even the most fervent STWA supporter would acknowledge that the company has had a chequered history, there is now solid evidence that the current management are in the process of turning things around. To what extent they succeed remains to be seen.
I hope you agree with this evaluation and that one day you will feel able to change your opinion and join the rest of us longs.
AI
