I wouldn't imagine it was anything more than tossing ERHE a bone. Letting them play with the ball so to speak. IF they played an integral part, I do stand corrected. Not trying to act like Midtier or anything..............but I am cognizant to the fact of ERHE knowing their role in the oil patch. IMO they are a nuisance to the big boys. Though thats not a bad thing, as they need to remember who brought them to the dance.
One more thing, if JL was THAT integral in the process, we wouldn't be talking about him in the past tense. All IMO. I readily admit you have a better inner circle sense of the on goings with this company. I am just using deductive reasoning.