Wow. I have watched this board for several months now, and must say it is very entertaining. The whole Empire story is a beauty and if all else fails, Hollywood should come knocking on MB's door to see about writing a screenplay. Maybe they could be the investor he needs?!
One thing though TPG, you say: Both components of this license agreement have been met and the financial commitments that were made by Empire have been surpassed over the period of the 10 year SEL 13/98 tenure.
My questions, and please do not take it as bashing (it just seems like some people on this board do not question things enough), would be:
1. Have you seen the details of the licence agreement?
2. If so, how many wells were meant to be drilled during the 10 years? MRT surely would have ensured the licence stipulated Empire/GSLM must drill?
3. Where was the AU$50,000,000 spent? It is a given that the seismic would have cost several mil. But what happened to the other 40-odd, given no wells were drilled?
4. Also, how was the other $40 mil of spending directly related to the licence requirements?
5. Where did the $50 million come from? Do published external funding figures add up to this amount?
I completely accept there may be legitimate answers to these questions, but they have certainly never been explained properly in public yet.
TO all of your credit, it does look like a lot of fun to be involved in this company and I wish you all the best. I might just wait for more info before getting my feet wet.
Regards. And from the looks of things, I should definitely add: this is all JMO
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