Headlines
Tullow Oil (LON:TLW – 288p) – RBL Relief
Tower Resources (LON:TRP – 2.38p) – Best of Both
Xcite Energy (LON:XEL – 1.58p) – Self Inflicted, But a Salutatory Lesson
In Brief
Tullow Oil (LON:TLW – 288p) – RBL Relief: While there is an argument for saying that Tullow's success at securing the continuation of its RBL facility is to be expected, there has been concern that either the terms would be restrictive, or the headline amount would decline. We believe that the shares will rally on the back of today's news, not only because of the removal of uncertainty, but also the fact that in some way, it is a vindication of the Company's finances, offering and team.
Tower Resources (LON:TRP – 2.38p) – Best of Both: Today's news that the Company's board has been significantly restructured is a reflection of the times currently facing exploration companies and typical of the management team. We believe in putting shareholder value first, Management has demonstrated their commitment to the longer term success of the Company, ensuring that in as far as possible, the prospectivity offered by the Company's acreage is retained. Furthermore, there is possibility that in moving to part time roles the Directors' inevitable involvement with other companies could generate further opportunity for Tower and its shareholders. We believe that shareholders should thank management for the steps that they have taken for the benefit of the Company.
Xcite Energy (LON:XEL – 1.58p) – Self Inflicted, But a Salutatory Lesson: We wish it could have been different, but the seeds of this destruction were sown the day Management executed the agreements for the debt without having cash flows to cover the cost. Management must take full responsibility for this failure, and for not adopting an alternative strategy when it was clear that their strategy clearly wasn’t working. We can see no winners in this as the shareholders have lost their investment and creditors will not get value for the perfection of the security package, as the issues with the asset's development don’t magically disappear. There is at least some comfort for the sector, as the failures at Xcite are nothing to do with systemic risk, arising from things like drilling operations, subsurface uncertainty, or oil market volatility, but self-inflicted by a management team who exposed the Company's owners to excessive financial risk.