Imagine for a moment you’re in charge of an oil and gas deal in a place where not a lot of oil and gas deals have happened before. You look through the books and find only one company had been there previously, and that they fell victim to outside machinations before they got a chance to really get moving.
Imagine that old company had done significant work to their prospect before being dragged asunder, and that the people who did most of that work, who knew most about the property, were still out there, casting their eye on the place, waiting for their chance to get at what they suspect lies underneath.
Back to the present now: Halio Energy CEO Joe Casabona is living that scenario. He announced today that his new go-to team at Halio would be Operations Manager Ed Davies and Technical Manager Tom Stewart.
Why is this important? Because both gentlemen, with their 85 years of combined experience in oil and gas, at companies as large as Conoco, Shell, and Energy Corporation of America, previously jumped all aboard little Bridge Petroleum which had, six years ago, zeroed in on the same Western Idaho Basin that Halio announced last week they had a farm-in agreement on.
Not only has Halio got its hands on a couple of guys who know how to work the machinery and aim the drills at the right spots as well as anyone in the business, but they’ve got the two guys with the most experience in the very area they’re doing business.
I’ve gone through the old Bridge Petroleum filings and their end was nothing to do with the Basin, but rather a misplayed shift in focus to the UK North Sea by an acquirer. It’s as if someone prepared a cake for the oven and, at the last minute, someone came over and ordered pizza. And for the several years since, nobody has looked at the cake to see if it might still be worth baking.
To be sure, nobody at Exxon and BP is fighting Halio for the chance to drill the Western Idaho Basin. Though there’s pipeline and rail almost right to the door, though the local jurisdiction is happy for exploration to happen, and though previous work on the site indicated there were good reasons to be there, only one group is there currently and they’re basically invisible as far as the markets are concerned.
So Halio has been quietly doing its business, building its team and prepping for action.
Recent new releases indicate Halio wants to be the operator on site, with other targets also being considered, but I find this one interesting if only because it’s had such a long intermission and, if it plays out, Halio has it almost all to itself.
Certainly, if your plan is to raise a bunch of money and go play golf on the proceeds, you wouldn’t hire Davies and Stewart. They’re operators of the highest order and, frankly, would be earning ridiculous money doing what they do if they just walked back into Conoco or Shell. Davies had previously been Manager of Worldwide Exploration at Conoco. Stewart has done his thing everywhere from the Rockies to the UK North Sea to the Gulf Coast. These are oil and gas monsters, not work-a-day Joes, and Casabona himself has some serious industry cred in the highest of energy circles.
Why would these kings of crude who’ve made their millions and walk among the elite, suddenly leap sideways into an unknown junior, with an unknown prospect, if they didn’t know something we don’t?
And that, ultimately, is what is attracting me to this deal. Oil and gas has its ups and down, for sure, and lately the downs have been more than the ups. But we all know it’s not going away any time soon, and there’s riches in niches. If Halio can open a new oil and gas front in the US, there’s billions to be made. And if you were going to try, you’d hire guys like Davies and Stewart to make the cranks turn.
This is probably also a good time to announce that, given I’m the only one writing about Halio Energy, and have been for several months, I’ve met with management and they’ve begun a marketing program through Equity.Guru. And I’m a big enough believer in the team and what they’re looking to do, that I’ve agreed to be associated with them for the next year and a half.
That they were keen to work on a deal for that length is notable. No four-month promo, no short term thinking – they’re looking to build something that’ll be a legacy, and that takes time, the right people, and a business plan just outside the box enough to have massive potential upside.
I’m LONG.
— Chris Parry
FULL DISCLOSURE: Halio Energy is an Equity.Guru marketing client, and the author holds stock in the company.
ADDENDUM (14/11/16): I have decided to withdraw from my marketing contract with this company. I continue to hold stock.
Ed Davis was CEO of Bridge and Tom Stewart was the Vice President. Bridge was run to the ground by the management. Can they do better with a second chance?
Not exactly. Bridge was bought into by another company that dragged them into the North Sea, and focused their attention there.