Chariot Oil & Gas: Your questions answered

Answering Interactive Investor users’ questions at the North American Prospect Expo (NAPE) in Houston was Chariot Oil and Gas chief executive Paul Welch.

Chariot is another AIM-listed oil company for whom 2012 is vital."No doubt, this year is really important for us," said Welch. "We will be drilling two wells this year Tapir South in the second quarter and Nimrod in late third or early 4th quarter."That’s what we’ve been waiting to do - we have partners in the south and negotiating with partners in the North and negotiating for a rig."Welch conceded: "2011 was difficult as it was for most companies of our size with share price was down but he raised $140 net in the second quarter of last year from both existing and new investors. "We are good to go," he said, adding he remains confident the firm is on target to drill on time and as stated. “All we need is a rig."He also acknowledged that the greatest frustration was the firm’s failure to secure a rig to drill both projects. This subject was the thrust of most of the questions fired into Interactive Investor from Chariot shareholders.Interactive Investor user question:It seems that a decision has been made not to pay what other companies are willing to pay to secure a rig. This led to disappointment last year after the company had repeatedly given the impression they were confident of securing a rig. Why was that decision made? What assurances can the board offer that this situation will be resolved? And what is a realistic timeframe?Interactive Investor user:Why didn’t Chariot anticipate the rig market tightening to such an extent that we are now at the mercy of bigger companies withholding rigs until we have to accept a poorer deal?Welch:"No-one anticipated the degree to which this has been a frustration, we have been in the market [for a rig] for seven months. Our disadvantage is two-fold. Firstly, currently the number of drills suitable is few and two, Namibia is not a traditional territory.""We have on several occasions been to the point where the ink is almost dry on a deal and then we get outbid. We are not going to pay over the odds. We expect to drill in Q2. All the equipment is in Namibia, everything we need, all we need is a rig. There is no reason to change those guidelines."Interactive Investor user: "With over 50% of the shares in issue having been traded since December 2011 and no holding RNS being issued by any companies are Chariot not concerned about someone building a position for a takeover and if not, why not?"Welch: "Obviously [stockmarket] rules are in place for declarations of ownership and so on so if we were aware of that situation shareholders would know. We do monthly shareholder register analysis and we have not seen any evidence of anyone building a position."Interactive Investor user:Which of the following is most likely to be the next major news: Farm-in partner, rig news or acquisition of a producing asset?

Welch:"Good question. I have to say two things concurrently are rig news and a farm-in partner, secondary would be acquisition."

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