Success stories
abound about prospect generators selling their drilling prospects
either directly or indirectly because of exposure at a prospect
expo. The time frame varies from soon after the show to long after.
A fortunate
few, however, have the heady experience of hanging a "Sold" sign
across their exhibit while the expo is still going strong.
LMP Exploration
in Corpus Christi, Texas, became a member of this relatively elite
group at APPEX 2003 in Houston when it sold its DeWitt County prospect
on the spot.
Their story
is a study in creative planning to make a prospect user-friendly
for potential buyers.
"We had
heard about APPEX and had the perception there were more serious
lookers there," said Mike Lucente, exploration manager at LMP. "We
thought it was just as important as NAPE, where we have exhibited
successfully, and decided we needed to expose ourselves to it.
"The prospect
came up in time for us to show at APPEX last year, and we had huge
exposure and a lot of interest," Lucente said. "We showed it to
two dozen people, easily."
Onsite
Inspection
To show
the prospect in the best detail possible, the LMP team brought along
a laptop computer with the project loaded in with all the seismic
— all the main parts of the prospect were there for the viewing.
Interested parties could spend time studying the data on the laptop
to determine if they were interested, negating the need to travel
to LMP's Corpus Christi office.
"People
went on and on about how they could address so many issues by being
able to see the seismic data there instead of having to wonder,"
Lucente said. "They loved it."
Neumin
Production perhaps loved it the most, committing to the lion's share
of the deal on Day Two of the APPEX confab.
"Neumin
looked at the prospect and asked if their geophysicist could have
a go at it," Lucente said. "After an hour, he and his people huddled
and then said, 'It's there, we want it.' A piece had been sold a
few hours before that, but they took the rest."
Lucente
emphasized exhibitors must be cautious about dismantling a prospect
exhibit without a binding letter agreement given the risk that a
verbal offer might well be rescinded later.
"In our
case, Neumin was so expressive of their intentions, and the president
came by and assured us they would take it subject to basic due diligence,
like if we really had the leases and such" Lucente said. "So we
shook on it and just trusted them, and all went smooth."
Homework
Pays Off
The LMP
team, which returns to APPEX this year, said the expo lets exhibitors
get a good feel for how others see their prospects. If there is
no interest, one might want to question whether it's a good deal,
if the brochure is adequate, the right bullet points posted, etc.
"We went
to NAPE enough and did our homework on APPEX to understand it,"
Lucente said, "and knew what it would take to get the story out,
so we came very prepared.
"Maybe
we got lucky," he said, "but you have to put your best foot forward."
Hopes are
high for the well, which is drilling now, but even a dry hole can
be a success in its own way, according to Lucente.
"If you
drill a dry hole, it's not for naught," Lucente noted, "because
you've just got to drill through enough to let the oil field gods
finally work in your favor.
"The point
is, if you don't get that bit in the ground, nothing happens," he
said. "Whether a well works or not, you still get the idea tested,
and you can compare it to other prospects."