Investors, after being in the oil & gas business for nearly 30 years, and some serious soul searching; I’ve changed my mind about the advisability of investing with smaller independent companies engaged in raising money for their own private placement offerings. One big problem I see over and over are the typical disruptions of funding, or lack of funding during the funding efforts by smaller companies.

Smaller companies invest in 1 or more oil & gas wells and often in depleted oil or gas fields without adequate research, or geological log library reviews, and these often one to two man operations or promotional companies essentially invest money on a ‘hope & a prayer’ they’ll find something overlooked by many previous operators or developers. The outcome is predictable, and the result are usually dry holes, or less than commercial production. The end result is a hard luck, or sob story told to the expectant investor who felt he was getting a chance to beat the big boys at their game.

I now believe the best way to get involved as a private investor is by investing with companies who routinely work with Land Men or ‘lease hounds’ who can help acquire equity ownership in new technological projects operated, and developed by major oil companies who are well funded through public stock offerings, and their own money; and who regularly employ drilling companies with excellent track records.

This scenario described above is what I see in the Bakken Shale horizontal wells that are being drilled by 197 drilling companies, and at the rate of a new horizontal well every 35 days according, to a ‘Land Company’ our company employs. By the way the hit rate is pretty much perfect when drilling horizontal wells with ‘staged fracing’ in the Bakken Shale at this time.

Call or email me with your questions. Dennis 805 701 7761

dwstutes@att.net