RE: Berkley - cancels pre-hearing future doubtfulI sense some frustration in the last posting. There certainly is an issue of Hotshots with a serious case of personal greed looking for a fast buck. Reality is that they are from Vancouver – not Toronto - and they are treating their investors with the same contempt as the residents up here in the Crossfield area.
Unfortunately, you have made a lot of bad assumptions about Berkley Resources and the local opposition to their proposed well.
First, you have assumed that land speculators – possibly from Toronto - are opposing the well. I don’t know of any. All the land out here is zoned as agricultural and can’t be subdivided for Estate Lots or any other reason. We live about 2 km East of the proposed well location and we are a member of the Crossfield Concerned Citizens or CCC, which includes around 20 farm families or about 80% of the rural residents that live closest to the proposed locations. Most of us also have jobs in the city (not a lot of money in farming these days). Personally, I am 4th generation Albertan and since 1978 I have made my career in the Oil and Gas industry.
For the record, there are a number of other groups and organizations that are actively opposing Berkley’s application. They include the Town of Crossfield, the City of Airdrie, the Municipal District of Rockyview, Crossfield Concerned Citizens (CCC) and the Crossfield Town Residents group – which includes around 25 families from the town of Crossfield.
Second, you have assumed that Berkley Resources is actually an Oil and Gas company. Just check out their track record (from Berkley’s 2006 annual report)
- Berkley formed as an amalgamation of two Mining Companies in 1986 and focused on “drilling participation” (Not Drilling) of oil and gas (page 11)
-Berkley has no full time Employees (page 31)
-Over the past 5 years, while real Oil and Gas companies have been reporting record profits, Berkley has lost $127,647, $255,456, $729,034, $522,458, and $3,236,759 (2002 to 2006 respectively) (page 7) – Remember, this is where your investment money has gone!
- In Berkley’s 20+ year history, they have never licensed or operated a drilling program of any type – including conventional oil and gas (source: AEUB information services).
-Oil and Gas companies are staffed and usually run by geologists, geophysicists and petroleum engineers. Berkley is run by:
COO and President: Lindsay Gorrill (Chartered Accountant with a BBA in Finance and Marketting - from businessweek.com )
CEO: Matt Wayrynen (a former stock broker and a licensed salesman in the real estate industry – https://www.berkleyresources.com/management.php)
VP of Operations: Jim O’Byrne (consultant to Berkley and a Landman (which is non-technical) from the Oil and Gas industry)
While we are on this subject, did you know that all of the Berkley Resources executives have several other jobs? (from businessweek.com)
Lindsay Gorrill:
Berkley Resources Inc: President, COO, CFO and Director
Jayhawk Engery Inc: President, CEO, Secretary and Director
Quinto Mining Corp: CFO and Director
WGI Heavy Minerals Inc: Former CEO, President and Director (check out this interesting bit of legal history regarding the actions taken against Mr. Gorrill by his previous employers https://www.co.kootenai.id.us/departments/districtcourt/opinions/20060301_CV%202006%20384_WGI%20v.%20Gorrill_John%20T.%20Mitchell_Memorandum%20Decision%20&%20Order%20Granting%20Temporary%20Restraining%20Order_WGI%20v.%20Gorrill%20TRO.pdf )
Matt Wayrynen :
Berkley Resourses: Co-Chairman, CEO, etc.
Elko Ventures Inc: CEO, President, CFO, PAO, Treasurer and Director.
Coral Gold: Vice President (President until 2006)
Bralorne Gold Mines Ltd: VP of Operations, Director and member of audit committee.
Quinto Mining Corp: Director, Member of Audit Committee, Member of Compensation Committee
Jim O’Byrne:
Berkley Resources Inc: Vp of Operations and Director
O’Byrne Resources Management Ltd: President
White Max Energy, Inc. Chairman and Director
Altima Resources Ltd. Chairman of the Board
Here’s a free tip – Do your research. Find out how Louis Wolfin (Matt’s father-in-Law) , David Wolfin and the other board members all fit together in this. See what information you can raise on Oniva International Services Group – this appears to be a private company that seems to tie all these investment shells together.
It appears that most of these companies are losing investor’s dollars at a similar rate to Berkley. Nonetheless, all the principles seem to be collecting compensation from multiple companies. Not a bad job if you can get it.
Once you get to the bottom of this rat’s nest, you may find yourself pursuing the same action as the shareholders of Altima Resources (whose Chairman of the Board is Jim O’Byrne, VP of Berkley). It appears they have filed a complaint with the TSX over problems with flow through shares (https://www.stockhouse.com/bullboards/viewmessage.asp?stat_num=16703040&all=0&t=0&archived=False&link_symbol=ARH&link_table=LIST&navmode=1&navd=rev)
As for the mineral rights holders not opposing the well, I am sure you are right. For clarification, there are two titles for every piece of land in Alberta. Prior to 1900 the homesteader acquired both the surface and the mineral rights to their land. Since that time the “landowner” has the surface rights but the Crown (in reality the Province) holds the mineral rights. Regarding Berkley’s well, most of the original homestead families have long since sold the surface rights and moved out of the area. Prior to the 1940s no one cared about the mineral rights so these titles were simply neglected or forgotten. Now Berkley has tracked down the descendents of these original homesteaders and negotiated a lease on their mineral rights. Most of these mineral rights owners do not even live in the area. For all I know, they could live in Toronto!
Why are these groups opposing the well so strongly? The opposition is based on a real threat against our health and safety. We are talking about a Level 4 (during drilling and completion) Sour gas well. This makes it one of the most dangerous wells drilled in Alberta and Berkley has no experience as an operator of any type of oil and gas drilling project.
Berkley has not even been a junior partner on a sour gas development. Let me give you an analogy here. In Alberta, any 14 year-old can write a test and get a learners permit which allows him to drive a car as long as he is under the supervision of a qualified driver. At 16 he can take a road test, and if he passes, he can get a driver’s licence which allows him to drive a passenger car independently. Berkley is a like a 18 year old who got his learners permit and never took the chance to practice driving. Now, without even driving his family car, he has developed a burning desire to jump behind the wheel of an eighteen wheeler loaded with hazardous goods and wants to drive it down Deerfoot Trail at rush hour. Managing the drilling of a Critical sour gas well producing from a potentially untested formation at 10000 feet is no way to learn how to be an operating partner.
IF Berkley were a real oil and gas company they would have known better.
So finally we have a common interest. If Berkley happened to get this well license and then go on to have troubles with the drilling/completion, we would likely loose our lives and Berkley’s investors would lose their money. On the other hand, Berkley would simply close the doors, disappear and not a single person would be out of a job.
Comforting – isn’t it?