RE:RE:Quality of this board has gone to hell.Simple solution to crow and db. If you don't think they have anything worthwhile to say, use ignore. Simple solution to improve the quality of the board is to discuss the facts and not lower the level of conversation yourself. Seeing both sides and keeping balance does not mean turning into a basher to balance the cheerleading. Intelligent discussion is much more persuasive.
On that note, what makes you so sure there will be a loss this quarter (and much more important, what do you calculate cash flow to be for the quarter - remember, in E&P profit is an illusion, cash flow is king).
As to Stella as a long term asset, remember that this is not a single field, but a number of fields, each at different stages of development. From the Ithaca web site:
"The Company's focus on the Greater Stella Area is driven by monetisation of over 30 million barrels of oil equivalent of net proven and probable reserves (as independently assessed by Sproule International Limited at end-2012) and the generation of additional value via the wider opportunities provided by the range of undeveloped discoveries surrounding the production hub that is being constructed."
30 million boe gives 10 years at an average of 10kb/d - should be plenty of time to replace those reserves.