RE:Usurpers & detractors.....A lot of people here have been majorly clobbered so you'll have to excuse a few emotion posts. We all know that the O&G sector as a whole is going through tough times and most are down. What I think I and the "detractors" are annoyed with is the underperformance compared to most of the sector due to bone headed moves by the CEO who by the way is very handsomely compensated and not putting all that money where his mouth is by buying any shares. The move to Denver in particular really comes off as something for him and his family's convenience rather than purely for the good of the company. Let me address however your concern with the buyback criticism. Buybacks should only be used as a last resort for a company that has FCF and has no idea what to do with it. Doing a share buyback and then have the stock fall by 50% is the definition of shareholder value destruction. Pay down the debt! It's what all analysts continually gripe about. What's the risk behind paying down debt? Not sexy enough of a move? Look at parex a company with essentially no debt. Look at how it's done in the last year.