RE:RE:RE:any thoughts about TOU being a takeover target???Its an interesting theory. Think about it, anyone who has worked for or with RDS knows just how PAINFUL it is to get anything done. Safety safety safety. They also have way more employees than any normal company, most of which make very healthy salaries. The cost of exporation and development for Shell vs another smaller player is way higher.
Now look at where Tourmaline operates. Each area has already been explored by Shell years ago. If you go for a drive I can guarantee that the careful eye will see old signs for Shell well sites. Not necessarily operating but they are there. I remember even before starting out in the industry, my father talking about shale discoveries which were the next frontier when recovery technology could improve. Tourmaline is an engineering machine no doubt, but I'm quite positive Shell did a lot of the early leg work when it came to understanding these formations. Tourmaline is such a lean company so this could be part of the story when it comes to their quick growth shortly after forming.
Mike Rose and his team previously built and sold Duvernay Oil which was purchased by RDS. Duvernay shares a lot of similarities with Tourmaline as far as the areas of operation which had previous Shell activity and quick growth likely based on existing information provided by Shell.
Bottom line, RDS cant afford to do exploration and development in Canada with their current model. Its cheaper for them to allow another company to develop and purchase them when needed rather than to develop the resource themselves. Mike has always been confident in the future of Natural Gas which is why he had always accumulated and not sold. I think your right bagcheese, he is waiting for something that he knows is coming and that may just be a buy out.