I asked about the accident at the EGM and they said due to the previously announced legal case they couldn't say anything about how, where etc.
But what they did say was the guy who died was a contractor (either to a contractor or directly) to the manager Aurora (not the ASX one but the Texas private company).
My take on that was that he may have been contracted to the drillers that Aurora hired or contracted directly to Aurora to assist the drillers.
Interestingly a search of the local newspapers over there only revelaed a passing mention of it. Didn't even give the guy's name.
From research (and memory) I did last year I found that Aurora had a turnover of about US$300-$400k pa and about 4 or employees. I'd have thought that any legal action would kill it?!
Either way I can understand the legal case including all & sundry - it would be heartbreaking to lose a husband/father/brother/son to an industrial accident - and I imagine that the lawyer included everyone even remotely connected including the landowners.
Alternatively though ... the manager/owner of Aurora is a guy called Scott Hines and I believe he was a mate of Dave Mason's. He was actually mentioned in TXN's original prospectus.
I wonder whether Cliff Foss just came up with a better/cheaper/more efficient/more flexible way of dealing with the well management and continues to put his stamp on the company.
TXN Price at posting:
35.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held