Nappamerri deep gas play dead, page-9

Extract from todays SMH on Kerry Stokes on how he moved into oil and gas

Despite having Voelte's rich oil and gas experience, it was his not first choice for diversification.

In fact on top of his list was healthcare. But for one reason or another, he couldn't find a way into the sector, which would have been a reversal of the strategy the late Paul Ramsay who built his wealth on hospitals before gaining control of Seven's regional affiliate Prime in the mid 1980s.

Next he looked at agriculture, particularly gypsum and phosphate. That made sense considering Australia's biggest mining company BHP investing heavily in potash in a bid to help feed the world.

But again, Stokes couldn't find an entrée into the sector, and so oil and gas came into the picture.

"It's all based on a specific strategy," Voelte says, adding the slump has made the move easier in the long run even if Nexus now looks expensive in comparison.

He expects the oil rout will continue for the next 12 to 18 months. But he sees that as advantage rather than a disadvantage.

"We would like to see the oil price go lower for a while longer because. It's usually when things go down in a cycle, the further they stay down, the recovery is stronger and longer.

"The other benefit is more good stuff becomes available," said Voelte, highlighting Seven's appetite for more acquisitions.

"We are always on the prowl. We see value where others don't."

And this is where Voelte particularly praises his boss.

"Kerry has got good eyes. He sees through things. He sees through people, he sees through assets, he sees through businesses. If you watch him, he will stare right through the back of your head. He sees things that

I think other people don't see," he tells BusinessDay from Colorado, which is a favoured winter bolthole for Stokes.

"Kerry always laughs at me and says 'I don't know anything about oil and gas, I'm really relying on you'. I laugh every time he tells me that because he … knows a hell of a lot more about everything than he ever lets on to.

"He's picked up everything he needs to know about oil and gas. He's not a shrinking violet in any industry and I think he's got very comfortable in oil and gas very quickly."

Even those who have experienced Stokes' wrath, praise his ability to "see around corners". This is because while he is hands on, it more about strategy than interfering with day-to-day operations.