spot on Hanabi, I have had these situations before. what MEL s/h...

spot on Hanabi,
I have had these situations before.

what MEL s/h should focus upon is:
1. did they invest in MEL because it was a coy operating in Aust, - or did they invest in MEL because it was an Oil explorer operating in USA ????
2. IF MEL s/h knew they would see their assets invested in USA, would they still invest?

point I maintain, is that there is a huge difference in investing in ANY coy, when it operates in Aust as compared to operating overseas !
for a start - exchange risk, operating environment risk, govt risk, operator risks, legal environment, taxation issues etc, etc.

they are bucketloads of small Aust coys operating in USA O&G industry - and most of them have done poorly indeed. the only good one I can think of is Aurora?

the only plus I can think of here is that MEL may have decided that they are getting the ELK assets (ie its share of the J/V interests) at a bargain price? they say the j/v has spent $70m on the field, so maybe the acquisition price is a bargain?? The IER will provide s/h with info.

and whilst it is presented as a Scheme, it is in fact a Takeover of Elk, but presented for approval of to s/h as a Scheme.(ie it's all or nothing).

just have a look at the lousy history of Molopo's MPO excursions into USA and Canadian O&G, to get a flavour of what you are in for.

there most certainly are many O&G acquisition opportunities now presenting themselves in Aust imho.

good luck