From: Abdhulla Al- Waihabi, Regional Manager - Middle East - Slide
To: William Seaton, Director of Finance
Subject: Press article
Hi William,
I have just had a telephone call from a journalist at Business News to ask for a comment on a story that it plans to run. As you know, we purchased oil wells in the AZ40 field last year in order to bring them back to full production. We got the wells for a good price because the previous owner was struggling to maintain oil pressure and it appeared that the recoverable reserves in that field were close to exhaustion. Our experts worked out a plan to drill a hole and pump water into the well to force more oil to the surface. That is a standard industry technique. Our geologists are the best in the industry and so we are better than most at bringing wells back on stream.
It now appears that we are being blamed for an environmental catastrophe. Our pumping station is only one kilometre from the sea and there are reports of oil coming to the surface along the coast close to where we are operating. We have only just started operations and there are fears that we have ruptured a rock formation with our high pressure pumping.
I have ordered an immediate halt to all pumping activity, but the oil could continue to bubble up for years. The coastal area has some important coral reefs and there are fishermen who depend on shellfish that can be found there.
I told the journalist that she would have to wait for a response from Slide's Board. Business News is a European newspaper, so any comment from you will carry more weight anyway.
I am sorry to be the bearer of such bad news.
Abdhulla