1. Issuing and selling shares is a perfectly legitimate way of raising money.

2. Accumulating and analyzing relevant information is a pefectly legitimate way of reducing risk in a business that relies on making educated guesses. Aside from drilling, no existing technology can do more than increase the store of knowledge from which the probability of hitting commercial quantities of  oil/gas can be deduced. Drilling is the only certain way of ascertaining approximately what and how much can actually be extracted from down below. Even after successfully drilling and establishing initial production, duration and depletion rates of flow remain an educated guess. That's the business Montello's in.

3. If you can't stand the heat, by all means press the "SELL" button.

Good luck to any remaining MEO shipmates.