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Gulf Coast Western is committed to stringent environmental standards through the use of advanced drilling techniques, tools and procedures to efficiently and safely develop our oil and natural gas resources. This commitment has been an emphasis of the company since its establishment in 1970, and we are justifiably proud of our record in public safety and environmental quality.
Gulf Coast Western relies on contractors and operators that are equally invested in innovative drilling programs and initiatives that use advanced technologies and equipment that work together to produce fewer emissions, create a minimal impact on the environment and lead to enhanced conservation of valuable energy resources. In addition, Gulf Coast Western ensures that their contractors provide frequent training and education to assure that the safest and most advanced environmentally-sensitive techniques in exploration, production, waste management, transportation and storage are strictly followed.
The company focuses its operations in the Gulf Coast region of the United States as well as the Texas Permian Basin, under the direction of President and CEO Matthew Fleeger. Named to this leadership position in 2007, Mr. Fleeger is highly experienced in multiple areas of oil and gas operations and has been recognized as one of the top executives in the United States. He has personally placed environmental safeguards as one of the top mandates on his management agenda, to complement the efficient and profitable operations of Gulf Coast Western.
I entered into a partnership program with Gulf Coast Western in June 2011, this partnership include two wells, the first turned out to be a dry hole despite the geological studies indicating it had high potential. But my real complaint is when entering into the program, the expectation the company set was that cash would begin flowing back to me in third quarter last year, worst case, fourth quarter last year. As of this date, 2/5/2012, they have not even started drilling the second well, and won't for weeks to come, having heard that before, I am sceptical. I do not view GCW as a fraud at this time, I just view them providing optimistic projections, and dates which they have failed to meet. They need to clean up their act. Depending upon the outcome of the second well, I may change my mind, and consider them both dishonest, and a fraud.
An Update:
The second one is producing Oil but at a very slow rate. The original literature suggested a flow rate at max ~9 x what the flow rate is actually running in Barrels of Oil per day. I felt it would be a good investment at the midpoint of their literature on the second well. In August, we are barely at 12 % of the top of their projection. I do not believe there is any case for fraud, but their estimates are not to be trusted, and their timing is not to be trusted. It took about a year before the second well started to produce. At this rate, it will take 9 years to get my original investment back and another 9 years to double my money, a total of 18 years IF the well keeps producing. I could do much better in other invetments. Knowing what I know now, I would not participate ever again with Gulf Coast Western, nor can I recommend them. They always have a story, but the results at this time are just not acceptable to me.
Bill
what is the name of the project that they have not oil or has not been drilled? are you making money with Gulf Coast Western?
Dave
I agree with Bil. Their projections are overly optimistic and once they get an oil producing well they always seem to have problems and the production diminishes. I do have an oil producing well with them but at the rate it is producing I will never get my investment back. I will never invest with them again.
Avoid investing with Gulf Coast Western. They are nice until they get your money and provide poor communication after they have what they want.
Worst investment decision I have made...ever! I invested in 3 projects, been involved over 2 years or so and one of them, in spite of being "completed" right away, is yet to produce a dime. Always something "pending". On one of the others, it involved several "producing" wells, two of which we plugged and abandoned shortly after the money was exchanged. The other two new wells that were part of the deal have been a total flop. I will never even recover my investment on that project. The 3rd one, again it was "completed" right away but measly production started almost a year later at a fraction of the rate advertised and after 2-3 months, it ran into dwindling production rates and is not shut in for some reason ... like stated above, I don't use the word scam lightly but it certainly has to be considered in the context of this investment. I take personal blame for not doing adequate diligence but at some point someone is going to not take the sitting down. There out on all of this is the statement "drilling investments involve significant risk". Their performance goes beyond this and some.
I think this company needs to be investigated. Something doesn't smell good here.
Thank you for your posts. They just sent me one of there investment proposals. ... I immediately felt it to be way too optimistic ! ... After further research can not find a single well of theirs with any real consistent production that pays to invest in ! I think there proposals have trouble when they use another companies wells that are producing to project there wells future production that are very far apart ... clue theirs generally a reason they don't at this point have anything they can point to in there well proposals that is theirs, that is producing at there projections or even close !... This is a giant red flag folks! ... After two years sitting back, and them throwing proposals at me, I would say this is a definite scam ! It meets the definition well ! No pun intended . They will never see my money ! You who have lost your money should file a complaint with the Attorney general of your state and the State of Texas . You need to file complaint with FBI as well ! Good luck getting these guy put in prison ! Look forward to seeing the story on CNBC crimes of crooks, scams, and criminals !
Fred
I don't know all I probably should know about the business and personally am responsible for a lack of DD. But, I must say, I am much smarter than I was a couple of years ago. With that said, I have several investments with these guys. The process seems to be as follows. The project will be finished though the completion phase, which insures the maximum investment. Once it is completed, there seems to be one thing or another to get it into "production". You might realize a few bucks for awhile but at a level much lower than advertised. After a couple of months, "issues" start showing up that have to be addressed and typically require more investment or just walk away from what you have in the project. This process may drag out for months, or maybe even over a year. This gradually becomes the MO. You finally realize you have gotten so much invested in a non-producing or very marginally producing well that you are trapped. At some point, you realize that you will never "make" any money and probably will not even get your original investment back but unless you want to walk away from all you have invested, you have to keep playing the game. What a gig! Invest with caution here and make sure you have plenty of $$ in reserve to stay in the game.
I spoke with Nick in their headquarters and from the three minute conversation I had with him I felt that they were not on the level either. I asked about historical production of wells they drilled and they suggested I check the competition for an analysis and due diligence. He seemed egotistical and as well very defensive regarding a historical track record. Finally he mentioned complaints of which I had not even investigated to that point. After reading this board I want no part of this company, there are to many great operators out there to have to lower your investments to this level and risk.
As I am reading through the above comments I to have invested well into six digits with GCW. Shame on me! I do agree, there is always a smoking mirror with every project I'm involved in. Jack Nelson was our first "salesman". Barabay project was completed and we were told we had a nice producing well to build your confidence to reinvest with other projects. With a check coming every three months or so for maybe $80 or a statement saying we "owe". The math doesn't add up, does it!? So I've got three words of advice...one is do your homework on GCW. Two is if you do invest do one project at a time and see it through. It doesn't hurt quite so much if you lose. Three, for those who are all ready invested don't give GCW let's pool our money and work towards putting an end to these crooks! We've had lawyers look at their wording and they are well protected as all good scam artist should be!
Just my opinion here but from listening in on various conference calls, it seems GCW preys on the first time investors, those with little experience, or those that are widows or widowers that have a little money for speculation. I once asked if I could have contact information for the other investors in a particular project and, instead of getting a logical yes or no, i got a very hostile response like "why do you want that?" I explained that i just wanted to improve my exposure to such investment by interacting with other investors. to say the least I did not get the list and was told that this information was confidential, in spite of the fact that investors give their names during the verbal vote tally during the CC. In fact, I suspect that if there were some verbal continuity between the various investors on a particular, and apparently typical project, the likelihood of a class action suit would be much more likely. From reading the various posts about other GCW projects, it seems eerily like the MO is the same on all, or most...get the investor hooked, then milk them with minimal encouraging information or positive prognosis.
You hit the nail on the head
How do you contact someone? My father passed and I see where he was part of this. What can i do?
Received a cold call from Mr Steve Ziemke, Senior Vice President. He was trying to get me to invest in the Buda Horizontal #2 Joint Venture. I told him I was interested in learning more. He sent me a very informative package containing the details about the product. He called back after a day or so to answer any questions I may have. I told him I was looking into the company and the drilling that was going on with the Buda #1. He said he sent me a package with "all the information I needed." "It is all in the package." I asked a few questions and told him I need to talk with a few other people. He gave me a reference to speak with out of AZ. I spoke with the gentleman about his involvement with GCW and found him to be very informative. I read the ENTIRE package that explained in detail how the investment worked. The first three pages are ENTIRELY IN BOLD PRINT. EXPLAINING THE RISK INVOLVED. YOU CANNOT SELL YOUR SHARE, IT COULD BE A DRY HOLE AND NO INCOME PRODUCED. YOU MAY BE REQUIRED TO FUND THE WELL MORE THAN YOUR INTIAL INVESTMENT BEFORE KNOWING IF ANY INCOME WILL BE PRODUCED DUE TO UNCONTROLLABLE CIRCUMSTANCES. I called and left a message on Mr. Ziemkie's voice mail, explaining how I would not be investing with the Joint Venture because of the risk was beyond my tolerance. Mr. Ziemke called me back as to not end our relationship with a voice mail. I was Shocked and demoralized at the end of the call. Mr. Ziemke was explaining that the last well that was just drilled was going to make the investors 200 percent on their investment (based on 8 days of data). He asked me if that kind of return is not good enough than what do you expect in the stock market. He said something along the lines of" if your not man enough to risk 40, 000 dollars, than he doesn't want to do business with me either". I thought he went against every investment standard I have known. He was telling me how much the tax benefit was going to be. That this new well was going to produce because of the activity around it. How all the big players are involve with this find. I think this may be a good company with a bad actor involved. But, if he made it all the way to Senior Vp. then maybe the entire organization is run by this kind of consumer treatment. I cannot put my money at this level of risk... and I am talked down to and less of a man? The way he was talking about the other well and how dumb it would be not to be involved (as this one will be producing similarly).
You were smart to get out They are a complete scam! People who make money off of everyone’s misfortune and care none about it!
Just a note from experience on a number of these projects: all these guys that call you on the phone are called "Senior Vice Presidents" so don't be over impressed with that. It is unfortunate that he became personal. I cant make the call on GCW from a credibility standpoint beyond my personal experience. Doing my DD, I can find no specific illegalities that this company has been officially accused of. further, the turnover amongst these "salesmen" (aka senior vice presidents) is quite high you will find. apparently there is a lot of pressure on them to "perform". the line he gave you is textbook about the potential for the well. this is standard stuff. again, i have been here a long time (several years) on projects that there is simply no exit from. i am not advising you what to do as there is obvious potential in any such project but equal or greater risk. have plenty of spare cash to continue to throw at these projects though if you get in because the investment is an ongoing thing. the tax breaks are quite good if that is an investment strategy but i was/am looking for an income stream that has not developed or stabilized stabilized at this point. to be fair, i think some of the issue is with the operator (Alpine Exploration). their credibility is very poor. i suggest you insure have plenty of extra cash on hand beyond your initial investment if you want to stay in the game though, if you decide to invest.
They now have a well (Buda Horizontal #1) that may be producing far above their expectations. I suspect it may be the first well they ever had that has good results. On the other hand they have a stunningly bad reputation. They now have an opportunity to do some repair to their reputation. The usual scam would be to suddenly develop a strange technical problem that requires more money from the partners to fix. As they have not had a history with any success in drilling for oil, their profits come from collecting funds from unknowing investors. I think that they have major challenges that they are likely to be ignoring. There are at least two large legal firms now working in the Internet and phone solicitation market. There are blogs like this that are informing potential investors of the downside of GCW. The Texas Rail Road commission is powerful and well run organization that could take action if enough complaints are generated. (I live in NJ, am a lifelong liberal Democrat and it is good to see that the State of Texas has some programs that are running well and protecting people.) The Buda 1 could save their company, but their attitude is likely to ignore this strange new situation (a well that will return substantial profits to investors) and fall back on their old highly profitable ways of milking investors for bogus issues. Time will tell.
You you post law firms contact info. I got burn bad by GCW.
If the production on this well continues for any reasonable time, you can expect the PR will be exploited to the max on other potential projects. I have contacted the RR Commission (I live in TX and a life-long conservative (BTW - and not relevant to this discussion but there is hope that you will ultimately see the error in your ways - LOL)) to see if there are any complaints on file for such actions and also the State Atty. General. I have not been able to find any but this might be due to some creative legal protection in their contract wording. These guys are not new to the game. To anyone involved in the Buda well that is doing well, congratulations and I hope your success continues. meanwhile i just hope to someday approach recovering my apparently on-going investment(s) - but I doubt
it!
Hello,
Having used and rely on (two stoke) oil for my job, I have recently had 4 machines break down in 2 months ! These have all been using G.W. oil at their reccommended mix rate.
I have also been advised of similer problems with trucks and tractors,
What gives? I look forward to any and all comments!
Stay away from Gulf Coast Western or any other promoters selling "UNITS" Most companies that sell units have designed them that way because the units hide millions of dollars on the front end and carried interest on that back end. These companies act like oil companies, but are actually just selling someone elses deal and make money on raising money not the actual wells. There is a company that contacted me for this very reason. The are called OILINFO.ORG you can do a google search. They are a non profit that apparently created a free informational website that educates investors or potential investors from investing with NON Owner Operators. They provide a Legit Meter and Information on how to invest into oil wells. I like the fact that they pointed out that even with the information you should still invest at your own risk. I ran this past my oil broker and he agreed with everything in the information.
Thanks for all the comments, I have been hustled mercilessly by this outfit to shovel money at them. I was sent the phone book sized Fed Ex info packet (unsolicited, contrary to their claims they don't send anything unsolicited). I reviewed it, checked with a friend who's a senior engineer with a Dow oil company in Houston (he advised don't walk, RUN from this!) and ran it by my financial advisor who counseled against it. This is simply the old wildcat scheme, updated to the internet age and while there are those that may strike it rich, chances are better to get rich from a slot machine in an Indian casino. I knew on the face of it it's completely illiquid (investment goes in, never can come back out) and entirely speculative. Happy to continue taking my chances in equities, which have paid off handsomely over the last 30 years. Moral of the story...if you don't know what to do with your money, for God's sake, don't stick it into this turkey.
Apparently it is not possible to retract statement made on this board so I will attempt to counter my previous comments by sharing this message. As you can see, I have expressed some emotional negative comments from time to time on this board. These comments were made in the midst of emotional swings and largely due to impatience with the performance of the investment at a given time. I must say, I now believe these comments were premature and generally inappropriate. As the progress of the projects settles in, I am now quite optimistic about my particular investments here and, at this time, continue to invest in further development of these projects. I must say, that in spite of my previous negative comments, I am quite pleased with current performance of my investments and the apparent prognosis going forward. I cant speak for others here but, in my case, I believe my impatience was inappropriate and I feel obliged to try and clarify this issue. This was my first experience in this type of investment and have learned that development of such takes some time and patience. Best of luck to other investors.
I too ran away from a high-pressure cold call sales pitch on BH #1. They tried to sell you on high monthly income potential only assuming production rates from other oil companies. GCW had no track record for what they had accomplished - big red flag. Too many negative experiences here to ever consider doing business with Gulf Coast Western.
Thanks to everyone for posting this information. I received a cold call to invest in GCW from a "senior vice president" who made it sound like he was high on the food chain with the company. I had him send the packet of information which made his offer look too good to be true. The fact that a senior vice president was making cold calls was the first red flag. Reading everyone's comments here was the next "bundle" of red flags. This information will make it easy for me to get rid of this guy in a hurry. Again, thanks to all of you for posting this information which saved me a lot of time. I wish I could buy all of you a beer.
I too want to thank everyone for their posts! And tell my fellow inexperienced oil exploration investors to run away!
While one may have the potential to become wealthy, if these oil wells do well, I'll never invest in a company who doesn't have an independent Board Of Directors and whose lawyers and CEOs have a troubled past. I too received a "a cold call to invest in GCW from a "senior vice president" who made it sound like he was high on the food chain with the company. I had him send the packet of information which made his offer look too good to be true. " After about 2 months of phone calls from this individual, and looking at packets from BUDA #2, 3, 4 my "inquiry" was transferred to Mr. Steve Ziemke, (whose letter dated 12/16/14 does not list his title under his name, although his emails do, ) who spoke with me regarding #4 and #5.
Even though I have an MBA from a former top 10 MBA school in the US, I admit, I am not a tax expert on oil investments and the treatment of these 'Active' Joint Ventures with respect to tax write offs. Embarrassingly, I had been too busy the past 5 months to do any research on this company on the internet because I am too busy running my own very small business. Steve told me how I could "write off" up to $18, 000 of my $45, 000 investment this year and by doing so, have an initial Year 1 return of 17% (I don't recall exact # given by Steve but it was significant, and for the record, a 17% return to me is excellent!). Anyway, below is the response from my Private Wealth Managers at US Trust in New York that I would like to share. My legal disclaimer on their behalf: I'm sure their comments don't represent those of US Trust and they cannot be used to project future earnings or losses :)
While I do not have more than $10 million invested with US Trust, I am the lucky beneficiary of a family who does, and whose wealth managers at US Trust manage many more multiples of this amount. I'm not saying this to brag, I'm just informing you of the caliber of the analysts/investment advisors that provided the following advice, dated 12/18/14.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Hi (insert Private Wealth Management Client name),
Hope all is well. In regards to the Gulf Coast Western investment, there are a few red flags that we should bring to your intention. I think first off we should say that neither XXXX or I are able to comment on the geological aspect. The best we can do is investigate the company, its employees, and the credibility of their return claims. In regards to the company, it appears Gulf Coast Western (GCW) is a legitimate oil and gas exploration company founded in 1970. When we dig a little deeper into their recent history and employees we see a few red flags.
The co-CEO Matt Fleeger (GCW is his family’s business) was formerly a salesman for a similar company (Kinlaw Securities) based in Virginia that was shut down and paid fines to investors for fraud, misrepresentation, and negligence. Fleeger went on to other ventures before returning to his family’s business, Gulf Coast Western. Kinlaw and the rest of the team moved to Colorado and founded Heartland Energy, which engaged in the same business of selling joint ventures in oil and gas mines. After further allegations similar to those that occurred in Virginia, Heartland changed their name to HEI Inc. and sold its assets to Gulf Coast Western. The process of selling units in joint ventures is treated very uniquely by regulators. Courts have in the past tried to use security laws to go after these types of companies but since what they are selling is technically an active joint venture and not a passive security, it has been difficult. The way it typically works is generally they sell 50 or so “units” to individuals, then hold conference calls periodically where the investors vote on how to proceed. In the past the investors are informed that they need to do further drilling and everyone needs to invest more or risk losing their entire investment, then months later on a similar call they are asked again for money because the prospects look even better now and they are so close to a successful well. Months later they are informed that the well did not work out and in fact their investment is lost. I would recommend reading the article in the link http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13682681 . This is where I am getting most of the information I described above.
Another aspect we can evaluate is a sheet that was forwarded to (US Trust Private Wealth Mgmt Client xxxxxxx) titled "Conversion Table." There is some writing in red ink that states “he’s 99% confident”, this references the fact that the well should produce 250 barrels per day and this translates to a 70% annualized return. If these numbers are true, there would be no reason to sell units, GCW could raise funds against proven reserves and keep all the equity returns for themselves. Our intent is not to say GCW is a fraud. I’m sure there are plenty of investors that have been a part of successful wells and have achieved positive returns. All we have to base our opinion on is the track record of the people involved and the claims of seemingly unrealistic returns.
xxxx xxxxxxx, CMT
U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management
212.852.xxxx
xxxx, xxxxx@ustrust.com
My neighbor bought into this outfit. The problem was all the payouts were based on $90 per barrel oil. With his investment, he expected upwards of $32K per month. With oil now at $48, I am guessing he just threw $500, 000 right down the rat hole.
The buda 1 well was supposedly a success during the drilling process but has since quit producing. Would have been hard to sell the rest of the buda wells if they didn't have a good well on #1. Miners used to call this salting of the wells.
I completely agree with all of the complains regarding this company (Gulf Coast Western out of Dallas) I too invested in Budda #4 venture. As all of you know by now, Budda 1, 2, and 3 are total failures. I should have listened to the people that have complained about this company, but I did not and did invest. But I bought into 1/2 point, still an expensive gamble on my part. In my opinion, they are crooks and frauds. IF YOU ARE INVESTED IN BUDDA 4 OR 5, please be careful. They are offering us a alternative to drilling. PLEASE LET US NOT BE STUPID. THE OTHER OPTION DOES NOT MAKE SENSE AND IF YOU VOTE FOR IT, YOU WILL DO IT AT YOUR OWN AND YOUR OTHER PARTNERS PERAL. THE OPTION DOES NOT MAKE SENSE FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: #1. Their limit investment (our money) is limited to $500, 000. Please tell me, how will anyone of us know when that is reached? After that limit is reached, then the phone calls will begin for more money... #2. The wells in East Texas ARE SHALLOW, OLD, AND PETERING OUT. THE (work overs) they want to do, makes no sense, they limit the workover or a deeper drill to 3, 700 ft. MAKES NO SENSE... THEN THEY WANT drill a SALT WATER PUMP WELL, AND CHARGE THE SURROUNDING WELLS TO DUMP THEIR SALT WATER INTO OUR WELL... THINK ABOUT IT... these are old wells, where what are they doing with their salt water now... remember, these are old wells, so... DO YOU NOT THINK THAT THOSE OWNERS HAVE ALREADY FIGURED OUT THAT SALT WATER ISSUE... PLEASE, AGAIN, ... DO NOT BE STUPID... LET THEM GO AHEAD AND DRILL THIS WELL AND IF POSSIBLE, LET US PARTNERS TAKE TURNS AND BE AT THE RIG SITE. AT LEAST THERE MAY BE A CHANCE OF A OIL STRIKE, IF NOT, THEN WE ARE OUT... AND BEST OF ALL WE WILL BE RID OF THESE PEOPLE ONCE AND FOR ALL, TAKE OUR TAX DECUCTIONS AND GO ON WITH OUR LIVES. PLEASE Continue to read: My financial advisor has $150, 000 in an oil fund that drills in the Dakotas. I have been in this investment for over 2 years, I am receiving $2, 575 month in and month out, they had 71 wells when I invested and now have 88 wells... I am getting my royalties whether oil goes up or down, in 36 months, the wells owners will sell of enough of the wells to pay us back our principle plus equity in the sales of the wells they sell off, we are then out and they will, of course made enough money to continue on their own . I was duly warned about this company from others here on the internet, my financial advisors and my family... but I did not listen. To those of you, doing D&D on this company, stop right now and run away from them... you have been warned my me and the others... If you do go with them, I can only say God speed... and you WILL BE SORRY... HOWARD23
It's me again, I said that in my opinion these people are crooks and frauds, I am angry and disappointed in the decision I made. But I asked the salesman if this is a wildcatting operation and he assured me it was not. He told me about Budda #1 and how much oil it produced based on a few days testing... I read all the internet comments about this company and everyone, as I said above, was against investing with this company. I then got another call from the Co., and assured me that Budda #3 was going to be even a greater success than Budda one, I still stayed away. Again, I got a call about Budda #4, " my goodness, Budda #4 will be as productive or more than the other Buddas." Well, I succomed and went in. We are told that the Budda sand that had been researched and gone over my all the best experts in this business, which some of my friends in the business have never heard of, and we were all going to participate in the greatest oil producer that Wilson County had ever seen. Now we are told that the Budda sand is non-productive, etc excuses, and etc. Now they want to give us an option. Please read my comments above. And just think about it. It does not require a extensive knowledge of the oil industry. Just use your God given common sense. Of course, all investments have a certain amount to risks, but when you are told what we have been told, you want to believe what they say and what they say isn't true, so why should the option given be any different, then a way to take more money out of our pockets...If you are in budda 4 or 5, think about it...
We too are invested in budda 4 and 5. We know we are screwed. Talked to Matt Fleeger and he claims they have already spent $36, 000. ;er share on these. We highly doubt that! After what we've read tonight and should have read months ago would rather have the balance of that, than to put one more dime into this company. From reading contract I'm sure we can't force this.
It's me again, when I complain about someone, I usually like to talk it out face to face, but this medium gives me the alternative. Now, for the rest of the story. First, I will not mention my salesman's name, just because I know that he has a job to do, and further more, I got "that gut feeling that he was telling me the truth as he knew it to be, just a feeling, but I go by that a lot.
NOW, DON'T GET BORED AND HEAR ME OUT:
It's very hard for a man to have to eat his words, and I have had to do it only 3 times in my life, and once was to my father, who told all his kids, if you are right I''ll defend with everything I have, but when you are wrong, well... I just can't do that... and the other was by a contractor who wasn't so understanding. OK, to the point: I HAVE A 1/.2 POINT INTEREST IN BUDDA #4. When I received the notice with a alternative proposal, and reading all the comments on this board, well... what's going through your mind went through mind and I very well voiced it as you can see by my comments above. WILL BE MAKE ANY MONEY, TRUTHFULLY I DO NOT KNOW... BUT THIS IS MY EXPERIECE WITH THIS COMPANY SO FAR... (I don't know any of these individuals personally)
I received a call from Matt FLagger, excuse the spelling. But, he called and was upset (pissed off) at my comments, has I said, I don't hide from anyone, IRS? What I say is what I feel, period. But what impressed be about his call...(he explained the alternative proposal and went over it extensively.) was that he was concerned about his reputation. Now, mind you, I am a very small investor in the total scheme of investors here, but he felt and rightly so that I had damaged his reputation and integrity. That was my opinion at the time. But what impressed me most, that he called me out on it, and went on to explain the operation. SO, MY OPINION, IF A MAN CARE'S ABOUT HIS INTEGRITY, SO THAT HE CHALLAGES THOSE THAT DOUBT IT...That alone tells me, that I am dealing with a decent man...WHETHER OR not I WILL SEE ANY MONEY OUT OF THIS I DO NOT KNOW...but my respect for this man has certainly changed... my advise to you in budda 4 or 5 is at this point, no advise at all... what else can I say, but good luck to us all... Howard23
Does anybody have any information (or experience) on Gulf Coast Western's Woodbine Project. I have received a prospectus, but can not find out much about the company's past successes of failures.
I am not here to sully anyone or any company's reputation as I willingly agreed to invest in Buda #1 project. I received about 10% back on my investment before that well went to saltwater. I voted against their proposal to invest in a "sister" well to Buda #1 two a depth where they first found oil, get that and be done by capping off both wells and move on. The other proposal on that same ballot asked for an additional investment of 5k, in my case, for the development of a "salt water disposal project" which would, ultimately, bring back to me my entire investment and more. Not voting in favor disqualified me on any upside on Buda #1 so I lost out on that investment by 90% of my initial investment. Meanwhile I signed on for the Key Largo project fo "21 wells to be drilled". Well the first one was a dry hole and the second hasn't begun as their geologists are "reviewing drill test data from the first well and probably will drill a little further East of the first well according to Mr. Fleeger. They gave yet to communicate anything more about well number 2 which worries me as I have 2x more invested in this project versus Buda #1. So I am spreading risk in hopes to, someday, get back my list investment on Buda #1. So know that this is the oil business where gable is THE operative word and no promises. I will not be investing further in this company's projects as I can sleep better at night "gambling " in the stock market and elsewhere. Most of the comments made I too have experienced in one way or another in dealing with the salesman.
I received a cold call to invest in GCW in Weld County, Colorado - # 3 joint Venture, expect flow rate over 1, 000 BOEPD
I received the same pitch for Weld County with a 1000 BOEPD projection. How did your investment pan out? Has anyone made any money in Weld County from Gulf Coast Western ventures?
Oscar
Shown below is a statement I received regarding the Wattenberg Horizontal #4 Joint Venture in Weld County on Jan 25, 2019. Don't know if it's valid. I've been sent pictures and invited to visit at GCW expense and pitched intensely to invest, but after reading the reviews, I'll find a safer investment. Thanks to all reviewers.
The North Platte A11-14-28HNB well is doing 322 BOEPD at the moment and the conference call
Calling for the Completion is at 3:30 pm today. you are basically buying into a “producing “ well!
The engineers expect the well to continue increasing the flow rate over the next month. The field
Averages around 500 BOEPD on a 5000 ft lateral when they start them.
We should start seeing oil & gas from the second well any day now.
Robert Delsanter, Senior Vice President
I have a friend that invested quite a sum with Gulf Coast Western. Not a good idea. I hate to see anyone else lose everything they have worked for. My friend was invited to visit a well at their expense, which my friend did. Don't fall for this scam. And they will NOT give you any details on other investors. BEWARE!
I received the phone pitch and package. A few things to note:
The "joint venture" being pitched to me would own 7% of the well's production. 1 unit would cost $150K, and this would own 1/25th of the 7%. The 7% number was not in any of pitch documents sent to me, I found out by asking.
The "target" production for the well being pitched to me was 2, 000 BOEPD. From the March 2019 Hart Energy publication, here are the top wells from the Niobara formation; only one is over 2, 000 BOEPD:
op 12 I.P. Wells in Niobrara Shale FlowOperatorWell #County, StateLocation/BasinComp. Date2, 666.67 Boe/d (16 MMcf/d)WPX Energy Rocky Mountain701-4 HN1 Williams GMGarfield, Colo.4-7s-96w, PiceanceDec. 20121, 966.67 Boe/d (11.8 MMcf/d)WPX Energy Rocky Mountain702-23-HN1 Bosely SGGarfield, Colo.23-7s-96w, PiceanceApr. 20131, 831.3 Boe/d (367 Mcf, 1, 770 bo)EOG Resources Inc.2-01H JakeWeld, Colo.1-11n-63w, D-JDec. 20091, 774.67 Boe/d (4.36 MMcf, 1, 048 bo)Chesapeake Operating Inc.31-33-69-A-3H York Ranch UnitConverse County, Wyo.31-33n-69w, Powder RiverMar. 20131, 770 Boe/d (2.4 MMcf, 1, 270 bo)Chesapeake Operating Inc.33-71 25-1H SimsConverse, Wyo.20-33n-70w, Powder RiverMay 20121, 677.3 Boe/d (4.94 MMcf, 854 bo)Chesapeake Operating Inc.29-33-70 1H Combs Ranch UnitConverse, Wyo.20-33n-70w, Powder RiverMay 20121, 633 Boe/d* (87% oil)Carrizo...
You will notice that the production is a mix of oil and gas, with widely divergent mixes, but the financial calculations sent to me seem to be priced as if production were 100% oil. I asked what the gas/oil mix was in the financial calculations, and the sales person said they did not know. I also asked the pricing assumptions, and he did not know either.
Also, the financial calculations were about a peak production rate. There was no disclosure or mention of the inevitable and typically sharp decline in production from tight formation wells, and how to factor those typical decline curves into lifetime production rates.
Just telling you my experience, yours may be different.
They are not not good at manipulating you into getting more money... with NO production results. Total scam
They are only good at manipulating you into getting more money...
The following are my layman good-faith opinions.
I received a cold call from Bill Carey, an Associate Vice President of Gulf Coast Western (GCW). He made a high-energy sales pitch.
I said send me the information. He called me again when the package was at my front door. I hadn’t had time to fetch and read the material before he called. He provided a much longer high-energy sales pitch on the second call. It appears to me that Bill Carey is a sales person with a fancy title.
I decided not to invest because of multiple reasons:
1 – The posted reviews on this website.
2 – Lack of reviews on the Internet by well-recognized and well-respected independent entities.
3 – The way that they are selling the units.
4 – The terms of the application that I would have to sign:
The units being sold are NOT considered to be securities.
I would be a “Venturer, ” whatever that is.
I would have to agree that the money sent GCW was “not a passive investment or activity.” But that is what I am looking for – being a passive investor.
I would have to certify that I am capable of exercising “management powers.”
I would have to agree in writing that I am NOT relying on the ability of GCW for the success of the venture. Who would I be relying on?
The application seems to require me to state that I am capable of replacing GCW as Managing Venturer and/or exercise meaningful management powers.
This investment is DEFINITELY NOT for me.
Steve McEvoy
This is the first rule of investing. If you don’t understand it don’t invest. But because you don’t understand it, don’t bash the company.
Someone promising you great returns with huge success with 50 years drilling oil and gas, but is unwilling to use their own money to drill but someone else's either means they are not as successful as it appears or they don't trust their potential well sites enough to put their money where their mouth is. Businesses that are successful don't want more owners, it simply dilutes the earnings. They would rather get a loan with a fixed rate and keep all the profits for themselves. It's just logic. They simply gamble with other peoples money and if they hit it big, you may get your money back, but I guarantee they'll get more in the end, and you took all the financial risk. By the way giving someone $1 and having them convince you that the worst case is that it costs you $0.65 because of a tax break (35% bracket) is still a $0.65 loss. You don't give to charity solely because of the tax break, if so you still lose $0.65 for every $1 given. You do it for other reasons like being generous. So if you want to do these investments you are better to take the stance that it's like charity, you are helping these people put filets on the table, get a second home, and travel the world with your money.
I was contacted by Steve Ziemke about a year ago, shortly after my wife and I became "accredited investors" and I did my first investment with a company that specializes in Self Directed IRAs. I remember Steve asking me if I just got an inheritance and that is how I got accredited. I can't remember the name of the first well he wanted me to invest in, but the first wells for which I have the USB Drive is Three Berries, which he told me today is still not even drilled because the company was acquired, thus delaying the work. That one had a higher ROI (~50%) despite being calculated on $75/barrel rate. The one I was just about to cut checks on is Three Truths. After reading the above information, as well as GlassDoor employee feedback, I am going to hold off on investing in oil at this point. One hundred and fifteen dollars a barrel sounds great, but even the GOOD reports on here show that major investors are just "HOPING" to break even. The Three Truths well, I just found out today from Steve Ziemke, has EIGHT total wells, and only three of them are owned by the JV I was about to invest in. The other five are owned by the principles of GCW. I asked how they would determine which ones are owned by us and which ones are owned by the principles and he skirted the question. If this is to be fair, then the eight should be randomly selected and the heads painted the color of the owners (before head pressure in measured). The drawing provided just shows three leaders that are owned by us and five by the principles. That means that the best five go to the principles and the dry holes are owned by the JV. That is the ONLY way any business would do it, unless the JV strictly enforced otherwise. In other words, representatives of the JV would have to be there for the entire drilling process to ensure that the random selection of wells was followed and the principles weren't just handed the five best wells based on head pressure after the two miles of pipe is laid. I am not sure if this is established in the DD materials, but judging from the lack of an answer today on the phone, I have to assume that the best of the eight wells will go to the principles, thus leaving the dry holes and poor performing wells to the JV. If there is no clear language to the contrary, then that is the way they HAVE to go, in order to property represent the principles, which people to whom they owe the FIRST fiduciary responsibility. I have to say that this is just my fear, based on the above horror stories I just read. Everything I have written is true and accurate to my memory and contemporaneous, detailed notes of my conversations with Steve Ziemke over the last roughly year of conversations about oil in Weld County, CO.
RGB of US
5/28/2024
I am invested in 3 of GCW's 'ventures'. I recently tried to contact them to no avail. Both of the numbers I have for them instantly disconnect (END) in less than one second. Are the phones in their area out? Does anyone have a working phone # for them? Did they close their doors and disappear into the night?
Try: [protected], [protected], [protected].
We currently have GCW calling us about investing - did you hear anything back?
GCW units are very expensive for the net revenue interest received. Read their long subscription agreement thoroughly. GCW is a reseller of their percentage investment in an oil well, they do not drill or operate wells.