Yenbamroong used his 19.98% shareholding in the non-binding remuneration report vote to push numbers dissatisfied with Tap's payment plans to 22.28%. Because a large number of shareholders did not vote the 22.28% of issued capital voted against was sufficient to constitute a first strike as greater than 25% of the votes cast against the resolution.
A company recording more than 25% no votes against its remuneration report at two successive AGMs must put its entire board up for re-election.
The same numbers game defeated the proportional takeover provision, which is a fairly standard provision used by ASX-listed companies to stop bidders coming in to take over just a portion of a company.
However, director Doug Schwebel survived a heavy 35.37% vote against him, with 64.63% thinking he was doing a good job in difficult circumstances. Around 19.98% of those votes were Yenbamroong's proxies despite the fact that in his demand to Tap from three months ago Schwebel was the only Tap director the Thai millionaire had not intend to remove.
Chairman Doug Bailey said Tap was sailing some tough waters, made all the rougher by Yenbamroong's destabilising actions, with an "opportunistic attempt" to take control of the company.
"The Tap board is equally concerned with Mr Yenbamroong and his Northern Gulf companies' attempts to demand payments from Tap in circumstances where Tap considers there is no proper legal basis for making those demands," he said.
Northern Gulf, which has stopped paying Tap funds due from the original farm-out, and is more than $30 million behind in payments to the operator of the Manora field, has lodged a statutory demand for payment from Tap over the 2P reserves at December 31, which Tap is seeking to set aside.
There are now almost half a dozen disputes between Tap and Northern Gulf to resolve.
Bailey also said there had been a good market response to Tap's overtures to sell itself or its assets, including its 30% interest in Manora, its new flagship.
"Based on the significant progress made in the strategic review to date, I am confident that there will be a successful outcome to the strategic review process which will put the company in a much better position to reduce its debt and potentially allow for the payment of fully franked dividends to shareholders," he said.
Addressing costs, Baily said Tap now employs just 18 staff, managing director Troy Hayden has elected to take a material reduction in his cash base salary in 2013, while salary freezes were imposed on senior management in 2014 and the rest of the staff this year, reducing Tap's administration costs by 33% since 2011.
Board members have not had an increase in director's fees since 2008 and the total amount available for directors' fees has not increased since 2010.
Also on the block are its gas discoveries in the Carnarvon Basin made over the past four years such as Zola and Bianchi (in WA-290-P and WA-49-R) and Tallaganda (WA-351-P), a total of around 113 petajoules.
