The company has earned the ire of shareholders, including Zeta Resources (10.3%), for failing to disclose that its Cambay Joint Venture partner was millions of dollars behind in its cash calls, and seeking to delay the company's work program in India.

In the end, there were almost as many lawyers than shareholders in attendance, Energy News understands, with shareholders making their fury known in a strong protest vote against all three remaining resolutions, with almost half of votes against the remuneration report, change of constitution and one remaining director up for renewal - Jeffrey Auld, a financier who has been with the company just 11 months.

After a poll all resolutions failed, and a new director will need to be appointed.

No questions were apparently asked in the formal section of the meeting by those few shareholders who attended, but posters on message board Hot Copper continue to call for the board to step down.

In his prepared statement, released to the Australian Securities Exchange, chairman Max Cozijn barely addressed the key points of interest to shareholders, with prosaic comments about departing director Sundeep Bhandari, who resigned after Zeta Resources' allegations surfaced, and merely noted a "large negative vote".

Cozijn said the board recognised the dissatisfaction demonstrated by shareholders, and said the company had a plan to win back their trust: one strategic review, discussions with defaulting partner Gujarat State Petroleum Company, and board and staffing reviews.

Whether that means the incumbent board - Cozijn and managing director Ron Miller - will fall on their swords remains to be seen.

The company has also pledged to continue the fight to Zeta in the courts, after the Peter Sullivan-chaired fund told Oilex to hit the road after the junior belatedly revealed GSPC had not been meeting its cash calls despite repeated statements that its 55% partner was completely supportive.

In his prepared remarks Cozijn didn't discuss how long Oilex had known its partner was in no position to meet cash calls for April's approved work program, how long that circumstance might last, or what impact the lack of funding might have on plans to drill two new wells and complete a five-well workover program.

Instead, he talked up the success of the Cambay-77H well, the first fracced well in India and the key reason Zeta was prepared to invest, and its work in increasing production in the heart of India's most industrialised state.

But a $30 million capital funding program announced in July, into which Zeta was due to put in almost $10 million, is now in tatters.

With legal actions flying thick and fast, and funding lacking, Cozijn said the company planned to address its savaged share price by focusing on the current Cambay work-overs and the Bhandut-3 production facilities to increase net revenue stream, with the two anticipated new horizontal wells at Cambay deferred indefinitely.

Cozijn argued that the intrinsic value of Cambay has not changed.

There are still eight million barrels and 207 billion cubic feet of gas in proven 2P reserves and significant contingent resources of upside within a robust market driven by strong fundamentals.

He might have the support of Zeta and other shareholders on that front, but based on the vote the will seems to be there for a new management to come in and clean up the mess as in addition to its woes in India, Oilex is also facing a hefty bill for failing to drill a third well in the Timor Sea.

Zeta issued a brief statement yesterday saying it welcomed regarding a review of the board structure and the company's overall strategic plan, but reiterated that it is fully committed to the ongoing legal proceedings relating to its funding agreement with Oilex.

Oilex shares were down 5% to 1.6c per share before the AGM yesterday, and crashed at close of trade by almost 18% to $0.014/share.

The company is in a trading halt while it seeks to appoint a third director so it can meet its listing requirements.