# Scoring Anchors

Eight criteria, fixed weights, scored 1 to 5. Anchors below define 5, 3, and 1 so different reviewers land within one point of each other. Interpolate for 2 and 4. Every score carries a one-sentence justification pointing at Section 4 evidence or Section 2 findings.

The weighted total out of 100 is reported but subordinate: red flags decide the gate. Any 1 on Price, Risk Allocation, or Pre-FID Exposure is an automatic red flag.

## Price vs market benchmark — weight 20
- **5:** below the evidenced market range on the all-in unit price, two or more independent sources.
- **3:** inside the range. Requires two independent sources per priced term; without them the maximum score is 2.
- **1:** above the range with no justifying premium (speed, firmness, and scarcity are justifying premiums only if the review names and roughly sizes them).

## Risk allocation fairness — weight 20
- **5:** each risk sits with the party best able to manage it; construction overrun and schedule with them; our risks capped or collared.
- **3:** market-standard allocation for the offer class (e.g. offtaker carries commodity under pass-through), with the non-standard items balanced.
- **1:** commodity, overrun, demand, and residual risk all with us, uncapped.

## Counterparty credibility — weight 15
- **5:** the signing entity has delivered this exact scope at this scale; sponsor obligations guaranteed in writing.
- **3:** the team has delivered adjacent scope, or the sponsor is deep and reputationally committed but not obligated; nothing contradicts their claims.
- **1:** first-of-a-kind for the signing entity, sponsor named but not obligated, and the offer asks us to be the credit support.

## Schedule confidence — weight 10
- **5:** delivery dates backed by secured supply chain (slots held, deposits paid by them) and completed permitting precedent at this scale in this jurisdiction.
- **3:** credible plan with named mitigations for the weak links; precedent exists at smaller scale.
- **1:** dates depend on unsecured equipment slots, untested permitting, or a third party's unverified commitment presented as fact.

## Flexibility — weight 10
- **5:** committed capacity/volume ramps with our actual load; short initial term with extension options; priced exit.
- **3:** some phasing or a defined buyout, even if imperfect.
- **1:** flat full commitment from day one, no exit before term end, no ramp matching.

## Pre-signature / pre-FID exposure — weight 10
- **5:** no cash or credit support from us before their final commitment.
- **3:** modest, capped exposure secured against the assets or slots it funds, reimbursed with interest at their FID.
- **1:** we fund or backstop their pre-FID capital with weak recovery (thin secondary market, unsecured, or recovery within their control).

## Strategic fit — weight 10
- **5:** advances the thesis and creates optionality beyond this deal (new market, new capability, structural advantage).
- **3:** solves a real problem on the critical path without foreclosing alternatives.
- **1:** conflicts with the thesis or locks us out of better paths (exclusivity, capacity we cannot use, technology dead end).

## Contract completeness — weight 5
- **5:** all commercial terms defined and priced; remedies, bands, shares, and formulas explicit.
- **3:** the headline economics are complete; secondary mechanics referenced with a credible path to definition.
- **1:** material terms referenced but undefined: revenue shares without percentages, indexation without bands, remedies absent.

## Reporting

Present as: criterion, score, weighted points, one-sentence justification. Then total, then red flag status in bold. When comparing offers, keep the same anchors and show the paired-bar scorecard rather than two totals.
