There seems to be the impression that the majors (exxon, shell, BP, etc) are the technology leaders in the world. I think the reality is quite the opposite. It's the smaller, mid-cap operators that are pushing the edge of technology. In the 80's, the R&D dept's of the majors were huge. Now more focus is put into M&A activities, and technology development has been pushed onto the service companies. While the EOM's of the world are still drilling case and perf vertical wells, the smaller operators are pushing the limits of constructing and completing wells with rotary steerable tools, drilling multi-leg horizontal wells for open hole multi-stage fracing. Falcon needs a partner with money and balls to do what's necessary to bring the resource to the surface; in the Mako and Australia. I hope they have learned a lesson (with our money) in Hungary, and structure any JV's in Aus a bit differently. Silverhound