TenSleep,

Don't lose faith just yet, especially when we are so close to the Hess deadline. I have been reading a number of web pages on the different gas/oil basins in Australia and the Beetaloo is certainly on everyone's radar with many leases taken up on all sides just to get a piece of the action if Hess moves forward. Even Bruner has added more leases to the west side of the Falcon leases - through SweetPea/Petrohunter and Paltar JV's with "himself".

I think that the Exxon mistake has been partly rectified in Australia as Hess, if they go forward, has to drill "5" exploratory wells and not just one like Exxon. The other bonus is the prospective high oil/gas zones in the Beetaloo are not nearly as deep as the only Mako well that Exxon drilled.

Just from my own rather irrational exuberance, I think that the seismic results would have to be absolutely dismal for Hess to take a pass on the Beetaloo. There are very few alternative plays available in Australia now for Hess - that haven't been JVed with other large oil and gas firms, and very few of them have the road, rail and pipeline access of the Beetaloo. Combine this with Hess's extensive experience in the Bakken and Eagle Ford shales and the Beetaloo seems to be an excellent fit. Remember as well - that Falcon has been given access to the seismic data and while they may not have interpreted all of the data as yet, the Chairman, John Craven, recently threw in an extra 1/2 million dollars of his own money into the AIM listing -which may or may not be irrational exuberance on his part.

Even if Hess moves forward at the end of June, there may not be a very big jump in the Falcon share price until we get some postive drilling results out of Hess in 2014, but the 20 cent shares that CIBC and others have been accumulating, will be history in my opinion.

Here is just one of many web pages on the Beetaloo and other Australian on-shore basins that may help ease some of the tension.

http://beta.fool.com/traderinvestor70/2013/03/06/will-australian-basins-drive-next-shale-oil-and-ga/25780/