That is my biggest fear at the moment...that we are in some sort...

That is my biggest fear at the moment...that we are in some sort of 'goblin hole' between the point where the prospect has not yet been sufficiently derisked/proven to entice a deal that would truly excite shareholders and the point where the (largely) retail investor base is willing to fund further appraisal to get us to that optimal spot.  Being a goblin hole, any way out is a good outcome, but not necessarily the best outcome.

Personal opinion is that we have a prospective resource in the western fairway conventional that will be taken seriously.  add to that the possible unconventional resource and the upside is even more compelling.  So I believe we will be taken seriously.  But I also believe that the front-end of these farmout deals may not be as exciting as many are hoping....as farminees will leverage the strength of their position due to the goblin hole. However, my optimism remains as the payday is more at the back-end of the farmout and the sheer scale of the (remaining) prize is still many multiples of what we are currently priced at.

BTW...if you understood my point, I am not expounding on whether or not $5.5b will be paid.  I am simply saying that if they determine that an acquisition budget for this play is no more than (say) $2.50 per barrel, then that means that the sum total of what they are willing to spend to acquire a farm-out (the front-end); appraise the acreage (the middle); and then later buyout any remaining working interest (the back-end), falls within that cap. The actual cap may be higher or lower. And they may be skilled enough to expend less than their cap.  I am simply illustrating the financial decision making process as I understand it is likely to be.

End of the day...depends what your horizon is.

All IMO.