Personal view is that they'd probably rather not have a big foreigner to deal with. They probably talk the same language as TCEI but AWE is foreign and another listed company.
AUT has already said that it will raise capital for the new programme on Longhorn and Ipanema but there were previously no plans to commence that ramp-up this year. If Hilcorp is turning its eyes towards S/L for H2 2010, that'll mean that the market will have time to re-appraise AUT before it has to raise money. In particular, there will be the results from the 4 'carried wells', one of which has been completed.
I don't follow EKA - can't comment.
However, with payout within 2-3 months possibly, but within 4-5 months with reasonable certainty, the cash inflow will start to fund new drilling relatively soon.
ADI Price at posting:
41.5¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held