rowser, I say yes and no. Last year they drilled 7 holes which I...

rowser, I say yes and no. Last year they drilled 7 holes which I think was reasonable for a first year. By comparison (I am sure I read somewhere) AJQ, which was a recent huge IPO, is doing 9 this year. It would be quite easy for EXE to smash through the 50 million bucks that CNOOC has stumped up by diving in willy nilly with a stack of wildcat holes..but as they company themselves have noted the prize for getting the geology right is very large. Also we should note that this year there is a 22 hole program planned which is aggressive by any measure and so far one hole has been completed at Alma-1.

Now all that said there things have been been delayed a bit for 2 reasons.

1. 2 back to back extreme wet seasons...they started early and finished late. The 2 big wets have been heart breakers for me and have caused some disappointment on a number of Australian junior explorers.

2. There are not enough drill rigs in all the world (well maybe I exaggerate a bit) to meet the demand for drill rigs in Queensland at the moment. the drill rig EXE has operating at the moment is actually the second one they have acquired. The first one has been delayed in commissioning as it is a new rig but should be available very soon. I have been in contact twice now with the company in regards to this rig. Mr Crook assures me that it is a happening thing but is still undergoing commissioning and will be available very soon.

It should not be long before we have 2 then maybe 3 rigs operating so there is potential for a lot to happen this year.....and hopefully some exceptional drill hits should be only a matter of time now......

But in the meantime let us ponder upon how very large EXE's tenement area has become. Did anyone else notice the little map of QLD in today's ann ?? At first I wasn't sure if it was drawn to scale but after a bit of comparison to a map of QLD it would appear that it is fairly well accurate....wow, Qld is a big place so that's a lot of ground !!