This is like watching a fascinating strategic game unfolding...

This is like watching a fascinating strategic game unfolding before our eyes.

CVN is like a small fish that's swallowed a bag of diamonds and swallowed in turn by a bigger fish called STO. Our 10% of Dorado isn't a big catch for an oil major (compared to STO's 80% stake) but the hidden treasures of the Bedout basin carry a multi-billion $ lotto strike for a new owner with deep pockets.

WDS is within reach (given their STO merger talks), and must be the leading horse in the race. Their long-term SP is below $40 which they know will take the discovery of a major (unexpected) resource to propel it closer to $60 in the long term.

So WDS won't be happy with losing control of the Bedout Basin before the merger. Even if there is no merger, they would want to hook the big fish's rights to Bedout, the small fish and the bag of diamonds. STO don't seem to have any real objection to the big fish being caught.

And just like foreign vessels fishing in Australian waters, the Treasurer has FIRB powers to veto a foreign takeover in the national interest. How many times has Captain Cook sprouted that line about security of national energy supply?