It does appear that MEL are less advanced in proving up their...

It does appear that MEL are less advanced in proving up their reserves than ESG. I can't find any estimate of MEL's contingent resources, but in the last annual report the point is made that exploratory drilling has only been undertaken in 5% of their acreage. The potential resource is therefore much greater than the ~1.5 tcf 3P, but it will take time and money to explore, prove and develop it. That's where cash flow from the (hopefully) more quickly exploitable conventional gas will come in handy.

In any case, a couple of months ago the market cap of ESG was around ten times that of MEL, and that seems excessive. Currently it is over four times. Let's say that MEL should be worth half of what ESG currently is or as much as BOW. That gives a share price around $2.

(Disclosure: I did have ESG shares but sold after Santos bought in because I thought MEL offered better value. I'm thinking of buying them back at the current low price. I still hold AOE.)