very serious question

Please do not misunderstand this question. It is one that defines how you really assess your decision as to whether or not to own ICN compared to another company in the sector that is in the same business but with the complete opposite business plan.

Icon's plan is to sell as much gas as they can and then spend millions on finding it AFTER they get the contract.

A "peer" BOW, does the complete opposite. They spend millions from CRs on drilling and then will look for sales contracts.
I'm not going to comment or even provide the comparative information, because if you are serious about investing in CSG, you need to do this research for yourself.
For both "sides" of the debate as to which "plan" is the best, the choice is buy into BOW with a market cap of $366 million, check their ann today for updates on where they are at, with some gas and no contracts, and in any case unable to get any revenue from the gas that they ultimately prove up until 2015 at the earliest.

Or, read ICN's Newsletter, see where they are at, they have not as much proven up gas, but they have TWO GSA's, one for 15 years with Stanwell worth half a billion dollars and one with a Chinese province in j/v with a huge government owned company, worth around $30 billion and just embarking on a vigorous drilling programme in their highly prospective permits. The earliest that they can get revenue from those GSA's, if they prove up the required amount of gas, will also be around 2015/16. market cap $108.

This is not a biased opinion from me, it is a basic suggestion to anyone who is serious about how they invest their hard earned money.