Philip O'Quigley, CEO of Falcon commented:

We regard the Beetaloo Basin as a potential world class conventional and unconventional play with significant oil and gas potential. Hess requested a one month extension to allow them sufficient time to conclude a farm-out deal with a third party, which they described as one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world.

Falcon's rejection of their request and Hess's subsequent decision not to elect by the agreed deadline was viewed by the Board of Falcon as an opportunity for Falcon shareholders to increase their interest in what promises to be a very prolific basin enhanced and de-risked by the new seismic data.

I would like to thank Hess for their significant contribution to the Beetaloo project both in terms of their technical input but also in terms of their financial investment which we estimate to be approximately US$80m to date.

I look forward to updating the market as we move forward on our extensive acreage in the Beetaloo Basin"