The news should excite Australia's farmout merchants as it is understood the Samson executive team, led by Steve Trujillo, is visiting next week's APPEA conference in Melbourne and is hungry for more deals.

Sunshine Gas announced the Oklahoma-based Samson Investment Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which sees it farming into all of its properties, which includes the Overston and Tardrum discoveries.

Sunshine Gas director Jeremy Towner said he was unable to reveal too much as Samson was a private company but said the deal would cover all of Sunshine's exploration costs to date and for the remaining four years' work commitments.

According to the deal, Samson may spend more than $10 million on exploration and appraisal work.

Towner said more details would emerge when the deal progressed from the MOU stage.

Samson started in 1971 and with most of its production coming from Canada and the United States, it is understood the company is looking towards politically safe regions such as Australia. According to the company's website, it is one of the top 20 independent producers of oil and gas in the U.S.

The company's aggressive acquisition natures is borne out by figures on their site which tracks a modest level of acquisitions (US$224) in the three years preceding 1998, after which Samson stepped on the gas and spent US$515 million in the three years after that.

Possible targets for Samson while down under would the Delhi Petroleum share sale by ExxonMobil, and given Samson are looking at SW Queensland, Sunshine's neighbour Mosaic Oil, which holds the Silver Springs, Churchie and Myall Creek production facilities, is capitalised at only $66 million and has thus far failed to excite the market.

Perhaps some takeover premium is just what the markets need at the moment.