The 113,581,386 options were underwritten for A$7,950,697 with Hartleys charging a 5% fee, the Perth-based explorer said.

The company claimed Hartleys’ international and domestic institutional clients will add strength its share register.

The underwriting recognises the company’s progress when drilling about to start on three continents will provide the potential to substantially increase cash flows from oil and gas sales, FAR said.

At its United States operations, site works have started in preparation for drilling the South Grosse Tete Prospect (FAR 17%) in southern Louisiana and spudding is estimated within six weeks.

In the San Joaquin Basin, California, appraisal well Eagle-2 (FAR 15% interest) will have an impact if the potential 20 million barrels and 40 billion cubic feet of gas is confirmed by drilling to start in September, FAR said.

In Lavaca County, Texas, the company will participate in an up-hole completion of Rainosek-1 well bore, and within three months the 13,650-feet Bender-Bujnoch-1 well will also be spudded.

More drilling is also scheduled in the next six months at Lake Long, Louisiana. In Texas, follow–up work is likely at the Welder Ranch Vaquero-1 and 2 wells, which operator Dune Energy estimates will have a production start-up next month, FAR said.

In Beibu Gulf, offshore China (FAR 5%), operator Roc Oil is currently evaluating a jack-up rig that could be available by August.

The rig will drill one or more exploration prospects near the Wei 6-12-1 well’s discovery made by the joint venture in March 2002.

The operator estimates - based on 3D seismic and supported by amplitude and AVO anomalies - that this prospect cluster has an unrisked recoverable reserve potential of about 40-50 million barrels, according to FAR.

Progress is also being made towards an oilfield development plan of the Wei 12-8 West field, currently planned to come into production in January 2007.

In Australia, FAR’s program includes two wells in the second half of this year on the North West Shelf - the Little Joe prospect overlapping into WA-254-P (FAR 10.7%), to be drilled by Woodside, and the Duomonte prospect within WA-254-P to be drilled by Apache.