MEO opened at 8.8 cents and had tipped 14 cents on a turnover of 685,000.

50,000 MEOs were traded on the 9th December but the prior trade to that was on the 21st November, illustrating its illiquidity.

MEO chairman Geoffrey Albers said he had no idea what was behind the buying, but added the stock had been trading in that 10c range for the last few years, with a number of spikes during that time.

He said he doubted it had anything to do with East Timorese Foreign Minister's Jose Ramos Horta's comments on seabed boundary disputes in the Timor Sea.

MEO's assets are well within the proposed new boundary and are free from any sovereign claim, according to the company.

Along with Santos, directors and friendly parties make up over 50% of the tightly held MEO register.