As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 5, 1997.
                                   Registration No. 33-________
        _______________________________________________________________
        SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
              WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
            _________________________
                     FORM S-8
              REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                      Under
            THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
            __________________________
        
            HYPERDYNAMICS CORPORATION
        (Exact name of issuer as specified in its charter)
        
                 Delaware                      82-0400335
          (State of incorporation            (I.R.S. Employer
             or organization)                Identification No.)
        
        5444 Westheimer, Suite 2080, Houston, Texas 77056
        (Address of principal executive offices)
                         
                STOCK OPTION PLAN
             (Full title of the plan)
           ___________________________
                   Kent Watts
                    President
            HYPERDYNAMICS CORPORATION
           5444 Westheimer, Suite 2080
               Houston, Texas 77056
                  (713) 622-1983
        (Name, address and telephone number, including 
         area code, of agent for service)
           ____________________________
                     Copy to:
                Robert D. Axelrod
            Axelrod, Smith & Kirshbaum
          5300 Memorial Drive, Suite 700
               Houston, Texas 77007
          ______________________________
        IF ANY OF THE SECURITIES BEING REGISTERED ON THIS FORM ARE TO
        BE OFFERED ON A DELAYED OR CONTINUOUS BASIS PURSUANT TO
        RULE 415 UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, OTHER THAN
        SECURITIES OFFERED ONLY IN CONNECTION WITH DIVIDEND OR
        INTEREST REINVESTMENT PLANS, CHECK THE FOLLOWING BOX:    
        
         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
        
        
        ________________________________________________________________________
                               Proposed       Proposed
  Title of                      maximum       maximum
 securities      Amount         offering      aggregate      Amount of
   to be          to be          price        offering      registration
 registered     registered     per share(*)    price(*)        fee        
                                                   
Common stock,  1,620,000 
par value         shares          $1.94        $3,142,800      $952.36
$.001
underlying 
options
    
_____________________________________________________________________________
* Estimated pursuant to Rule 457 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, 
solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee.

                     PART II
        
        INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION  STATEMENT
        
        Item 3.     Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
        
          The following documents, which have been filed with the Securities
        and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") by HyperDynamics
        Corporation (the "Company"), are incorporated herein by reference and
        made a part hereof: (a) the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for
        the fiscal year ended December 31, 1995; and (b) all other reports 
        filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since 
        December 31, 1995.
        
          All documents filed by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a),
        13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
        subsequent to the date hereof and prior to the filing of a post-
        effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have 
        been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold 
        shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be part 
        hereof from the date of the filing of such documents.  Any statement 
        contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by 
        reference herein shall be modified or superseded for purposes of this 
        Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained 
        herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is 
        deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes 
        such statement.  Any such statement so modified or superseded shall 
        not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a 
        part of this Registration Statement.
        
        Item 4.     Description of Securities.
        
          The Registrant is authorized to issue one class of securities, being
        comprised of $0.001 par value common voting stock.
        
          The holders of the $0.001 par value common stock of the Registrant
        have traditional rights as to voting, dividends and liquidation.  All 
        shares of common stock are entitled to one vote on all matters; there 
        are no pre-emptive rights and cumulative voting is not allowed.  The 
        common stock is not subject to redemption and carries no subscription 
        or conversion rights. In the event of liquidation of the Registrant, 
        the holders of common stock are entitled to share equally in corporate 
        assets after satisfaction of all liabilities.
        
        Item 5.     Not Applicable      
  
        Item 6.     Indemnification of Officers and Directors.
        
          Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation has the
        power to indemnify any person who is made a party to any civil, 
        criminal, administrative or investigative proceeding, other than an 
        action by or in the right of the corporation, by reason of the fact 
        that such person was a director, officer, employee or agent of the 
        corporation, against expenses, including attorneys' fees, judgments, 
        fines and amounts paid in settlement of any such actions if he or she 
        acted in good faith and in a manner reasonably believed to be in or not 
        opposed to the best interest of the corporation; provided, however, in 
        any criminal proceeding, the indemnified person shall have had no 
        reason to believe the conduct committed was unlawful.
        
        It is the position of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
        "Commission") that indemnification against liabilities for violations 
        under the federal securities laws, rules and regulations is against 
        public policy.  See subparagraph (c) of Item 9 below.
        
        
        Item 7.     Exemption from Registration Claimed.
        
          Not applicable.
        
        Item 8.     Exhibits.
        
          The following is a list of exhibits filed as part of the Registration
        Statement:
        
          Exhibit Number           Description of Exhibit
        
               5                   Opinion of Axelrod, Smith &
                                           Kirshbaum
        
               23(i)               Consent of Jack Evans,
                                           Certified Public Accountant
        
               23(ii)              Consent of Axelrod, Smith &
                                           Kirshbaum
        
               23(iii)             Consent of Jones, Jensen &
                                           Company
        
        Item 9.     Undertakings.
        
          The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
        
          A.   (1)  To file during any period in which offers or sales 
               are being made, a post-effective amendment to this 
               Registration Statement:
        
               (i)  to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of
               the Securities Act of 1933;
        
               (ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising 
               after the effective date of this registration statement (or 
               the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, 
               individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental 
               change in the information set forth in this registration 
               statement;
        
               (iii) to include any material information with respect to the 
               plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this 
               registration statement or any material change to such 
               information in this registration statement; provided, however,
               that paragraphs (a)(i) and (a)(ii) above do not apply if the
               registration statement is on Form S-3 or Form S-8 and the 
               information required to be included in a post-effective 
               amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports
               filed by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 
               15(d) of the 1934 Act that are incorporated by reference in 
               the Registration Statement.
        
               (2)  That, for the purpose of determining any liability under 
               the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment
               shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to
               the securities offered therein, and the offering of such 
               securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial 
               bona fide offering thereof.
        
               (3)  To remove from registration by means of a post-effective 
               amendment any of the securities being registered which remain 
               unsold at the termination of the offering.
        
          B.   The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for 
               purposes of determining any liability under the Securities 
               Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant's annual report 
               pursuant to  Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities 
               Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an 
               employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section 
               15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is 
               incorporated by reference in the registration statement 
               shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating 
               to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such 
               securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
               fide offering thereof.
        
          C.   Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the  
               Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, 
               officers, and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to 
               the foregoing  provisions, or otherwise, that the Registrant 
               has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and 
               Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public 
               policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, 
               unenforceable.  In the event that a claim for indemnification 
               against such liabilities (other than the payment by the 
               Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer
               or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful 
               defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such 
               director, officer or controlling person in connection with the
               securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in 

               the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by  
               controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate       
               jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification
               by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and 
               will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.      
        
                            SIGNATURES
        
            Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
        Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that 
        it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly 
        caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the 
        undersigned, thereto duly authorized, in the City of Houston, State 
        of Texas on June 4, 1997.

        
                           HYPERDYNAMICS CORPORATION
        
        
                           By:   /s/ Kent Watts                     
                              Kent Watts, President and Director
        
        
        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
        Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in
        the capacities and on the dates indicated:
        
        
        Signature                   Title                        Date
                                                           
       
         /s/ Robert J. Hill       Director                    June 4, 1997
             Robert J. Hill
        
         /s/ Kent Watts           President, Director         June 4, 1997
             Kent Watts           Chief Financial Officer
        
                 
                INDEX TO EXHIBITS   
        
        
        Exhibit 
        Number        Description
        
                   
        5             Opinion of Axelrod, Smith & Kirshbaum
        
        23(i)         Consent of Jack Evans, Certified Public Accountant
        
        23(ii)        Consent of Axelrod, Smith & Kirshbaum
        
        23(iii)       Consent of Jones, Jensen & Company