Finder Resources plans a shared rig for KTJ development wells off Timor-Leste

Finder Resources (ASX:FDR) is planning a drilling campaign offshore Timor-Leste that would run almost 200 days. It would combine three development wells at the KTJ Project with an appraisal well at the Chuditch gas field.

The plan comes from a non-binding Letter of Intent signed on 9 April 2026 between Finder's wholly owned subsidiary, Finder Timor-Leste B.V., and SundaGas Banda Unipessoal, a subsidiary of AIM-quoted Sunda Energy plc. The two will work together to secure a rig and share drilling costs. Finder says this should bring cost savings and better rig utilisation. Chuditch is SundaGas's well. The three KTJ wells are Finder's.

Why it matters

The wells sit on the path to first production. Finder's 16 July corporate presentation describes a fast-track KTJ development targeting First Oil in late 2027 or early 2028. The company announced on 9 July that ANP approved the KTJ Field Development Plan. If the drilling goes to plan, it would be a step toward that target.

What Finder holds

The asset estimates supplied for this article are all prospective resources. These are volumes that may be recovered if a discovery is made and developed, and they carry risks of discovery and development. They include:

• Brees: oil, P50 235 mmbbl (100% interest)
• Brady: oil, P50 100 mmbbl (100% interest)
• Boaz: gas, P50 748 bcf and condensate, P50 81 mmbbl (50% interest)
• Bancroft: oil, P50 26.6 mmbbl (20% interest)
• Amberjack: gas, P50 60 bcf and condensate, P50 7.5 mmbbl (40% interest)

The company has not disclosed its interest in several other prospects, including Agar, Barracuda and Bass. KTJ itself is not among the figures supplied here. A KTJ Independent Reserves and Resources Report was lodged on 20 August 2026, but its numbers are not part of the inputs, so this article does not use them.

What is uncertain

• The Letter of Intent is non-binding, and the announcement describes the parties as working to secure a rig, not as having one.
• The announcement gives no start date, only the length of about 200 days. Any calendar dates for the campaign are not confirmed by the source.
• First Oil is a target stated as a season, not a fixed date, and it depends on the drilling and development going to plan.

Finder is not the only party in this campaign. Its timing and costs could depend on SundaGas's plans as well as its own.