Finder Energy (ASX:FDR) Shares Down About 43% in a Year: What Is the Company Building in Timor-Leste?

Sonal Goyal

20 October 2026 08:16 PM AEDT

Finder Energy (ASX:FDR) Shares Down About 43% in a Year: What Is the Company Building in Timor-Leste?

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Key highlights

Finder Energy (ASX:FDR) closed at $0.27 on 20 October 2026, up 1.89%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Energy index fell 1.31%.
The shares are down approximately 43% over the past year.
Finder signed a drilling rig contract for its KTJ development on 15 October 2026 and is targeting a final investment decision by 30 November 2026.

Finder Energy Holdings Ltd (ASX:FDR) closed at $0.27 on 20 October 2026, up 1.89% or half a cent, on a day when the sector fell. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy index (XEJ) closed 1.31% lower at 11,165.60, a fall of 148.40 points, while the broader S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) slipped 0.33% to 8,816.90.

Over the past 12 months the stock has lost approximately 43%. Working back from the closing price, a fall of approximately 43% implies a share price of about $0.47 a year earlier. The one-day gain and the 12-month decline sit at opposite ends of the scale.

About Finder Energy

Finder Energy Holdings Limited is a South Perth-based oil developer and operator focused on the KTJ Project offshore Timor-Leste, in production sharing contract area PSC 19-11. It develops the project with its joint venture partner, TIMOR GAP, and plans to tie the wells to the Petrojarl I floating production storage and offloading vessel.

The company’s near-term agenda is moving KTJ from development planning towards a final investment decision (FID) and then into execution.

Latest development

The share price figures above are not linked here to the company’s announcement. On 15 October 2026 Finder said it had executed a contract with ENEOS Drilling for the Hakuryu-5 semi-submersible drilling unit to run the KTJ development drilling campaign. The contract secures three firm development wells, with options for two more, and provides for competitive market rates aligned with Finder’s budget.

The firm wells are scheduled to begin from 1 December 2027 and take about 150 days to drill and complete, including completion assemblies and wellheads and Christmas trees ready for hook-up to the Petrojarl I. The two optional slots could be used by other operators to share costs, or for exploration or appraisal tie-back targets within PSC 19-11. The contract is conditional on joint venture, government and Finder board approvals by 31 December 2026, and on ENEOS parent company and board approvals by 16 November 2026.

Finder has also secured long-lead items and services, including casing and tubing from Sumitomo, three Christmas trees under fabrication by OneSubsea, wellheads acquired from another joint venture, integrated drilling management from AGR and upper completion equipment from SLB. The company said it continues to work on the remaining requirements for FID, including each partner’s investment criteria, joint venture and regulatory approvals, major project agreements and financing, and it is targeting FID for KTJ by 30 November 2026.

Sector context

Offshore oil developments follow a sequence: securing a rig, ordering long-lead equipment, finalising partner approvals and financing, and taking a final investment decision. A rig contract is an important milestone, but, as Finder’s release explains, it can remain conditional on approvals.

Timor-Leste’s offshore developments proceed through production sharing contracts with the state company, and Finder said it is working with its partner TIMOR GAP to deliver a project that can generate economic benefits for the country, including local employment and contracting.

Risks

Finder has not yet taken FID on KTJ. The rig contract is conditional on several approvals with fixed deadlines, and the company still has to finalise major project agreements and financing. Any slippage in these steps could move the drilling schedule.

Finder is a pre-production company without operating cash flow, and its shares have fallen approximately 43% over the year. A gain of 1.89% on 20 October 2026 is a small move against that backdrop.

Catalysts to watch

Items to watch include ENEOS parent approvals due by 16 November 2026, the targeted FID date of 30 November 2026, the wider approvals due by 31 December 2026 and the start of the first development well from December 2027.

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