### Core Identification Data
| Field | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Legal name | Lion Energy Limited | ASX announcements 2026 |
| ABN | 51 000 753 640 | ASX announcement, 29 Jun 2026 |
| Former names | Kalgoorlie Resources NL (ASX: KGR) until 10 Dec 1998; Kalrez Energy NL (ASX: KRZ) until 31 Jan 2001; Kalrez Energy Limited until 10 Oct 2003; thereafter Lion Energy Limited | Market Index corporate history (Morningstar) |
| Year of incorporation | 1970 | S&P Global company profile |
| ASX listing date | 15 February 1972 | Market Index |
| Incorporation jurisdiction | Australia (Western Australia-based public company) | Company filings |
| Headquarters address | Suite 1, 295 Rokeby Road, Subiaco WA 6008, Australia (older materials cite Suite 7 at the same address) | ASX announcement, 29 Jun 2026; company website |
| Telephone / email | +61 8 9211 1500 / info@lionenergy.com.au | ASX announcement, 29 Jun 2026 |
| Exchange and ticker | Australian Securities Exchange: LIO (sole listing) | ASX |
| ISIN | AU000000LIO7 (standard ASX ISIN construction; confirm with registry) | — |
| CUSIP | Not applicable (no US listing) | — |
| Fiscal year end | 31 December | S&P Global; statutory accounts released 31 Mar 2026 |
| Share registry | Computershare | Market Index |
| Auditor | Hall Chadwick WA Audit Pty Ltd | Market Index |
| Employees (latest) | Not publicly disclosed. The company runs a small Perth corporate team plus a drilling, HSE, procurement and logistics team in Jakarta (Bula Karang-1 update #1, 25 Feb 2026) | ASX announcements |
| Employees (3-year trend) | Not publicly disclosed | — |
| Shares on issue | 452.18 million (FY2024, FY2025 and 30 June 2026) | S&P Global; Morningstar |
| Market capitalisation (current) | A$8.14 million at A$0.018 (9 October 2026 close) | StockAnalysis.com |
| 52-week trading range | A$0.009 – A$0.026 | StockAnalysis.com |
| Industry classification | Energy — Oil & Gas Exploration & Production | S&P Global |
Lion Energy is a micro-cap Perth-based upstream oil and gas company. After a failed diversification, it has returned to a single-asset exploration model in eastern Indonesia. Its core asset is a 45% operated interest, held through subsidiary Balam Energy Pte Ltd, in the East Seram Production Sharing Contract (PSC) on Seram Island in Maluku province. Partner OPIC East Seram Corporation, a subsidiary of Taiwan's state-owned CPC Corporation, holds the other 55%. The near-term investment case rests almost entirely on the Bula Karang-1 exploration well. The well has a P50 prospective resource of 12 million barrels and a 38% geological chance of success, and OPIC funds 88% of costs up to US$5.6 million. From 2021 to 2026 Lion pursued green hydrogen in Australia, culminating in the Port of Brisbane hub. It terminated that project in May 2026 and has now exited hydrogen entirely. With under A$1 million of cash at June 2026, Lion is a high-risk, binary, event-driven exploration stock.
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### What the Company Does
Lion Energy explores for, appraises and seeks to develop conventional oil and gas in eastern Indonesia, centred on Seram Island in the Seram Basin. In practice, the company today is:
1. **An operator of an exploration-stage PSC.** Balam Energy Pte Ltd, a wholly owned Lion subsidiary, is operator of the East Seram PSC with a 45% participating interest. S&P Global reports the PSC area as about 1,300 km².
2. **A project manager for a single exploration well.** Lion runs Bula Karang-1, a deviated well drilled from an onshore pad to an offshore reef target in Bula Bay. It contracts a third-party rig (Silver City Drilling's SCD-20) and specialist services such as directional drilling, cementing, drilling fluids and wireline.
3. **A residual holder of legacy positions.** Lion agreed in September 2025 to sell its 2.5% minority interest in the producing Seram (Non-Bula) PSC for about US$1.2 million. It retains holding rights to the now-dormant Port of Brisbane hydrogen site, and has sold the related equipment.
### Company's Own Description
The website "About Us" page describes Lion as a recently revamped and refocused ASX-listed oil and gas company focused on Southeast Asia, and specifically on the Seram Basin of East Indonesia. It characterises that basin as immature yet proven, with existing oil and gas export infrastructure serving the producing Oseil field.
The company also claims:
- the largest land position on Seram Island;
- long PSC tenure under newer fiscal terms;
- that the Manusela pre-Tertiary play (hosting Lofin and Oseil) has had six targeted exploration wells, all discoveries;
- about 700 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) of upside within East Seram.
A separate "Company Overview" page, which still reflects the 2021–2025 strategy, presents Lion as applying upstream skills to green hydrogen in Australia.
ASX announcements in 2026 describe Lion more narrowly. The standard "Lion at a glance" box calls it an ASX-listed oil and gas E&P company with a conventional PSC on Seram Island, Indonesia, drilling an oil exploration well in Q3 2026.
### Business Model and Revenue Model
| Dimension | Characterisation |
|---|---|
| Model type | Pre-revenue exploration (project-generation and farm-out model) |
| Product vs service mix | Historical revenue came from Lion's share of crude oil sales from the 2.5% Seram (Non-Bula) interest and minor other income. No subscription or licensing revenue. |
| Revenue scale | A$0.14M in FY2025; A$0.10M in FY2024 (S&P Global). Morningstar reports FY2024 trading revenue of A$0.84M; see Section 6 for this discrepancy. |
| Value creation mechanism | Acquire acreage cheaply, de-risk with seismic and technical work, farm out to fund drilling, and monetise discoveries through development or sale |
| Funding model | Equity placements, convertible notes (A$1.6M issued 2024), asset sales (Seram Non-Bula, US$1.2M), farm-out carries (OPIC funds 88% of Bula Karang-1 up to US$5.6M), and partner payments (DGA and Samsung C&T paid towards hydrogen pre-construction costs) |
| Value chain position | Upstream: exploration, appraisal and early development. No midstream or downstream exposure. |
| Customer types (if production achieved) | Indonesian crude buyers under PSC lifting arrangements, typically state entities or offtakers via SKK Migas-administered processes. The pricing reference is the Indonesian Crude Price (ICP). |
| End-markets | Indonesian and regional Asian crude oil markets |
### Independent Characterisation
Lion is best understood as a call option on one well, wrapped in a corporate shell with very limited liquidity. The OPIC farm-out caps Lion's net exposure to about US$0.7 million (12% of the US$5.6 million well cost estimate). Costs above the cap are shared 45/55 between Balam and OPIC.
If Bula Karang-1 succeeds, the shallow, near-infrastructure location supports a fast-track extended well test and early production. The company planned the test for November 2026 using a workover rig already in the Bula area. If the well fails, Lion is left with a reduced East Seram position, minimal cash and a convertible note liability, and its strategic future would be uncertain.
The five-year hydrogen detour consumed capital and management attention, and ended in a A$3.27 million asset writedown in FY2025. The return to oil exploration reflects capital discipline under duress rather than a strategic choice made from strength.