Brief History
A portfolio of world-class exploration opportunities.
The Beginning.
Lakes Blue Energy NL (LKO) is Australia’s oldest operating petroleum exploration company.
Originally named Lakes Oil Limited, the Company was formed in 1946, listed on the ASX on 19 April 1955 and, in 1959, taken over, and delisted, by Woodside.
Resurrection.
The Company shell was acquired from Woodside and re-listed on 5 December 1985.
The Company’s specific focus was on petroleum exploration onshore in Victoria, with a portfolio of highly prospective exploration acreage progressively acquired.
Pre-eminent Victorian.
Over the period to 2012 the Company spent of the order of $100m drilling multiple exploration wells, and becoming Victoria’s pre-eminent onshore exploration company.
By 2012, the Company had contingent resources of gas certified in Gippsland.
Exploration Hiatus.
The Company’s plans to commercialise is Gippsland gas resource were frustrated by a Victorian Government onshore exploration ban, introduced in 2012/13.
The exploration ban was lifted mid-2021.
Diversification.
Unable to explore in its home-state until 2021, Lakes necessarily ‘reinvented’ itself, diversifying its portfolio through acquisition of acreage in Queenslnd, South Australia and PNG.
The Nangwarry-1 well was drilled in SA in late 2019, and the Wellesley-2 well drilled in Queensland in 2022.
Now.
With the Victorian exploration ban lifted, the Company is once again focussed on its world-class Victorian opportunities.
Though sale of its interest in PEP 169 (Victoria), the Company has ensured it is funded, and an Operation Plan has be