A year ago, Upland Resources (UPL: LON) still looked to many investors like a familiar kind of small oil and gas company: an ambitious Southeast Asian exploration story built around promising acreage, technical studies and the hope that commercial discussions would eventually become something more tangible. The market largely treated it that way.
The shares spent much of the middle of 2025 trading close to 1p before beginning a sharp climb in the autumn, briefly approaching 4p in December. By 22nd May 2026, the share price had settled back to 2.80p, leaving investors with a simple question: was the re-rating premature, or has the market stepped back just as the story is becoming more substantial?
The reason that question matters is that Upland is no longer relying only on the award or progression of a single Southeast Asian opportunity. During 2025, the company began assembling the pieces of a wider operating model. It acquired proprietary drilling management systems and selected capability from Vanguard Drilling, with Josh Galloway appointed to lead its new drilling services operation. It then entered into a strategic partnership with US based Lost Soldier Oil and Gas, giving Upland exposure to the Wild Mustang gas development in Wyoming while creating a potential route to technical and financial support for its Southeast Asian ambitions.
That change in shape is important for retail investors. Early stage upstream companies often remain dependent on events outside their direct control: a licence decision, a farm-in partner, a government approval or another funding round. Upland is trying to position itself differently, building operational capability through the Vanguard contracts, strategic alignment through Lost Soldier, and a broader financial platform around the Southeast Asian assets it still wants to advance. The company’s latest annual report describes its focus as the development of high impact assets across Southeast Asia, but the route towards that objective now looks materially broader than it did twelve months ago.
None of that removes the central risk. Upland still needs to convert relationships, technical positioning and funding frameworks into licences, wells and eventually revenue. Its recent share price performance reflects that tension rather neatly: investors have recognised that the company has changed, but appear unwilling to price in the full promise before delivery becomes visible. That is what makes Upland interesting now. This is no longer simply a speculative Sarawak story waiting for a decision; it is an emerging upstream platform attempting to show that, when opportunity arrives, it now has the partners, capability and capital structure to act on it.
Southeast Asia remains the prize, with SK334 at the centre of the original thesis
Before the drilling systems, US gas exposure and new funding relationships were added to the story, Upland Resources was primarily known for one opportunity: onshore Sarawak. Its interest in SK334 placed the company inside a region where offshore oil and gas production is well established, but where the onshore potential has been explored far less extensively. For investors who first followed Upland through Sarawak, the attraction was always straightforward. A small London listed company had secured a working relationship with PETROS, Sarawak’s state-owned petroleum company, around a block that could eventually become a meaningful onshore exploration opportunity.
That relationship began with a Joint Technical Study between PETROS and the joint venture formed by Upland and Big Oil Ventures. The detailed study was completed and submitted to PETROS in November 2023, with Upland subsequently stating that it had submitted the necessary documentation to progress towards exploration and production stages at SK334. The company’s latest annual report confirms that Sarawak remained a central focus throughout 2025, with additional attention given to SK334 and adjacent opportunities, while Upland continued discussions with authorities, local stakeholders and potential farm-in partners.
The investment case, however, needs to be treated with care. SK334 has given Upland a credible regional foothold and a reason for investors to follow its progress in Sarawak, but the technical study is not the same as a licence award, a drilling programme or a commercial discovery. The company still needs the relevant regulatory and commercial outcomes before SK334 can move from a promising position on a map into an asset capable of delivering measurable value. That gap between potential and execution is precisely why the recent additions to Upland’s strategy matter.
Instead of waiting passively for Sarawak to mature, Upland has been building a broader Southeast Asian platform around the original SK334 thesis. The company’s stated strategy remains focused on high impact assets across the region, but it is now attempting to support that ambition with operating capability, technical partners and capital relationships that could matter once opportunities become actionable. SK334 remains the foundation of the story, because it explains why Upland is in Southeast Asia at all. The more important question now is whether that foundation can be extended into a portfolio of funded, drillable opportunities rather than remaining an interesting but unresolved Sarawak position.
Indonesia and Brunei widen the opportunity beyond Sarawak
Sarawak may be where Upland first built its regional identity, but the company’s recent announcements suggest that its ambitions now extend well beyond SK334. The most important development came in February, when Upland raised £2.0 million to pursue two onshore opportunities in Borneo and Northern Sumatra, both described as being under exclusive and direct negotiation with the relevant authorities. For retail investors, that changes the shape of the story. Upland is no longer waiting for a single Sarawak opportunity to unlock value, it is attempting to build a wider Southeast Asian portfolio across proven hydrocarbon basins.
The Borneo opportunity is potentially significant because it sits within the Kutei Basin in Kalimantan, one of Southeast Asia’s established producing provinces. Upland said the onshore joint study area covers more than 4,000 square kilometres and contains more than 500 million barrels of oil in place and more than 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas in place on a P50 2C basis, based on a 2024 SKK Migas assessment. The company described it as a discovered resource opportunity with a possible route towards appraisal, development and production. That is a more advanced type of proposition than a purely frontier exploration target, although Upland still has to secure participation and agree the commercial route forward.
Northern Sumatra introduces a different kind of scale. Upland said the opportunity relates to an onshore block in the North Sumatra Basin, where wider basin analysis indicates yet-to-find potential exceeding 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent. That figure does not belong directly to Upland and should not be confused with reserves or resources already secured by the company. What it does show is why management has directed capital towards Indonesia: the company is trying to negotiate entry into large petroleum systems where a relatively small listed business could gain meaningful exposure if the regulatory and commercial pieces fall into place.
Brunei adds another layer to that regional strategy. Upland’s 2025 annual report states that its 45% owned joint venture vehicle, Upland Big Oil Sdn Bhd, was shortlisted for the Brunei 2025 Shallow Water Open Bidding Round and paid a refundable data room entry fee to participate in the evaluation process. None of these positions should yet be treated as secured production assets, and that is the key discipline for investors. What Upland now has is a broader pipeline of opportunities across Sarawak, Indonesia and Brunei, with the next re-rating likely to depend on whether one of those conversations finally becomes a signed licence or funded work programme.
Vanguard changes the question from finding assets to executing them
The acquisition of drilling systems and operating capability from Vanguard Drilling may be one of the more important developments in Upland’s recent history, because it addresses a basic weakness common to many small upstream companies. Finding attractive opportunities is one thing, having the technical systems and experienced people needed to execute drilling programmes is another. In October 2025, Upland signed an initial agreement to acquire Vanguard’s proprietary intellectual property and advanced drilling management systems, followed later that month by the execution of binding contracts.
It is important to be precise about what Upland acquired. The transaction was not the purchase of the entire Vanguard Energy Services business. It covered Vanguard’s Business Management System, described as a drilling safety and management platform, together with its Mission Control Project Management Software, designed to provide oversight of costs, schedules, logistics and operational risk. The agreement also provides for selected senior Vanguard specialists, engineers and project leaders to be integrated into Upland projects as required. Josh Galloway, Vanguard’s Chief Executive Officer, joined Upland as Head of Drilling Services to lead Upland Borneo Drilling Services under Upland Big Oil.
For investors, the commercial logic is easy to understand. If Upland secures participation in projects across Sarawak, Indonesia or Brunei, it does not want to arrive at that point as a passive licence holder still searching for the ability to deliver. The new drilling services operation is intended to support Upland’s own future work programmes, while also creating the possibility of supplying third party services or securing licence and project equity in exchange for technical capability. The company’s annual report describes the acquisition as a step towards becoming a technically capable, integrated operator in Southeast Asia, with scalable drilling and project management capability across both its own licence interests and potential external engagements.
The risk is that capability alone does not create revenue. Upland still needs successful licence outcomes, funded work programmes and counterparties willing to use or reward its drilling platform. Until then, Vanguard is an enabler rather than a proven earnings stream. Even so, it changes the question investors should ask. The issue is no longer simply whether Upland can secure attractive Southeast Asian assets. It is whether the company has now assembled enough operational credibility to move quickly and commercially if those assets are finally placed within reach.
Lost Soldier gives Upland a US partner, a funding route and a cash flow option
The Lost Soldier partnership is the point where Upland’s strategy begins to look more ambitious than a regional licence pursuit. In November 2025, the company entered into a strategic partnership with Lost Soldier Oil and Gas II Master Series LLC, a US upstream business led by Marc A. Bruner. Under the bilateral investment structure, Lost Soldier subscribed for £3.3 million of new Upland shares at 3.3p per share, with those shares subject to a 12 month lock up, while Upland agreed to invest approximately US$4.3 million into Lost Soldier. In return, Upland gained exposure to the Wild Mustang Federal Unit in Wyoming, a natural gas development that sits well outside its Southeast Asian core but could become important to the wider financial story.
The logic is not difficult to follow. Upland’s own projects in Sarawak, Indonesia and Brunei may carry scale, but they remain dependent on regulatory outcomes, commercial agreements and future work programmes. Wild Mustang offers a different route, with Lost Soldier describing the project as a 6 Tcf natural gas discovery supported by two drilled wells, Green Mountain #4 and Found Soldier #1, confirming around 3,400 feet of stacked gas bearing zones. Upland’s investment is intended to provide exposure to future production sales, royalty rights and participation in later wells, with first gas targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026 as a 5.3 mile connector pipeline is progressed. That target remains subject to execution, approvals and infrastructure delivery, but it gives Upland potential access to cash flow on a different timeline from its own regional opportunities.
The relationship is also intended to support Upland’s original strategy rather than replace it. Lost Soldier has indicated its intention to participate in selected Southeast Asian assets through future farm-in agreements, subject to due diligence, board and regulatory approvals, bringing technical support and potential capital alongside Upland’s regional position. That operational connection was strengthened in January 2026 through the appointment of Marc Bruner as Strategic Investment Advisor. Bruner founded Ultra Petroleum, which Upland states grew to a market capitalisation of more than US$7 billion, and Pennaco Energy, which was sold for approximately US$550 million. His indirect holding in Upland through Lost Soldier also gives the relationship a direct shareholder alignment.
For retail investors, the appeal is that Lost Soldier potentially gives Upland three things it did not previously have in the same package: exposure to a nearer term US gas development, a technically experienced strategic partner, and a possible route to fund Southeast Asian projects if licences are secured. The risk is that each of those benefits still depends on delivery. Wild Mustang has yet to begin commercial sales, the farm-in intentions are not completed project transactions, and strategic alignment only creates value when capital is successfully deployed into producing assets. Even so, the partnership has changed the Upland story. The company is no longer relying only on a licence breakthrough in Southeast Asia, it is trying to build a bridge between regional opportunity and US backed operating and financial support.
Wild Mustang, near term revenue exposure or another execution dependency?
Wild Mustang gives Upland something its Southeast Asian portfolio cannot yet provide: exposure to an asset with a stated route towards commercial sales on a nearer term timetable. Through its investment and strategic relationship with Lost Soldier, Upland has participation exposure to the Wild Mustang Federal Unit in Wyoming, which the company has described as one of the largest natural gas discoveries in the western United States in several decades. The attraction is clear. While Upland continues trying to secure and progress high impact opportunities in Southeast Asia, Wild Mustang could introduce a separate source of value from an asset already moving through development activity.
The project is supported by drilling already completed at the Green Mountain #4 discovery well and the Found Soldier #1 appraisal well, which Upland says have confirmed approximately 3,400 feet of stacked gas bearing pay zones across multiple reservoirs. The next practical step is infrastructure. A 5.3 mile connector pipeline is being advanced to connect Wild Mustang into existing regional networks capable of transporting approximately 400 million cubic feet of gas per day, with first commercial gas sales targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and delivery of the connection.
That timetable makes Wild Mustang relevant, but it should not be overstated. Upland is not presenting itself as the operator of the Wyoming development, and targeted first sales are not the same as revenue already received. Pipeline installation, regulatory approvals, operating performance and commercial arrangements all still matter before the asset can make a measurable contribution to Upland’s investment case. Retail investors should therefore see Wild Mustang as a potentially nearer term cash flow option, not as proof that Upland has already crossed the line from exploration and investment into dependable income.
Even with those cautions, the Wyoming exposure adds an important new dimension. Upland’s core Southeast Asian assets may offer greater strategic upside, but they remain dependent on licences, negotiated participation and future drilling programmes. Wild Mustang creates the possibility that a US gas development begins generating value while the larger regional strategy is still being assembled. That is why the Lost Soldier relationship matters beyond funding and technical support: it gives Upland a second route to progress, and potentially a financial bridge between today’s corporate build out and tomorrow’s Southeast Asian execution.
The US$100 million commitment, powerful support but not cash in Upland’s bank
The most eye catching number in Upland’s recent news flow is the US$100 million funding commitment received from Wild Mustang Midstream, a subsidiary of Lost Soldier. For a company of Upland’s size, the figure immediately changes the scale of the conversation. It suggests that, should the company secure the right licences and commercial terms in Southeast Asia, it may have access to a partner prepared to help finance the expensive exploration, appraisal and development work needed to move those opportunities forward.
The detail, however, matters. This is not US$100 million sitting unrestricted on Upland’s balance sheet, ready to be spent at management’s discretion. The commitment is intended to be deployed between 2026 and 2030 through asset level farm in arrangements, under which Lost Soldier may participate in specific licences by funding agreed work programmes. Those opportunities are being assessed across Sarawak, Brunei and Indonesia, with Upland referring to a targeted portfolio containing more than 5 billion barrels of oil equivalent of gross unrisked prospective and 2C contingent resources, based on internal technical evaluations and third party data.
That distinction is important because it places the funding in its proper context. The commitment does not remove licence risk, subsurface risk or the need to agree acceptable project economics. It does, however, offer a possible answer to a problem that often limits companies at Upland’s stage. A junior upstream company may identify attractive opportunities, but without a credible funding partner it can struggle to carry meaningful work programmes once those opportunities are secured. Upland and Lost Soldier have described a potential multi-year programme of up to ten wells, phased according to approvals, technical results and capital discipline.
The commitment also brings the Vanguard acquisition back into focus. Upland is trying to combine regional access, partner capital and drilling capability within the same model, with an onshore rig envisaged to operate through Upland Borneo Drilling Services if the planned programme proceeds. That is an ambitious step up from being a company waiting for one licence outcome in Sarawak. The opportunity is that Upland could move into execution with both funding and operational capability already aligned. The risk is that the entire model still depends on securing the assets, completing the project level arrangements and proving that the capital can be deployed into commercially worthwhile wells.
New capital and OTCQB visibility broaden the investor base
The Lost Soldier relationship has also changed the way Upland is approaching capital markets. In February, the company completed a £2.0 million fundraise at 3.5p per share, with approximately £1.5 million subscribed by directors, executives, senior management and members of its geological team. That level of internal participation is notable because it came as Upland was preparing to advance new onshore opportunities in Borneo and Northern Sumatra. For shareholders, management investment does not remove the project risks, but it does show that those closest to the strategy were prepared to commit meaningful capital alongside outside investors.
The company then widened its investor reach in March, raising approximately US$1.75 million, equivalent to around £1.3 million, from a small group of US based private investors at 3.10p per share. The new capital is intended to progress Southeast Asian licensing and technical workstreams, support the advancement of existing upstream opportunities and provide general working capital. This second raise matters because it begins to connect Upland’s US strategic partnership with an emerging US shareholder base, rather than leaving the Lost Soldier arrangement as an isolated corporate transaction.
That connection became more visible when Upland began trading on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States on 18th March 2026 under the ticker UPLLF, while retaining its Main Market quotation in London under UPL. The logic is clear enough. Upland now has a US partner, exposure to the Wild Mustang gas development in Wyoming, a US investor fundraising and a US trading venue that makes it easier for North American investors to follow and trade the company. That may help improve market visibility, particularly if Wild Mustang moves towards first commercial gas sales or the Southeast Asian strategy begins to produce signed licences.
Investors should still avoid confusing improved market access with operational delivery. An OTCQB quotation does not secure a licence, drill a well or turn an upstream opportunity into cash flow. Equally, repeated share issuance increases the number of shares across which future value must be spread, with the March fundraising taking Upland’s issued share capital to approximately 1.73 billion shares. The positive interpretation is that Upland has strengthened its access to capital at the same time as its opportunity set has expanded. The more cautious view is that the market will now expect that capital and visibility to translate into something tangible, starting with licences, funded work programmes and progress from the assets that justified the recent expansion.
The annual report shows a stronger platform, but the risks remain substantial
Upland’s latest annual report gives investors a useful point at which to step back from the stream of strategic announcements and look at what the company actually had in place at the end of 2025. Net assets had increased by 78% to £6.67 million, from £3.73 million a year earlier, while net current assets increased by £1.54 million. The group still reported a loss after tax of £1.70 million, compared with £1.41 million in 2024, which is not surprising for a company still building positions and relationships rather than producing revenue. The financial picture is therefore stronger in balance sheet terms, but Upland remains dependent on future delivery to justify the wider strategy.
The accounts also show how much the company changed during the year. Upland recorded the acquisition of Vanguard Drilling’s management systems and intellectual property, the creation of a regional drilling capability under Josh Galloway, and the completion of its strategic investment in Lost Soldier. It also reported an £880,000 investment into a gold tracked fund, valued at £1.09 million by the year end after generating an unrealised gain of approximately £210,000. These are not minor housekeeping items; they show a company attempting to strengthen its operating capability, capital flexibility and partnership network before its principal Southeast Asian opportunities move into execution.
That expansion does, however, bring greater complexity. Upland is still pre-revenue, and the annual report is clear that the business remains exposed to exploration risk, regulatory and licensing decisions, financial risk, partner performance and political uncertainty across the jurisdictions in which it is seeking opportunities. SK334, Indonesia and Brunei may each hold significant potential, but none can create value without the right licence outcomes and commercially workable agreements. Wild Mustang may provide earlier US gas exposure, but its contribution also depends on infrastructure completion, approvals and commercial production.
For retail investors, the annual report therefore acts as both reassurance and warning. Upland appears better equipped, better connected and better funded than it was when the story centred almost entirely on Sarawak. It has added drilling systems, US strategic backing, potential Wyoming gas exposure and fresh capital while continuing to pursue Southeast Asian assets. But the market will not reward architecture forever. The next stage must show that this stronger corporate platform can secure licences, deploy funding into real work programmes and, ultimately, move at least one opportunity from strategic promise towards commercial value.
Investor takeaway, partnership now needs to become execution
Upland Resources is a very different company from the one investors were assessing twelve months ago. The original Sarawak thesis remains important, with SK334 still providing the foundation for its Southeast Asian ambitions, but the company has built a far wider structure around that opportunity. It now has acquired drilling systems and technical personnel through the Vanguard contracts, a strategic US relationship through Lost Soldier, potential exposure to future Wyoming gas sales, a US$100 million project funding framework and a new OTCQB quotation intended to broaden its investor reach.
That wider platform gives the company more ways to create value, but it also raises the standard against which progress should now be judged. Upland is no longer simply asking investors to wait patiently for one licence outcome in Sarawak. It has raised capital, issued shares to strategic partners, expanded its operational capability and positioned itself around opportunities in Indonesia and Brunei as well as Malaysia. The next meaningful step must therefore be delivery: a licence, a completed farm-in agreement, a funded work programme, or evidence that Wild Mustang is moving towards the commercial gas sales targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026.
For investors, the upcoming milestones are reasonably clear. Progress around SK334 remains important, but attention should also turn to whether the Borneo and Northern Sumatra opportunities become firm commercial positions, whether Upland’s drilling services capability begins to support real project work, and whether the Lost Soldier funding commitment can be converted into asset level deployment. The Wyoming exposure is also important, because successful first sales from Wild Mustang could give the market a more immediate financial reference point while the Southeast Asian portfolio continues to mature.
That is why Upland now deserves a fresh look, but not an unquestioning one. The company appears better funded, more operationally capable and more strategically connected than it was when the story relied largely on Sarawak promise. Its share price rise has already recognised part of that change, while the subsequent pullback suggests investors are still waiting for proof. The opportunity is that Upland may be building the foundations of a funded Southeast Asian upstream business with a useful US cash flow option attached. The risk is that foundations only become valuable when something is built upon them. For the next stage of the story, partnerships and potential will need to become licences, wells and revenue.
Disclaimer: The information presented in this article represents the views and analysis of the author and is provided for informational purposes only. It should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult a qualified adviser before making investment decisions. Investing in AIM-listed companies involves risk, and past performance is not indicative of future results.
