Bankers Petroleum
Awarded Hungarian Exploration Block
CALGARY, November 25, 2015 – Bankers Petroleum Ltd.
(“Bankers” or “the Company”) (TSX: BNK, AIM: BNK) is pleased to
announce a successful bid in the third Hungarian bid round for the
Püspökladány Block (Block “P”) within the Pannonian Basin in north
eastern Hungary. Bankers will
operate the license and fund its share of the work commitment,
totaling €12.3 million of new investment into Hungary over a three and a half year
contractual term.
“We are excited by the opportunity presented by this addition to
our portfolio and exposure to the oil and gas rich Pannonian Basin.
Hungary has a prosperous history
of oil and gas production within this target rich area. Over the
past two years we’ve been screening first for the best acreage, and
then the best partners, to extend Bankers technical expertise into
commercial plays in the region. We are pleased to be working with
the Hungarian authorities and our Hungarian partner, TDE Services,
to leverage our eleven year record of bringing the best of western
technology into regional oil and gas field development in a
socially and environmentally responsible way. We believe we
are particularly well suited to evaluate the potential of this
basin." commented David French,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Bankers Petroleum.
Block
“P”
The Püspökladány Block totals 878 square kilometres
(km2) containing the abandoned Biharnagybajom
(BNB) oilfield and prospects identified on both historical 2D
and 3D seismic. The BNB oilfield, one target particularly well
suited to Bankers’ expertise, has not been worked on within the
past twenty years aside from a portion of a 3D seismic shot over
500 km2 of the block in 2005. Bankers, under a newly
formed joint venture with TDE Services known as PanBridge Hungary
Zrt., committed to acquire 200 km2 of 3D seismic over a
portion of the block and three (3) subsequent vertical exploration
wells to be drilled by 2019 to assess the potential of the oilfield
and surrounding exploration targets.
Financial Commitment
The bid by the joint venture included a €2 million signing bonus
of which Bankers funded its 85% WI share from cash on hand. The
concession agreement capital commitment will see Bankers Petroleum
invest €12.3 million over a three and a half year contractual
period. The program will be financed through available cash
resources.
The joint venture’s plan to acquire 3D seismic as early as the
fall of 2016 will require up to €3.5 – 4 million within the 2016
calendar year, with the remaining financial commitment to be spent
on exploration drilling in 2017 and beyond.
PanBridge Hungary Zrt
PanBridge Hungary Zrt. is a joint venture with Bankers Petroleum
holding an 85% interest and the private Hungarian oil services and
exploration & production company TDE Services holding a 15%
interest. Each party will fund their respective working interest
share of the capital program with Bankers as the operator. TDE
Services brings a wealth of technical and operational experience
working within the Hungarian jurisdiction to the project.
Diversifying the Portfolio
Bankers is pleased to add Block “P” in Hungary to our portfolio alongside our anchor
asset, the Patos-Marinza oilfield in Albania and neighbouring concessions Block “F”
and Kucova. Bankers remains keenly focused on its Albanian assets,
maximizing recovery from the Patos-Marinza oilfield utilizing
western Canadian oil recovery techniques.
Albanian Tax Assessment Update
Bankers continues to carefully monitor the situation regarding
to the Albanian Tax Assessment. The Company expects the
Albanian Government to fully comply with the previously announced
stop order issued by the Tribunal constituted by the International
Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce
(“ICC”). This stop order requires the Albanian tax department to
lift the suspension of the Company’s Albanian bank accounts and to
allow the Company to continue to operate as usual until the
outstanding audit issue can be resolved through the agreed upon
third-party international audit. Bankers has officially
submitted an application with the ICC Tribunal for a longer term
injunction which will be heard by the ICC Tribunal in the coming
weeks.
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Caution Regarding Forward-looking
Information
Information in this news release
respecting matters such as the expected future production levels
from wells, future prices and netback, work plans, anticipated
total oil recovery of the Patos-Marinza and Kuçova oilfields
constitute forward-looking information. Statements containing
forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news
release, the Company's plans, estimates, forecasts, projections,
expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and are
believed to be reasonable based on information currently available
to the Company.
Exploration for oil is a speculative
business that involves a high degree of risk. The Company’s
expectations for its Albanian operations and plans are subject to a
number of risks in addition to those inherent in oil production
operations, including: that Brent oil prices could fall resulting
in reduced returns and a change in the economics of the project;
availability of financing; delays associated with equipment
procurement, equipment failure and the lack of suitably
qualified personnel; the inherent uncertainty in the estimation of
reserves; exports from Albania
being disrupted due to unplanned disruptions; and changes in the
political or economic environment.
Production and netback forecasts are
based on a number of assumptions including that the rate and cost
of well takeovers, well reactivations and well recompletions of the
past will continue and success rates will be similar to those rates
experienced for previous well
recompletions/reactivations/development; that further wells taken
over and recompleted will produce at rates similar to the average
rate of production achieved from wells
recompletions/reactivations/development in the past; continued
availability of the necessary equipment, personnel and financial
resources to sustain the Company's planned work program; continued
political and economic stability in Albania; the existence of reserves as
expected; the continued release by Albpetrol of areas and wells
pursuant to the Plan of Development and Addendum; the absence of
unplanned disruptions; the ability of the Company to successfully
drill new wells and bring production to market; and general risks
inherent in oil and gas operations.
Forward-looking statements and
information are based on assumptions that financing, equipment and
personnel will be available when required and on reasonable terms,
none of which are assured and are subject to a number of other
risks and uncertainties described under “Risk Factors” in the
Company's Annual Information Form and Management's Discussion and
Analysis, which are available on SEDAR under the Company's profile
at
www.sedar.com.
There can be no assurance that
forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual
results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place
undue reliance on forward-looking information and forward looking
statements.
Review by
Qualified Person
This release was reviewed by
Suneel Gupta, Executive Vice
President and Chief Operating Officer of Bankers Petroleum Ltd.,
who is a "qualified person" under the rules and policies of AIM in
his role with the Company and due to his training as a professional
petroleum engineer (member of APEGA) with over 20 years’ experience
in domestic and international oil and gas operations.
About Bankers Petroleum Ltd.
Bankers Petroleum Ltd. is a
Canadian-based oil and gas exploration and production company
focused on developing large oil and gas reserves. In
Albania, Bankers operates and has
the full rights to develop the Patos-Marinza heavy oilfield, has a
100% interest in the Kuçova oilfield, and a 100% interest in
Exploration Block “F”. Bankers’ shares are traded on the
Toronto Stock Exchange and the AIM Market in London, England under the stock symbol
BNK.
For further information, contact:
David
French
President and Chief Executive Officer
(403) 513-6930
Doug
Urch
Executive VP, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
(403) 513-2691
Laura
Bechtel
Investor Relations Analyst
(403) 513-3428
Email: investorrelations@bankerspetroleum.com
Website: http://www.bankerspetroleum.com/
AIM NOMAD:
Canaccord Genuity Limited
Henry Fitzgerald-O’Connor / Wei Loon Yap
+44 0 207 523 8000
AIM BROKER:
FirstEnergy Capital LLP
Hugh Sanderson / David van Erp
+44 0 207 448 0200