CALGARY, ALBERTA — (Marketwire) — 12/04/12 — Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc. (WARSAW: KOV) (“Kulczyk Oil”, “KOV” or the “Company”), an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company, is pleased to announce that the North Makeevskoye-2 (“NM-2”) exploration well has commenced drilling. The NM-2 well is operated by KUB-Gas LLC (“KUB-Gas”), a partially-owned subsidiary in which KOV has a 70% effective ownership interest.
North Makeevskoye Exploration Well
The NM-2 exploration well will be drilled as a directional well with a planned measured depth (“MD”) of 3,187 metres and a planned true vertical depth (“TVD”) of 2,636 metres. The well is expected to take approximately 45 days to reach its planned MD. The NM-2 well, which will target multiple sandstone reservoirs of Moscovian, Bashkirian and Serpukhovian age, will be drilled with the KUB-Gas owned K-200 drilling rig. NM-2 is located in the southern part of the North Makeevskoye Exploration License, only 4 kilometres north of the Makeevskoye gas production facility.
Internal estimates of the Prospective Resources which may be contained in the prospect being drilled by NM-2, effective as at 29 November 2012, were prepared by KOV management who are qualified reserves evaluators in accordance with the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluators (“COGE”) Handbook. The estimates range between a High Estimate of 137.48 billion cubic feet (“Bcf”) and a Low Estimate of 14.44 Bcf, with a Best Estimate of 44.25 Bcf. These estimated Prospective Resource volumes are un-risked and are for the 70% effective interest of KOV in the NM-2 prospect.
North Makeevskoye Licence
The North Makeevskoye Exploration Licence is located immediately northeast of KUB-Gas– Makeevskoye and Olgovskoye licences, approximately 130 kilometres to the northwest of the City of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine. The Company believes the licence to be geologically similar to the productive areas which lie along the primary South-Eastern Dnieper-Donets Basin gas/condensate structural trend – such as the adjacent KUB-Gas Makeevskoye and Olgovskoye Licences.
In the first quarter of 2012, 225 km2 of 3D seismic data was acquired over the majority of the North Makeevskoye Exploration Licence. Interpretation of the new 3D seismic data in combination with the 71 kilometres of 2D seismic acquired during the second quarter of 2011 and 275 kilometres of pre-existing 2D seismic data has contributed to the overall geological understanding of the North Makeevskoye Exploration Licence and resulted in five additional structural prospects being identified. The NM-2 well, which will evaluate the potential of the first of the prospect defined by 3D seismic, is located 13 kilometres to the southeast of the North Makeevskoye-1 (“NM-1”) well which was drilled during the second quarter of 2012 on legacy 2D seismic data and cased to TD as a candidate for future fracking.
The North Makeevskoye Exploration Licence has a five year term effective from 29 December 2010.
Cautionary Statement
There is no certainty that any portion of the Prospective Resources will be discovered. If discovered, there is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the Prospective Resources.
Defined Terms
“Prospective Resources” are those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development projects. Prospective Resources have both an associated chance of discovery and a chance of development. Prospective Resources are further subdivided in accordance with the level of certainty associated with recoverable estimates assuming their discovery and development and may be sub-classified based on project maturity.
“Low Estimate” is considered to be a conservative estimate of the quantity that will actually be recovered. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the low estimate. If probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a 90 percent probability (P90) that the quantities recovered will equal or exceed the low estimate.
“Best Estimate” is considered to be the best estimate of the quantity that will actually be recovered. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the best estimate. If probabilistic methods are used, there should be a 50 percent probability (P50) that the quantities recovered will equal or exceed the best estimate.
“High Estimate” is considered to be an optimistic estimate of the quantity that will actually be recovered. It is unlikely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the high estimate. If probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a 10 percent probability (P10) that the quantities recovered will equal or exceed the high estimate.
About Kulczyk Oil
Kulczyk Oil is an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company with a diversified portfolio of projects in Ukraine, Brunei and Syria and with a risk profile ranging from exploration in Brunei and Syria to production and development in Ukraine. The common shares of the Company trade on the Warsaw Stock Exchange under trading symbol “KOV”.
In Ukraine, KOV owns an effective 70% interest in KUB-Gas LLC. The assets of KUB-Gas consist of 100% interests in five licences near to the City of Lugansk in the northeast part of Ukraine. Four of the licences are gas producing.
In Brunei, KOV owns a 90% working interest in a production sharing agreement which gives the Company the right to explore for and produce oil and natural gas from Block L, a 1,123 square kilometre area covering onshore and offshore areas in northern Brunei.
In Syria, KOV holds a participating interest of 50% in the Syria Block 9 production sharing contract which provides the right to explore for and, upon the satisfaction of certain conditions, to produce oil and gas from Block 9, a 10,032 square kilometre area in northwest Syria. The Company has an agreement to assign a 5% ownership interest to a third party which is subject to the approval of Syrian authorities, and which, if approved, would leave the Company with a remaining effective interest of 45% in Syria Block 9. KOV declared force majeure, with respect to its operations in Syria, in July 2012.
The main shareholder of the Company is Kulczyk Investments S.A., an international investment house founded by Polish businessman Dr. Jan Kulczyk.
For further information, please refer to the Kulczyk Oil website ().
Translation: This news release has been translated into Polish from the English original.
Forward-looking Statements: This release may contain forward-looking statements made as of the date of this announcement with respect to future activities of KUB-Gas and related to its five licence areas in Ukraine and to certain wells drilled or seismic activities undertaken within those licence areas that either are not or may not be historical facts. Although the Company believes that its expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, any potential results suggested by such statements involve risk and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Various factors that could impair or prevent the Company from completing the expected activities on its projects include that the Company–s projects experience technical and mechanical problems, there are changes in product prices, failure to obtain regulatory approvals, the state of the national or international monetary, oil and gas, financial, political and economic markets in the jurisdictions where the Company operates and other risks not anticipated by the Company or disclosed in the Company–s published material. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties and actual results may vary materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statement. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in this announcement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement, unless required by law.
Contacts:
Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc. – Canada
Norman W. Holton
Vice Chairman
+1-403-264-8877
Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc. – Poland
Jakub J. Korczak
Vice President Investor Relations & Managing Director CEE
+48 22 414 21 00