RIMOUSKI, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - April 10, 2013) - Pétrolia (TSX VENTURE:PEA) is pleased to disclose the results of a resource evaluation carried out by Sproule Associates Limited (Sproule) which estimates more than 1 Tcf (one thousand billion cubic feet) the volume initially-in-place of wet natural gas of four prospects within the Bourque project. This project is located in forested Crown land, where Petrolia drilled two wells in 2012. This independent evaluation, was carried out at Petrolia's request, for the purpose of evaluating the Company's resource volumes according to the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook (COGEH) reserve and resource definitions that are consistent with the standards of National Instrument 51-101.
During drilling and testing operations, wet natural gas and traces of light oil have been recovered. This wet natural gas is rich in liquid petroleum gases (propane and butane), condensate (pentane, hexane, etc.). Log evaluation indicates the presence of a reservoir with vuggy type porosity associated with open fracture networks (30 January 2013 press release). Analyses of the tests show a conventional low permeability carbonate reservoir (tight gas carbonate reservoir). Carbonates of the Forillon Formation, which extend over large areas, and located close to major faults, such as the North West Arm Fault, constitute for Petrolia a promising exploration play in the Gaspé Peninsula.
To carry out its estimation, Sproule conducted an analysis of the petrophysical properties measured in both wells, and reviewed the interpretation of Petrolia's 3D seismic data. Sproule also generated various 3D seismic attribute volumes in order to identify possible zones of hydrothermal alteration "prospective" for porosity development. The territory between wells Bourque 1 and Bourque 2 has not, for the time being, been considered in the resource estimate carried out by Sproule.
Resources of four prospects in the low permeability carbonates of the Forillon Formation have been evaluated. Results for each of these prospects are shown in the following table. The report indicates that the data do not allow an estimation of the liquid hydrocarbon volumes (condensate and light oil) whose commercial value is higher than that of dry gas.
Petrolia is presently in the process of preparing a production test program for these two wells, based on Sproule's recommendations. The objective of these production tests will be to quantify the production characteristics of the Forillon Formation and better delineate the in-place resources and potential recoverable volumes.
| Bourque Project (1,2) | |||||
| Gross Unrisked Undiscovered Gas Initially-In-Place | |||||
| Estimated by Sproule Associates Limited, | |||||
| As of March 31, 2013 | |||||
| Prospect | Formation | Gas (Bcf)(2,3) | |||
| Low (4) | Best(5) | High(6) | Mean(7) | ||
| (P90) | (P50) | (P10) | |||
| Bourque North | Forillon | 125 | 367 | 1099 | 524 |
| Bourque Central | Forillon | 33 | 118 | 433 | 194 |
| Bourque South | Forillon | 63 | 165 | 452 | 221 |
| Bourque 2 Area | Forillon | 26 | 75 | 207 | 102 |
| Total (8) | 1041 | ||||
| 1. | Undiscovered hydrocarbons initially in place (equivalent to undiscovered resources) is the quantity of hydrocarbons estimated, at a given date, to be contained in an accumulation which remains to be discovered. The recoverable portion of hydrocarbons initially in place is described as "prospective resource", the rest as unrecoverable. Only volumes in place are presented here, since no development project aiming at recovering discovered hydrocarbons has been defined. There is no certainty that any portion of the undiscovered resources, irrespective of risk, will be discovered, and that, if discovered, there is no certainty that they will be developed, and that if developed, there is no certainty as to the moment or not such development will take place, and whether this development will be commercially viable for any portion of these resources. |
| 2. | The estimate of the volume of undiscovered unrisked hydrocarbons is a raw estimate (100% of the whole project), no adjustment has been made to take into account the shares of interests over the territory covered by the estimate and before deduction of any royalty. Pétrolia holds an interest of 99% and the portion pertaining to it must be reduced accordingly. |
| 3. | Bcf means billions cubic feet. |
| 4. | The Low Estimate is considered to be a conservative estimate of the quantity that will actually be in-place. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities in-place will exceed the low estimate. If probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a 90 percent probability (P90) that the quantities actually in-place will equal or exceed the low estimate. |
| 5. | Best Estimate is considered to be the best estimate of the quantity that will actually be in-place. It is equally likely that the actual remaining quantities in-place will be greater or less than the best estimate. If probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a 50 percent probability (P50) that the quantities actually in-place will equal or exceed the best estimate. |
| 6. | High Estimate is considered to be an optimistic estimate of the quantity that will actually be in-place. It is unlikely that the actual remaining quantities in-place will exceed the high estimate. If probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a 10 percent probability (P10) that the quantities actually in-place will equal or exceed the high estimate. |
| 7. | Statistical aggregation is the process of probabilistically aggregating distributions that represent estimates of resource quantities at the reservoir, prospect, or portfolio level. Arithmetic summation and statistical aggregation of the means yield similar results. Arithmetic summation of the Low Estimate, Best Estimate and High Estimate are not statistically appropriate. Both the statistical and arithmetic summation of the unrisked prospects may be misleading because it assumes success for each of the prospect entities. The chance of this occurring is extremely unlikely. Actual recovery is likely to be less and may be zero. |
| 8. | Volumes may not balance due to rounding |
About Pétrolia
Pétrolia is a junior oil and gas exploration company which owns interests in oil and gas licenses covering 14,000 km² (3.5 million acres), which represents about 17% of the Québec territory under lease. The leases, the majority of which are located on the Gaspé Peninsula and Anticosti Island, are considered to be very promising and represent almost 70% of the territory under lease for which there is land-based oil potential in Québec. Pétrolia has 68 002 800 shares issued and outstanding.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements made herein may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or the future economic performance of Pétrolia and carry known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may appreciably affect their results, economic performance or accomplishments when considered in light of the content or implications o statements made by Pétrolia. Actual events or results could be significantly different. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Pétrolia does not intend and undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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Contact Information:
VP, Business Development
Quebec City: (418) 657-1966
info@petroliagaz.com
Andre Proulx
President
(418) 724-0112
president@petroliagaz.com
www.petroliagaz.com