CALGARY, ALBERTA — (Marketwire) — 02/15/13 — Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc. (WARSAW: KOV) (“Kulczyk Oil”, “KOV” or the “Company”), an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company, announces that the North Makeevskoye-2 (“NM-2”) exploration well, which commenced drilling in early December, has been abandoned after being drilled to a depth of 3,150 metres after wireline logs and other information obtained during the drilling operation did not indicate any prospective zones. 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 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 has evaluated the potential of the first of the prospects 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. Additional drilling on the North Makeevskoye licence is expected to occur later in 2013.
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