RIMOUSKI, QUEBEC — (Marketwired) — 04/24/13 — Petrolia (TSX VENTURE: PEA) announced that earlier today it has filed a motion for declaratory judgment with the Quebec Superior Court. Petrolia wants a bylaw adopted by the Town of Gaspe on December 19, 2012, to be declared invalid. The town did not inform Petrolia, until January 9, of the bylaw–s adoption or provide a copy.
Upon learning of the bylaw–s adoption, Petrolia halted the work it had begun under the drilling permit issued by Quebec–s Natural Resources Ministry. This costly decision was to give the political authorities a chance to come up with a solution to the dispute. Despite the united effort of the government and Petrolia towards the Town of Gaspe, no sign of a solution has been found to satisfy the municipal authorities. To date, Petrolia has received no indication that a solution with the Town of Gaspe will be possible in a reasonable time frame. What–s more, using the Act respecting Access to documents, Petrolia has received confirmation from the Town of Gaspe that the bylaw is not based on any hydrogeological study or professional opinion.
In order to avoid having the issue come to a head and the ramifications this can entail, Petrolia recently proposed that the Town of Gaspe and Petrolia jointly submit the dispute to the court as provided under Article 448 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The Town of Gaspe rejected this approach.
Given the nature of the case, it is imperative that the matter be brought before the Court in a timely fashion. Therefore in order to protect its rights and those of its shareholders, Petrolia felt compelled to call upon the court to resolve the dispute.
Petrolia–s management will have no additional comment on the matter until the Court has handed down its judgment.
About Petrolia
Petrolia 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 Quebec territory under lease. The leases, the majority of which are located on the Gaspe 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 Quebec. Petrolia has 68 002 800 shares issued and outstanding.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Isabelle Proulx
VP, Business Development
Quebec City: (418) 657-1966
Andre Proulx
President
(418) 724-0112