Vancouver, B.C. – May 24, 2017 – TAG Oil Ltd. (the “Company” or “TAG Oil”) (TSX: TAO and OTCQX: TAOIF) is pleased to announce the successful drilling and flow testing of the Cheal-E8 exploration well, which will now be tied-in to TAG Oil’s existing infrastructure as a permanent producer.
The Cheal-E8 well was drilled on TAG Oil’s 70% working interest and operated Cheal East permit (PEP 54877) in the Taranaki Basin of New Zealand. The well was drilled and completed on time and on budget to a total measured depth of over 2,000 meters. The primary objective of Cheal-E8 was to test the potential of the Urenui formation, with the deeper Mt. Messenger formation as the secondary objective. Net pay of approximately 17 meters of Urenui sands and 4 meters of Mt. Messenger sands was recorded.
Following the completion of the Urenui zone, Cheal-E8 naturally free flowed oil and gas on choke at an average rate of 318 boe/d over a four and a half day test. No water production was observed during the test.
The Mt. Messenger formation is also estimated to be commercial, and will be completed in the future.
The Company’s next well will be Cheal-D1, which will also be drilled on the Cheal East permit. This is scheduled to spud in July 2017. Construction of the Cheal-D well pad is currently underway and is proceeding on schedule. The Cheal-D well pad is located near, and will be used to explore, the northern portion of the Cheal E permit.
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Toby Pierce, TAG Oil’s CEO commented, “I am very pleased with the results of the first exploration well at Cheal that TAG Oil has drilled in almost three years. Over that time, TAG Oil has focused on reducing its commitments and stabilizing production from its existing fields while we managed through the period of lower oil prices. With the recent $15 million raise completed in Q1 this year and stabilization of oil prices, we are now looking forward to growing aggressively through the drill bit with at least five exploration wells planned over the next 12 months.”
About TAG Oil Ltd.
TAG Oil Ltd. (https://tagoil.com/) is a development-stage international oil and gas producer with established high netback production, development and exploration assets, including production infrastructure in New Zealand and Australia. TAG Oil is poised for significant reserve and production growth with several oil and gas fields under development and high-impact exploration in proven oil and gas fairways. TAG Oil is debt-free and currently has 85,282,252 shares outstanding.
For further information:
Chris Beltgens, Vice President, Corporate Development
Phone: 1-604-682-6496
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://tagoil.com/
Blog: www.tagoil.com/media-center/tag-oil-blog/
BOEs:
TAG Oil has adopted the standard of six thousand cubic feet of gas to equal one barrel of oil when converting natural gas to “BOEs.” BOEs may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of 6 Mcf: 1 Bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainty affecting the business of TAG Oil. Such statements can generally, but not always, be identified by words such as “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “schedules”, “prepares”, “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. All estimates and statements that describe the Company’s plans relating to operations, including the Cheal E permit, are forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary materially from the information provided in this release, and there is no representation by TAG Oil that the actual results realized in the future will be the same in whole or in part as those presented herein.
Other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements are also set forth in filings that TAG Oil and its independent evaluator have made, including TAG Oil’s most recently filed reports in Canada under National Instrument 51-101, which can be found under TAG Oil’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. TAG Oil undertakes no obligation, except as otherwise required by law, to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors change.