TAG Oil Ltd. (“TAG Oil” or the “Company”, TSXV: TAO and OTCQX: TAOIF) is pleased to announce the results of its independent resources evaluation of the Abu Roash “F” unconventional formation (“ARF”) in the Badr Oil Field (“BED-1”), Western Desert, Egypt, dated November 21, 2022 (the “BED-1 Report”), prepared by RPS Energy Canada Ltd. (“RPS”) and its previously announced independent reserves report associated with its royalty interests within Petroleum Mining Permit (“PMP”) 38156 (Cheal A/B), PMP 60291 (Cheal E) and PMP 53803 (Sidewinder) (collectively the “Permits”), onshore New Zealand, dated November 7, 2022 (the “Royalty Report”), prepared by ERC Equipoise Ltd. (“ERCE”).
A) BED-1 REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
- RPS estimates the ARF oil-initially-in-place (“OIIP”) P50 Volumes to be 531.5 million barrels over the BED-1 concession area and Mean Volumes to be 536.6 million barrels. The discovered OIIP in the ARF is imaged by 3D seismic coverage, significant well control with over 30 penetrations, petrophysical analysis of available log and core data and production tests from the ARF.
- TAG Oil’s current Field Development Plan (“FDP”), consisting of drilling 20 horizontal wells to be completed with multi-stage fracture stimulation, is focused on the east central part of the BED-1 concession area and contains OIIP P50 Volumes of 178.3 million barrels and Mean Volumes of 179.0 million barrels.
- FDP Capital investment discounted at 10% is US$104 million for the 2C Development Pending Contingent Resources in the ARF.
- FDP Operating investment discounted at 10% is US$160 million for the 2C Development Pending Contingent Resources in the ARF.
- RPS best estimate for Contingent Resources volumes (2C Development Pending) is 27.0 million barrels gross with 16.5 million barrels net to the Company.
- RPS estimate for Contingent Resources (2C Development Pending) net present value discounted at 10% and assumed RPS Price Forecast of April 1, 2022, per barrel is US$339 million (risked at 80% chance of development) and US$423 million (un-risked).
- Contingent Resources are those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations using established technology or technology under development, but which are not currently considered to be commercially recoverable due to one or more contingencies. Contingent Resources, by definition, are not classified as reserves due to several conditions including but not limited to the uncertainties of future oil prices and performance of the initial pilot wells in the first phase of the field development of the project which must be resolved to ensure commerciality. There is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the resources. The Development Pending sub-set for contingent resources have reasonable potential for eventual commercial development.
B) ROYALTY REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
- ERCE estimates the 1P Proven Reserves Volumes to be 14 thousand barrels and 2P Proven plus Probable Reserves Volumes over the Permits to be 53 thousand barrels net to the Company.
- Net present value discounted at 10% is CDN$1.47 million for Proved Reserves and CDN$4.96 million for Proven plus Probable Reserves.
Abby Badwi, Executive Chairman of TAG Oil commented “We are pleased that the RPS report supports TAG’s technical assessment of the unconventional development of the ARF and our team’s plans for such large-scale development by utilizing North American proven drilling and completion technologies for the first time in Egypt. To validate these assessments, the first pilot well, a re-entry of an existing well, is scheduled for next month and will be followed by the first horizontal well with multi-stage fracture stimulation completion to be drilled in the first quarter of 2023. In New Zealand the value of the royalty interest is attributable to the Company continuing to receive a gross overriding royalty equal to 2.5% of the gross sales revenue. In the 2022 calendar year, the Company received CDN$947,477 in royalty payments.”
Further details are also available on the Company’s website at www.tagoil.com.
About TAG Oil Ltd.
TAG Oil (http://www.tagoil.com/) is a Canadian based international oil and gas exploration company with a focus on opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa.
For further information:
Toby Pierce, Chief Executive Officer
Phone: 1 604 609 3355
Chris Beltgens, Vice President, Corporate Development
Phone: 1 604 682 6496
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.tagoil.com/
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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. All estimates and statements that describe the Company’s operations 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 that the actual results realized in the future will be the same in whole or in part as those presented herein. TAG undertakes no obligation, except as otherwise required by law, to update these forward-looking statements if management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors change.
Reserves are estimated remaining quantities of oil and natural gas and related substances anticipated to be recoverable from known accumulations, as of a given date, based on analysis of drilling, geological, geophysical and engineering data, the use of established technology, and specified economic conditions, which are generally accepted as being reasonable, and shall be disclosed.
Reserves are classified according to the degree of certainty associated with the estimates. Proved reserves are those reserves that can be estimated with a high degree of certainty to be recoverable. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the estimated proved reserves. Probable reserves are those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than proved reserves. It is equally likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the sum of the estimated proved plus probable reserves. Possible reserves are those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than probable reserves. It is unlikely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the sum of the estimated proved plus probable plus possible reserves.
The qualitative certainty levels referred to in the definitions above are applicable to “individual reserves entities”, which refers to the lowest level at which reserves calculations are performed, and to “reported reserves”, which refers to the highest level sum of individual entity estimates for which reserves estimates are presented. Reported reserves should target the following levels of certainty under a specific set of economic conditions:
- at least a 90 percent probability that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the estimated proved reserves;
- at least a 50 percent probability that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the sum of the estimated proved plus probable reserves; and
- at least a 10 percent probability that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the sum of the estimated proved plus probable plus possible reserves.
The reserve estimates contained herein are estimates only and there is no guarantee that the estimated reserves or resources will be recovered. The estimates of reserves for individual properties may not reflect the same confidence level as estimates of reserves for all properties, due to the effects of aggregation.
Where discussed herein “NPV 10%” represents the net present value (net of capital expenditures) of net income discounted at 10%, with net income reflecting the indicated oil prices and initial production rate, less internal estimates of operating costs and royalties. It should not be assumed that the future net revenues estimated by TAG Oil’s independent resource evaluators represent the fair market value of the resources.
Contingent resources are those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations using established technology or technology under development, but which are not currently considered to be commercially recoverable due to one or more contingencies. Contingent resources, by definition, are not classified as reserves due to several conditions including but not limited to the uncertainties of future oil prices and performance of the initial pilot wells in the first phase of the field development of the project which must be resolved to ensure commerciality. There is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the resources. The Development Pending sub-set for contingent resources have reasonable potential for eventual commercial development, to the extent that further data acquisition and/or evaluations are currently ongoing with a view to confirming that the project is commercially viable and providing the basis for selection of an appropriate development plan. The critical contingencies have been identified and are reasonably expected to be resolved within a reasonable time frame.
Exploration for hydrocarbons is a speculative venture necessarily involving substantial risk. The Company’s future success in exploiting and increasing its current resource base will depend on its ability to develop its current properties and on its ability to discover and acquire properties or prospects that are capable of commercial production. However, there is no assurance that the Company’s future exploration and development efforts will result in the discovery or development of additional commercial accumulations of oil and natural gas. In addition, even if further hydrocarbons are discovered, the costs of extracting and delivering the hydrocarbons to market and variations in the market price may render uneconomic any discovered deposit. Geological conditions are variable and unpredictable. Even if production is commenced from a well, the quantity of hydrocarbons produced inevitably will decline over time, and production may be adversely affected or may have to be terminated altogether if the Company encounters unforeseen geological conditions. The Company is subject to uncertainties related to the proximity of any resources that it may discover to pipelines and processing facilities. It expects that its operational costs will increase proportionally to the remoteness of, and any restrictions on access to, the properties on which any such resources may be found. Adverse climatic conditions at such properties may also hinder the Company’s ability to carry on exploration or production activities continuously throughout any given year.
The significant positive factors that are relevant to the resource estimates are: proven production in close proximity; proven commercial quality reservoirs in close proximity; oil and gas shows while drilling wells; and calculated hydrocarbon pay intervals from open hole logs. The significant negative factors that are relevant to the resource estimates are: tectonically complex geology could compromise seal potential; and seismic attribute mapping can be indicative but not certain in identifying proven resource.