NEWS
RELEASE
January 8, 2008
Pearl
2007 Production Exit Rate of 12,100 Boe/d and provides 2008 operating guidance
CALGARY, ALBERTA - Pearl Exploration and
Production Ltd.
("Pearl" or the "Company") (TSX Venture: PXX and First
North: PXXS) is pleased to report that it has achieved an exit
production rate of over 12,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day during the
last week of December 2007. This achievement represents an increase
of 55% over the year end exit rate of 2006 and is the result of a focused and
committed strategy to create one of North America’s
premier heavy oil companies, taking advantage of a much overlooked opportunity
in the oil and gas industry. The Company will continue to aggressively grow and
upgrade its heavy oil resources, carving out a unique, innovative and highly
attractive position for itself in the oil and gas sector.
The Company is also pleased to
announce that it has received board approval for a 2008 capital budget of $61
million. The Company’s intention is to focus a significant portion
of this budget on resource conversion activities, including the continued work
on the steam pilots in San Miguel, Texas, Onion Lake, Saskatchewan and the Blackrod
project in the Athabasca region of Alberta. The Company will also be
initiating studies to examine options for upgrading and/or refining
technologies on its core properties to increase per barrel netback
economics. In addition, in order to dedicate more capital and
intellectual resources to core properties, the Company has determined that it
will investigate the rationalization of certain non-core assets situated in Saskatchewan and Southern Alberta.
Upon completion of the rationalization efforts, the Company will provide
production guidance for 2008.
Pearl President and CEO Keith
Hill commented “We are very committed to our principal
strategy of building shareholder value through the acquisition of large scale
heavy oil resources and converting them into reserves. We continue to
believe that heavy oil will occupy a much greater position in the world energy
market and plan to position ourselves to take advantage of this
eventuality. Therefore in the near term we intend to focus the majority
of our efforts on our core properties in both Canada
and the United States
with less emphasis on continued production growth and a greater emphasis on
advancing steam pilot projects designed to convert our captured large scale
resources into proven and probable reserves. We will also pursue various
options designed to increase per barrel profitability including various types
of unconventional upgrading and low tech refining applications.”
Pearl Exploration and Production Ltd. is a
public company focused on delivering disciplined growth by establishing a North
American portfolio of heavy oil projects with an emphasis on large resource
opportunities. Additional information on Pearl is available on the Company’s
website at www.pearleandp.com.
For further information, please
contact:
Keith Hill - President and
Chief Executive Officer
Tel.:
(604) 689-7842
E-mail: khill@namdo.com
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Randy Neely – Chief
Financial Officer
Tel: (403) 716-4054
E-mail: randy.neely@pxx.ca
|
Sophia Shane – Corporate
Development
Tel:
(604) 806-3575
E-mail:
sophias@namdo.com
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All references in this release
to boe's are based on a 6 to 1 conversion ratio. Boe's may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation.
A boe conversion 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.
Pearl’s Certified
Advisor on First North is E.
�hman J:or Fondkommission AB.
Forward-looking statements: This
document contains statements about expected or anticipated future events and
financial results that are forward-looking in nature and as a result, are
subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market
and business conditions, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues,
new legislation, competitive and general economic factors and conditions, the
uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, the
occurrence of unexpected events, and the Company’s capability to execute
and implement its future plans. Actual results may differ materially from
those projected by management. For such statements, we claim the safe harbour for forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Legislation Reform Act of 1995.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.