LOS ANGELES, April 16, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Sonoran Energy, Inc. (OTCBB:SNRN) announced today that it has completed its 50 percent acquisition of the National Development Company -- Merzonian Lease with operating partner Longbow LLC acquiring the remaining 50%. The acquisition of the lease (Section 22, T22S R27E MDB&M), located in the Deer Creek Oil Field 42 miles north of Bakersfield, California, is a straight production acquisition. The lease consists of six producing wells and one injection well producing approximately 25 barrels of oil per day. This new lease is an offset property to the 93-acre Deer Creek Field Keystone leases acquired in December 2002.
"The new Deer Creek property is a sample of our proactive acquisition program,"said John Punzo, Sonoran Energy President and CEO. "This, along with Sonoran's purchase of the Mt. Poso Field property, Emjayco's Glide #33 property, the Keystone Lease, our San Antonio project and the Malton-Black Butte, Denverton Creek and Maine Prairie Gas Fields, has enabled the Company to focus on generating a solid revenue stream from the Sonoran family of projects."
The Deer Creek Field is located in an area predominantly explored and operated by small independent oil and gas companies, and lies in the western dipping homocline along the western flank of the Sierra Nevada. Production on the Merzonian Lease is long lived and on a relatively flat incline curve.
Crude oil sales from the Merzonian Lease over the past six months have averaged 763 barrels of oil per month, for a daily average of 25.2 barrels of oil per day. Based on a price of $20 per barrel, the undiscounted Net Present Value of the property is estimated at $613,000. Payout for the acquisition is approximately three years.
About Sonoran Energy
Sonoran Energy's primary objective is to identify, acquire and develop working interest percentages in smaller, underdeveloped oil and gas projects that do not meet the minimum requirements of major oil and gas corporations. Sonoran Energy's goal is to be recognized as a promising junior oil and gas producer. Through its partnership with Longbow LLC the Company intends to make acquisitions that will, over a 12 to 24 month period, allow the company to become a producer of 1000 to 1500 BOE per day (barrel oil equivalent) and 2500 to 5000 Mcf of gas.
About Longbow LLC
The principals of Longbow, LLC collectively have over eighty-five years of diversified oil and gas experience with both majors and independent companies including Chevron, Mobil, Arco Oil & Gas and the U.S. Department of Energy in the largest oil and gas producing basins in North America. Formed in November 2001, Longbow is Archer Exploration, Inc.'s operating partner as they pursue oil and gas acquisition, exploration, and exploitation opportunities in the Western United States.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected on the basis of such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based upon management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.