SAN DIEGO, Nov. 14, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Royale Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:ROYL) announced the state of Alaska has published the results of Alaska's North Slope Areawide 2012W Lease Sale. Among many encouraging results was the award of Apparent High Bidder on Block 749 to ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) with a bid of $171.93 per acre. This block is immediately adjacent to Royale's Block 613, part of 33,736 acres in the company's Colville River holdings and part of Royale's overall 91,060 acre holdings on state acreage on the North Slope. Royale's overall average cost per acre is $27.21 and the cost of block 613 was $20.10 per acre.
Other highlights include the acquisition of an additional 24,480 acres by Great Bear Petroleum Ventures II LLC along the North Slope haul road, extending the southern boundary of their existing holdings. This move by Great Bear, the operator of two confidential shale test wells, the Alcor #1 and Merak #1 confirms that Royale's acreage sits squarely in the thermal maturity window of oil source rock on the North Slope.
Royale also announced it has just received the Award Notice and on November 6, executed leases and delivered bonus and rental payments on 91,060.59 acres, which constitutes all available acreage awarded to Royale in the North Slope Areawide 2011W Lease Sale. The company expects leases to become effective December 1, 2012 thereby enabling the commencement of a plan of development to be filed with the state.
Forward Looking Statements
In addition to historical information contained herein, this news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those in the "forward-looking" statements. While the company believes its forward looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, there are factors that are difficult to predict and that are influenced by economic and other conditions beyond the company's control. Investors are directed to consider such risks and other uncertainties discussed in documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.