CALGARY, Alberta, Dec. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GRANITE OIL CORP. (“Granite” or the “Company”) (TSX:GXO)(OTCQX:GXOCF) is pleased to provide preliminary 2020 plans and announce the fall review of the Company’s borrowing base redetermination of its credit facility has been completed.

Granite is planning a capital program in 2020 that continues to prioritize significant debt repayment while growing production and adding producing reserves at highly efficient and economic metrics. Following a successful recompletion test in August 2019, in which the Company added new frack stages in a legacy producing well, the Company is confident this tool provides a means with which to accelerate these plans in 2020 while maintaining significant capital flexibility. Granite will enter 2020 with five shut-in wells (approximately 250 bbls/d of oil production capability) that have been actively re-pressurized by the Company’s EOR program since Q2 2019. These wells will form the basis of its recompletion program planned for the year, which will commence mid-January 2020 with its second recompletion. The Company has 11 additional wells identified as potential future recompletion candidates.

The semi-annual borrowing base redetermination of Granite’s credit facilities has been completed. ‎The Company’s lenders have mutually agreed to a renewed borrowing base of $47.5 million with a current authorized amount of $42.5 million, which will serve to reduce associated interest and standby costs. With year-end 2019 net debt expected to be approximately $39.5 million, and with continued quarter-over-quarter debt reduction, the Company’s credit facilities are more than enough to execute, or expand, its planned capital program in 2020.

With a solid, lower-decline production base, a promising recompletion program focused on re-pressurized wells with significant production potential, and a large, proven drilling inventory, Granite will enter 2020 with strong optionality with which to navigate continued volatility in the energy environment. The Company expects to firm-up its 2020 budget shortly after the second recompletion test in January.

Contact Information

For further information, please contact Michael Kabanuk, President & CEO, by telephone at (587) 349-9123, or Devon Griffiths, COO, by telephone at (587) 349-9120.

Reader Advisories

Forward-Looking Statements.  Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-‎looking statements or information (collectively, “forward-looking statements” or “statements”). These ‎statements relate to future events or Granite’s future performance. All statements other than statements of ‎historical fact may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, ‎identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", ‎‎"will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and ‎similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that ‎may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking ‎statements.  In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements, pertaining to the following: ‎forecasted capital expenditures and plans; recompletion, drilling and development plans; Granite’s financial strength including the amount of its year end net debt; ‎anticipated production rates; projections of market prices and costs; supply and demand for oil and natural ‎gas; the quantity of reserves; the success of the enhanced oil recovery scheme and the recompletion program; expectations regarding Granite’s credit facility; treatment under governmental ‎regulatory and taxation regimes; and expectations regarding Granite’s ability to raise capital and to continually ‎add to reserves through acquisitions and development. ‎

Granite believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and the assumptions upon ‎which such forward-looking statements are based, to be reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these ‎expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release ‎should not be unduly relied upon by investors. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release ‎and are expressly qualified, in their entirety, by this cautionary statement. Granite’s actual results could differ ‎materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of risk factors that may ‎include, but are not limited to: volatility in the market prices for oil and natural gas; general economic ‎conditions; stock market volatility and the ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; ‎uncertainties associated with estimating reserves; uncertainties associated with Granite’s ability to obtain ‎additional financing on satisfactory terms; geological, technical, drilling, recompletion and processing problems; liabilities ‎and risks, including environmental liabilities and risks, inherent in oil and natural gas operations; incorrect ‎assessments of the value of acquisitions; competition for, among other things, capital, acquisitions of ‎reserves, undeveloped lands and skilled personnel. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is ‎not exhaustive. Management has included the above summary of assumptions and risks related to forward-‎looking information provided in this news release in order to provide security holders with a more complete ‎perspective on Granite’s future operations and such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.  ‎Additional information on these and other factors that could affect Granite's operations and financial results ‎are included in reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through ‎the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com).‎

With respect to forward-looking statements contained in this news release, Granite has made assumptions ‎regarding, among other things: prevailing commodity prices, exchange rates, interest rates, applicable royalty ‎rates and tax laws; the legislative and regulatory environments of the jurisdictions where Granite carries on ‎business or has operations; future production rates and estimates of operating costs; performance of existing ‎and future wells; reserve and resource volumes; anticipated timing and results of capital expenditures; the ‎success obtained in recompleting existing wells; the sufficiency of budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out planned ‎activities; the timing, location and extent of future drilling operations; the state of the economy and the ‎exploration and production business; results of operations; performance; business prospects and ‎opportunities; the availability and cost of financing, labour and services; the impact of increasing competition; ‎ability to market oil and natural gas successfully and Granite’s ability to obtain additional financing on ‎satisfactory terms. ‎

The forward-looking statements represent Granite’s views as of the date of this document and such ‎information should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any date subsequent to the date of this ‎document. Granite has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance ‎or achievements to vary from those current expectations or estimates expressed or implied by the forward-‎looking information. However, there may be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements ‎not to be as expected or estimated and that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ ‎materially from current expectations. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove ‎to be accurate, as results and future events could differ materially from those expected or estimated in such ‎statements.  Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as ‎required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking ‎statements.‎

Net debt, which represent current assets less current liabilities, excluding current derivative financial ‎instruments, is used to assess efficiency, liquidity and the Company's general financial strength. No IFRS ‎measure is reasonably comparable to working capital deficit.‎