HOUSTON, Nov. 19, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Unicorp, Inc. (Pink Sheets:UCPI) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Affiliated Holdings, Inc., has completed the acquisition of a 7,000 acre tract located in Hardin County, Kentucky from P5 Petroleum, Inc. of Houston. Unicorp's recent funding of $580,000 will allow drilling to begin within 30 days. Production results from the initial well are expected by late December 2004.
The Cecilia Prospect, located in Hardin County, Kentucky, is 7,000 acres along the New Albany Shale trend. Under the terms of the agreement with P5 Petroleum, Unicorp is initially committed to drilling a minimum of 4 wells. Subject to the success of the initial four wells, Unicorp has the option to participate in an additional 26 wells with Unicorp paying 100% of the well costs through the 30 well program. After payout of all drilling, completion, field facilities and lease bonus costs, P5 Petroleum will retain a 25% working interest and Unicorp will retain a 75% working interest in the field. Based upon 40 acre spacing, Unicorp could drill approximately 175 wells on the Cecilia Prospect. Upon the successful completion of the initial 30 well program, all subsequent operations will be owned 75% by Unicorp and 25% by P5 Petroleum. The agreement also gives Unicorp the option to participate in adjacent leases which hold an additional 16,000 acres.
A recent study showed that 4,000 wells drilled in the New Albany Shale trend has had an 80-90% success rate per well with very attractive potential reserve numbers. Based upon typical reserve estimates from the study, this prospect represents a potential of up to 61 billion cubic feet (BCF) of natural gas.
Carl A. Chase, Vice President and CFO of Unicorp, stated, "This represents a fantastic opportunity for us. There is extremely low risk in the New Albany Shale and current natural gas prices make the economics of this project well within our risk levels. Production from the initial four well program should hit the market sometime in February 2005."
Greg Pollard, President of P5 Petroleum, Inc., stated, "It is our great pleasure to have signed this agreement with Unicorp to begin drilling the gas wells on the Cecilia Prospect in the New Albany Shale." He continued, "We are very excited about this partnership with Unicorp and we are looking forward to a successful and prosperous drilling and production operation with them. Additionally, we are looking forward to becoming a responsible member of the local Elizabethtown community, as well as, the State of Kentucky as a whole."
About Unicorp, Inc.
Unicorp, Inc is primarily engaged in the acquisition, development, exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. Its focus is on acquiring working and non-working interests in crude oil and natural gas properties. For further information: www.unicorpinc.net.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains statements that may constitute forward-looking statements, including the company's ability to successfully acquire oil and gas properties. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and involve a number of uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently expected. For additional information about Unicorp's future business and financial results, refer to Unicorp's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB/A for the year ended December 31, 2003, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-QSB for the quarters ended March 31, 2004 and June 30, 2004. Unicorp undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the company, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.