Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc.: Year-End Financial & Operating Results Show Major Growth In Cash Flow and Production Volumes


CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - March 21, 2013) - Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc. (WARSAW:KOV) ("Kulczyk Oil", "KOV" or the "Company"),an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company, is pleased to report that its financial and operating results for the year ended 31 December 2012 show substantial growth when compared to the prior year. All of the Company's production is in Ukraine. All of the dollar amounts below are in US dollars.

Financial

  • Gross revenue from hydrocarbon sales for 2012, net to the 70% effective interest of KOV, increased more than 2.5 times to $69.7 million (2011: $24.7 million);
  • Ukraine assets generated oil and gas revenue, after royalties and net to the Company's 70% interest, of $56.1 million in 2012 up 183% from the $19.8 million received in 2011;
  • "Field cash flow" (net oil and gas revenues after royalties less operating costs), was $67.9 million for the 100% interest and $47.5 million net to KOV's 70% share, an increase of 125% over the $21.1 million in net field cash flow in 2011;
  • "Corporate cash flow", which is KOV's share of field cash flow less KOV's general and administrative costs of $9.5 million, was $38.0 million for 2012, an increase of more than 5.5 times when compared to the comparable figure of $5.8 million for 2011 ;
  • Funds from operations, as reported on the Company's "Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows", were $33.3 million in 2012 compared to $5.6 million in 2011;
  • Q4 2012 represented the eleventh consecutive quarter of increased oil and gas revenue, 6% higher than Q3 2012 and more than 91% higher than Q4 2011;
  • Netback for natural gas after royalty and production expenses increased substantially to $8.04 per thousand cubic feet ("Mcf") in 2012 compared to $6.23 per Mcf in 2011. For condensate, the netback of $61.38 per barrel in 2012 increased significantly when compared to $45.51 per barrel received in 2011.

Operational

  • Natural gas production for 2012, net to the 70% interest of KOV in the Ukraine producing assets, averaged 15.1 million cubic feet per day ("MMcf/d") and was more than double the average production for 2011 of 6.0 MMcf/d;
  • Condensate production for 2012, net to KOV, averaged 139 barrels per day ("bbl/d") as compared to 55 bbl/d for 2011;
  • Combined average of 15.9 million cubic feet per day of gas equivalent ("MMcfe/d"), an increase of 150% year-on-year when compared to the 2011;
  • In 2012, six wells have been tied-in for commercial production, including four wells on the Olgovskoye Licence (O-12, O-6, O-8, O-18) and two wells on the Makeevskoye Licence (M-21; M-20);
  • During 2012, two exploration licences, Olgovskoye and Makeevskoye were converted from 5-year exploration licenses to 20-year production licenses;
  • In Brunei Block L, the completion of a new 3D seismic survey, led to the identification of two drilling targets, with planning and preparation underway for an April 2013 spud of the first well, Lukut Updip-1.

2013 Outlook

KOV intends to drill up to eight new wells in 2013 (six in Ukraine and two in Brunei) and will, recomplete or workover up to six wells and construct pipelines to tie-in wells in Ukraine as needed. Management forecasts that the Company will exit the 2013 year with a production rate higher than the 2012 year-end exit rate as a result of these projects and from bringing on-stream production resulting from the 2012 capital program.

Tim Elliott, President and Chief Executive Officer of KOV stated that:

"2012 was another very good year for Kulczyk Oil Ventures. Our cooperation with KUB-Gas led to consistent activity on our Ukraine assets during the year and resulted in rapid growth in both production and cash flow. Our cash flow growth and year-to-year comparison is, in my opinion, especially impressive and is a credit to the hard work and dedication of everyone at KOV and at KUB-Gas. We look forward to achieving additional milestones in 2013 as we continue with drilling and development activity in Ukraine and drill two exploration wells in Brunei."

KOV filed its year-ended operating and financial results on 21 March 2013 in Canada by filing on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and in Poland by filing on ESPI (www.gpwinfostefa.pl) and has posted them on its website at www.kulczykoil.com.

Cautionary Statement

Production information is commonly reported in units of barrel of oil equivalent ("boe" or "BOE") or in units of natural gas equivalent ("Mcfe"). However, BOEs or Mcfes may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of 6 Mcf:1barrel, or an Mcfe conversion ratio of 1 barrel:6 Mcf, is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.

About Kulczyk Oil

Kulczyk Oil is an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company with a diversified portfolio of projects in Ukraine, Brunei and Syria and with a risk profile ranging from exploration in Brunei and Syria to production and development in Ukraine. The common shares of the Company trade on the Warsaw Stock Exchange under trading symbol "KOV".

In Ukraine, KOV owns an effective 70% interest in KUB-Gas LLC. The assets of KUB-Gas consist of 100% interests in five licences near to the City of Lugansk in the northeast part of Ukraine. Four of the licences are gas producing.

In Brunei, KOV owns a 90% working interest in a production sharing agreement which gives the Company the right to explore for and produce oil and natural gas from Block L, a 1,123 square kilometre area covering onshore and offshore areas in northern Brunei.

In Syria, KOV holds a participating interest of 50% in the Syria Block 9 production sharing contract which provides the right to explore for and, upon the satisfaction of certain conditions, to produce oil and gas from Block 9, a 10,032 square kilometre area in northwest Syria. The Company has an agreement to assign a 5% ownership interest to a third party which is subject to the approval of Syrian authorities, and which, if approved, would leave the Company with a remaining effective interest of 45% in Syria Block 9.KOV declared force majeure, with respect to its operations in Syria, in July 2012.

The main shareholder of the Company is Kulczyk Investments S.A., an international investment house founded by Polish businessman Dr. Jan Kulczyk.

For further information, please refer to the Kulczyk Oil website (www.kulczykoil.com).

Translation: This news release has been translated into Polish from the English original.

Forward-looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements made as of the date of this announcement with respect to future activities of KUB-Gas and related to its five licence areas in Ukraine and to certain wells drilled or seismic activities undertaken within those licence areas or to activities in Brunei that either are not or may not be historical facts. Although the Company believes that its expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, any potential results suggested by such statements involve risk and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Various factors that could impair or prevent the Company from completing the expected activities on its projects include that the Company's projects experience technical and mechanical problems, there are changes in product prices, failure to obtain regulatory approvals, the state of the national or international monetary, oil and gas, financial, political and economic markets in the jurisdictions where the Company operates and other risks not anticipated by the Company or disclosed in the Company's published material. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties and actual results may vary materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statement. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in this announcement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement, unless required by law.

Canada
Suite 1170, 700-4th Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Telephone: +1-403-264-8877
Facsimile: +1-403-264-8861
Dubai
Al Shafar Investment Building, Suite 123, Shaikh Zayed Road,
Box 37174, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Telephone: +971-4-339-5212
Facsimile: +971-4-339-5174
Poland
Nowogrodzka 18/29
00-511 Warsaw, Poland
Telephone: +48 (22) 414 21 00

Contact Information:

Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc. - Canada
Norman W. Holton
Vice Chairman
+1-403-264-8877
nholton@kulczykoil.com

Kulczyk Oil Ventures Inc. - Poland
Jakub J. Korczak
Vice President Investor Relations & Managing Director CEE
+48 22 414 21 00
jkorczak@kulczykoil.com
www.kulczykoil.com