QUÉBEC CITY, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Jan. 6, 2015) - Pétrolia (TSX VENTURE:PEA) is pleased to announce that the drilling phase of the Haldimand 4 well was completed on December 30^th. The drilling was conducted within budget and in accordance with engineering projections. Drilling started on November 25^th and was completed in 35 days, which met the predicted schedule. Haldimand 4 is a horizontal well, which was drilled without hydraulic fracturing, and has a total length of 2630 meters. The drilling of the Haldimand 4 well represents an important step in the exploration work necessary to bring this reservoir on production.

At 400 meters, in order to intercept the maximum of natural fractures, the drilling was gradually deviated in a southeast direction until it reached an angle of 78 degrees from vertical. From there, the 2 kilometers length lateral drain was oriented towards the Haldimand 1 and 2 wells, which have already confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons. Note that the Haldimand 1 well has produced more than 5000 barrels of oil during the production tests.

The top of the reservoir was reached at a depth of 620.5 meters. The reservoir, located in the York River geological formation, was thus entered following a path that optimizes the number of opened natural fractures, which aims to significantly increase the production capacity of the well.

The logs and their interpretation confirm the presence of a large number of natural fractures. The preparatory works for a short term evaluation test are currently underway. With the logs and the evaluation tests in hand, a request for a completion permit from the Ministère de l'Énergie et des Ressources naturelles will be submitted so as to allow Pétrolia to proceed with production tests.

According to Sproule, the best estimate (P50) of the resources initially in place is established at 69.7 million barrels and the contingent portion at 7.7 million barrels. Pétrolia and its partner, Québénergie, respectively own 50% of the Haldimand deposit and 50% of the 13 exploration permits located in the eastern Gaspésie region.

"The success of this exploration phase on Haldimand 4 demonstrates our understanding of the oil system of the York River Formation in Gaspé. With this understanding, our technical team was able to complete this crucial step of oil exploration in Gaspésie, all within budget and on schedule," said Pétrolia President and CEO, Alexandre Gagnon.

About Pétrolia

Pétrolia is a junior oil and gas exploration company which owns interests in oil and gas licenses covering 16,000 km² (4 million acres), which represents almost 23% of the Québec territory under lease. The closing of a partnership on Anticosti Island has led to the creation of Anticosti Hydrocarbons L.P., a limited partnership in which Pétrolia holds a 21.7% interest. In order to carry out the project's operations, Pétrolia Anticosti Inc., a subsidiary of Pétrolia, was designated project operator. Pétrolia is a Quebec company whose objective is to develop oil from here, by the people here, for here. Pétrolia has 77,603,196 shares issued and outstanding.

Forward-looking statements

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