Source: Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.

Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.: Announcement of Results for the Fourth Quarter and the Year Ended December 31, 2015 and Update on West Ells Progress

HONG KONG, CHINA and CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - March 29, 2016) - Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. (the "Corporation" or "Sunshine") (HKSE:2012) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2015. The Corporation's consolidated financial statements, notes to the consolidated financial statements, Management's Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form have been filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and with The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Hong Kong Stock Exchange") (www.hkexnews.hk) and are available on the Corporation's website (www.sunshineoilsands.com). The Annual Information Form includes the Corporation's reserves and resource data as at an effective date of December 31, 2015 as evaluated by GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd. and DeGolyer and MacNaughton Canada Limited and was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 51-101 Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities. All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

MESSAGE TO SHAREHOLDERS

For the year ended December 31, 2015, the Corporation achieved progress in the following areas:

  • Completed West Ells Phase I construction activities on site;
  • Substantially commissioned systems for the West Ells central processing plant and well pad;
  • Completed all down hole equipment, installation and surface tie ins for eight West Ells well pairs;
  • Successful start-up and operation of West Ells surface facilities in the central processing plant and well pad;
  • Achieved first steam injection in two well pairs on September 22, 2015; achieved first oil production on December 7, 2015; and
  • Demonstrated expected reservoir response to injection and production operations.

The Company currently expects to continue operation of the plant at a loss during the current challenging oil price environment to prove the reservoir performance.

Sunshine's Capital Raising Activities

  • On August 20, 2015, the Corporation completed a partial closing of a private placement offering of Class "A" common shares, (under the specific mandate), for a total of 111,214,210 Class "A" common shares at a price of HK$0.75 per share (approximately CDN$0.13 per share) for total gross proceeds of HK$83.4 million or approximately CDN$14.1 million.
  • On September 30, 2015, the Corporation closed a private placement offering of Class "A" common shares, (under the general mandate), for a total of 100,000,000 class "A" common shares at a price of HK$0.50 per share (approximately CDN$0.08 per share) for total gross proceeds of HK$50 million or approximately CDN$8.6 million.
  • On November 23, 2015, the Corporation closed a private placement offering of Class "A" common shares, (under the general mandate), for a total of 36,912,000 class "A" common shares at a price of HK$0.63 per share (approximately CDN$0.11 per share) for total gross proceeds of HK$23.3 million or approximately CDN$4.0 million.
  • On November 30, 2015, the Corporation closed a private placement offering of Class "A" common shares, (under the general mandate), for a total of 78,125,000 class "A" common shares at a price of HK$0.64 per share (approximately CDN$0.11 per share) for total gross proceeds of HK$50 million or approximately CDN$8.6 million.

Summary of Financial Figures

For the fourth quarter of 2015, the Corporation had a net loss of $325.8 million, primarily attributable to asset impairments, compared to $12.3 million for the same period in 2014, representing a net loss per share for each respective year of $0.08 and $0.00. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the Corporation had a net loss of $406.1 million compared to $26.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2014, representing a net loss per share for each respective year of $0.10 and $0.01.

As at December 31, the Corporation notes the following selected balance sheet figures:

2015
($000s)
2014
($000s)
Cash 6,545 136,097
Current restricted cash and cash equivalents 14,389 23,467
Prepaid expenses and deposits 8,119 5,843
Non-current restricted cash and cash equivalents - 11,601
Exploration and evaluation assets 290,945 379,403
Property, plant and equipment 650,930 701,736
Total liabilities 369,083 288,044
Shareholders' equity 604,098 972,016

Reserves and Resources

On March 29, 2016, the Corporation announced the results of its reserves and resources evaluations, effective as at December 31, 2015. For a full discussion of the Corporation's reserves and resources data and other oil and gas information, see the "Statement of Reserves Data and Other Oil and Gas information" in the Corporation's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015, a copy of which is available on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's website at www.hkexnews.hk, on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com and on the Corporation's website at www.sunshineoilsands.com.

2016 Outlook

As at the date of this announcement, construction of the West Ells facilities is complete with first oil having been achieved in December 2015. As at the date of this release, all West Ells Phase I well pairs are either on steam injection or on production. The Company is fully committed to advancing its corporate initiatives and expects to operate the plant at a loss during the current challenging oil price environment to prove the reservoir performance.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank our Board of Directors, our staff and our stakeholders for their continuing support for advancing our corporate initiatives during a challenging commodity price cycle. We intend to ensure that Phase 1 West Ells facilities operate efficiently and achieve nameplate capacity. At the same time, we are continuing with efforts to secure capital to support existing operations and to fund our expansion plans in West Ells and other clastic project areas.

Hong Luo Dr. Qi Jiang
CEO President & COO

ABOUT SUNSHINE OILSANDS LTD.

The Corporation is a Calgary based public corporation, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since March 1, 2012. The Corporation was also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange from November 16, 2012 to September 30, 2015, when it chose to voluntarily delist. The Corporation is focused on the development of its significant holdings of oil sands leases in the Athabasca oil sands region. The Corporation owns interests in oil sands and petroleum and natural gas leases in the Athabasca region of Alberta. The Corporation is currently focused on executing milestone undertakings in the West Ells project area. West Ells has an initial production target rate of 5,000 barrels per day.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This announcement contains forward-looking information relating to, among other things, (a) the future financial performance and objectives of Sunshine; and (b) the plans and expectations of the Corporation. Such forward-looking information is subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors. All statements other than statements and information of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The use of words such as "estimate", "forecast", "expect", "project", "plan", "target", "vision", "goal", "outlook", "may", "will", "should", "believe", "intend", "anticipate", "potential", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on Sunshine's experience, current beliefs, assumptions, information and perception of historical trends available to Sunshine, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, those associated with resource definition and expected reserves and contingent and prospective resources estimates, unanticipated costs and expenses, regulatory approval, fluctuating oil and gas prices, expected future production, the ability to access sufficient capital to finance future development and credit risks, changes in Alberta's regulatory framework, including changes to regulatory approval process and land-use designations, royalty, tax, environmental, greenhouse gas, carbon and other laws or regulations and the impact thereof and the costs associated with compliance. Although Sunshine believes that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions and factors discussed in this announcement are not exhaustive and readers are not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as the Corporation's actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Sunshine disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, subsequent to the date of this announcement, except as required under applicable securities legislation. The forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement and are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing lists are not exhaustive and are made as at the date hereof. For a full discussion of the Corporation's material risk factors, see the Corporation's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2015 (the "AIF") and risk factors described in other documents we file from time to time with securities regulatory authorities, all of which are available on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at www.hkexnews.hk, on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com or the Corporation's website at www.sunshineoilsands.com.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement.

As at the date of this announcement, the Board consists of Mr. Kwok Ping Sun, Mr. Hong Luo and Dr. Qi Jiang as executive directors; Mr. Michael John Hibberd, Mr. Hok Ming Tseung, Mr. Chen Jianzhong and Mr. Jin Hu as non-executive directors; and Mr. Raymond Shengti Fong, Mr. Robert John Herdman, Mr. Gerald Franklin Stevenson and Mr. Zhefei Song as independent non-executive directors.

Contact Information:

Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.
Mr. Hong Luo
Chief Executive Officer
Tel: (1) (403) 930-5677

Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.
Mr. Qi Jiang
President and Chief Operating Officer
Tel: (1) (587) 390-0606
Email: investorrelations@sunshineoilsands.com
Website: www.sunshineoilsands.com