Petrolia/Haldimand 4 : The Presence of Oil is Confirmed

Pétrolia is pleased to announce the results of its short-term evaluation test on the Haldimand 4 well. A total of 120.4 m3 (757 barrels) of drilling fluids mixed with light crude oil was recovered during the test. This oil is comparable to that recovered from the Haldimand 1 well in the same reservoir. Based on our estimates, the well produced approximately 54 cubic meters of oil (340 barrels) during this test. The next stage will be to undertake the production test.

This well, which was drilled without hydraulic fracturing, was started on November 25th and was completed on December 30th, 2014. Pétrolia then proceeded with short-term evaluation tests, the objective of which was to recover a maximum of drilling mud to clean up the well and, thus, get an overview of the oil production capacity of the fractured reservoir of the York River Formation. A pressure gauge was installed at the completion of the swabbing operation. This gauge will be removed in a few weeks and its data analysed. The analysis of buildup and production data will then help plan the next phases, including the installation of an extraction pump to complete the well cleanup and start the production test.

Before the well was opened, a pressure of 214 pounds per square inch (1475 kilopascals) was detected at the surface and the well began producing under natural flow. 8,6 m3 (54 barrels) of gasified mud was recovered by natural flow over a period of 16 hours and 45 minutes with a 3/4 inch diameter duse. In order to accelerate the cleaning of the well, swabbing operations were conducted. These operations were performed during daytime only over a period of 13 days.

The density of the fluid recovered decreased from 1130 kg/m3 to about 880 kg/m3 between the start and the completion of these operations. The gradual decrease of mud density is due to the mixture of light crude oil from Haldimand with heavy synthetic oil-based mud. An estimate based on the density variations of the fluid collected daily indicates that the well has produced approximately 54 m3 (340 barrels) of Haldimand light crude oil. No presence of formation water was observed during the test.

Fluid samples have been sent to an accredited laboratory to quantify the oil/mud ratio. Results should help to estimate more accurately the quantity of oil produced. We can however confirm that the formation has produced the 120,4 m3 of fluids.

"We are very pleased to announce a significant oil discovery at Haldimand #4. During the short-term evaluation test, we have been able to demonstrate the presence of oil in the reservoir. Based on these results, we are currently planning the next steps to undertake the production test for this well. We are planning to install a production pump within the next few weeks to perform the test process. We hope that this test will give us a more accurate estimate of the production capability of this well and thus validate the commercial potential of the Haldimand pool. If the results of the production test are positive, we will proceed with the next steps to begin commercial production" - said Pétrolia President and CEO, Mr Alexandre Gagnon.