Pluris Energy Group Inc. provides the following review of its 2007 operations.
Pluris Energy Chairman and CEO, Sacha H. Spindler, begins by stating, “2007 was an extremely busy and productive year with many milestones and accomplishments for the Company and our valued shareholders. 2007 commenced with the Company having successfully initiated its South American business development mandate by securing the successful bid to purchase 100% of the shares of San Enrique Petrolera, SA, which was announced by the Company in late 2006. This significant milestone quickly established Pluris Energy in South America, and our ongoing commitment to complete the San Enrique acquisition has proven and galvanized the Company’s commitment to the region. Furthermore, this first entry success provided the foundation for our continued evolution in Argentina by further realizing the fulfillment of our South American business development mandate during 2007 with the subsequent announcement of the major acquisition agreement with Clear SRL, for the proposed purchase of their Cerro Negro concession. As a continuation of these previous successes, Pluris Energy has secured its third strategic acquisition opportunity under an exclusive Acquisition Agreement.”
New Strategic Acquisition
Pluris Energy is pleased to announce that at the end of December, 2007, the Company entered into an exclusive acquisition agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of a well established Buenos Aires, Argentina based oil development and production company as a wholly owned operating subsidiary to Pluris Energy. The acquisition positions the Company upon closing with production and significant leasehold assets of potentially over 135,000 net acres primarily located in the Neuquén Basin, Rio Negro Province, Argentina. The concessions are adjacent to and on trend with well known oil fields which have produced over 20 million barrels of oil to date.
Mr. Spindler continued stating, “We are extremely pleased to have structured terms of an acquisition agreement to purchase 100% of the shares of yet another Argentine based oil production company. This is a highly instrumental deal for Pluris insofar as positioning the Company and its shareholders with a significant high impact portfolio of assets in the prolific Neuquén Basin. The assets include existing infrastructure proximal to production, extensive 3D and 2D seismic data, field offices and oil treatment facilities capable of handling capacities of several thousands of barrels of oil per day. The acquisition is subject to Pluris Energy performing in depth due diligence over the assets and the company, which will include detailed third party engineering and geophysical evaluation of available 3D and 2D seismic data, all well data, as well as negotiating and executing a mutually acceptable share purchase agreement. We look forward to providing further details of the acquisition to our shareholders immediately after closing.”
Due Diligence Phase of Acquisition Opportunities
Pluris Energy is currently performing extensive due diligence over assets comprised of well over 230,000 net acres of producing oil and gas concessions in the highly prolific Neuquén and Golfo San Jorge Basins, Argentina. All of the assets held within the concessions currently secured by Pluris Energy have extensive geotechnical data available for the Company’s detailed evaluation, including significant 2D and 3D seismic data. Key seismic data is being reprocessed and reinterpreted and is currently being analyzed and incorporated into the interpretation as part of the Company’s due diligence review. In addition, the Company has retained the services of worldwide top-tier engineering firm Gaffney Cline & Associates in Houston, Texas to conduct an independent third party reserves report over the Golfo San Jorge and Neuquén Basin concessions held under exclusive acquisition agreements as described and previously reported.
Pluris Energy President and COO, Mr. S. Sam Sen stated that “Key operational and staff growth drivers of the Company’s results for calendar year 2007 include: positioning the Company and its shareholders with non-competitively bid, focused, negotiated acquisition opportunities with exclusivity, comprising of an Argentine operating company as a wholly owned subsidiary and a substantial and growing property portfolio of potential incoming Argentine producing assets possessing infrastructure, extensive upside development and exploration potential, all situated in prolific basins of historic and recent, high impact success; drillable development opportunities for years to come to increase existing production and to prove up additional reserves on the portfolio positions secured by the Company and the building of a top-notch, on-the-ground team of South American regional industry experts working with the Company as managers, consultants and advisors.”
Increasing Bench of Expertise
2007 saw significant developments in the extension of a broader bench of South American based management, consulting and advisory expertise for the Company. Pluris Energy retained Jose Bereskyj as its Senior Vice President, Exploration and Development. Mr. Bereskyj offers over 31 years of technical and business experience in the international upstream business with specific expertise in all major Argentine geologic basins. Mr. Bereskyj has held senior positions with YPF, Exxon, Occidental and Petrolera San Jorge (since acquired by Chevron) and has been involved in the discoveries and developments of fields at El Trapial, Argentina (410 million barrels oil), and Sierra de Reyes, Loma Negra, la Yesera fields, (over 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent) in the prolific Neuquén basin in Argentina. Additionally, Pluris Energy retained the services of Eduardo Dávila as Senior Advisor to the Board of Directors. Mr. Dávila previously served as National Director of Resources for the Under-secretary of Fuels, Secretary of Energy, Ministry of Economy and Public Works, Argentina where he participated in the preparation of Argentina's upstream environmental rules and new hydrocarbons laws and was an instrumental contributor to the privatization of the oil and gas industry in Argentina. Mr. Dávila is taking an active role in the Company securing new business development opportunities such as those being reported to our shareholders in this update and in previous announcements from the Company.
Mr. Spindler went on to say, “Pluris Energy has been very fortunate to align the interests of highly qualified South American industry participants that possess particular expertise in the Argentine energy sector. We anticipate making future announcements regarding additional developments pursuant to the management and advisory aspects of Pluris Energy’s Argentine operational build-out in preparations to complete our current acquisition opportunities. In that regard, we are working toward comprising a South American Advisory Board and retaining new additions to the management structure of the Company with individuals who possess on-the-ground technical expertise specifically aligned with developing assets in Pluris Energy’s Argentine regions of interest.”
Mr. Spindler concluded by stating, “Management of the Company was vigilant throughout 2007 in maintaining a determined focus on debt reduction and corporate restructuring in anticipation of its contemplated South American business developments coming to fruition in 2008. The Company was able to reduce approximately $700,000 of debt for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 and is now positioned to complete the wind-up of its US based operations, whereby all of Pluris Energy’s management efforts will now be entirely focused towards the Company’s South American business development mandate. In that regard, positioning Pluris with an extensive land portfolio in the Neuquén and Golfo San Jorge Basins is in and of itself, significant growth opportunities fully aligned with the Company’s South American acquisition mandate.”