/EINPresswire.com/ -- CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/04/16 -- Pan Orient Energy Corp. ("Pan Orient") (TSX VENTURE: POE), on behalf of Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd. ("POS") announced the results of its December 31, 2015 independent reserves evaluation for Thailand on-shore Concession L53/48 where POS is the operator and has a 100% working interest.

Pan Orient has a 50.01% equity interest in POS. Pan Orient completed the sale of a 49.99% equity interest in POS on February 2, 2015 and the transaction resulted in POS changing from a wholly owned subsidiary of Pan Orient to a jointly controlled investment classified as a Joint Venture under International Financial Reporting Standards and accounted for using the equity method effective February 2, 2015. Pan Orient's 50.01% equity interest in the assets, liabilities, working capital, operations and capital expenditures of POS from February 2, 2015 forward are recorded in Investment in Thailand Joint Venture.

The evaluation for the Thailand assets as at December 31, 2015 was conducted by Sproule International Limited of Calgary ("Sproule") and was prepared in accordance with Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities.

Please note that all amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated and BOPD refers to barrels of oil per day. Reserves volumes reported below are "Company Gross Reserves", a classification of reserves used in the evaluation which represents production and reserves before deduction of royalties.

Summary of Thailand Reserves at December 31, 2015 for Concession L53/48

--  Thailand reserves and values at December 31, 2015 of POS (representing
    the 100% working interest of POS in Concession L53/48):
    --  Proved crude oil reserves of 506,000 barrels at December 31, 2015
        from conventional sandstone reservoirs, compared with proved oil
        reserves of 435,000 barrels at December 31, 2014, a 16.3% increase
        mainly as a result of reserve additions at L53-B and production
        performance at L53-G. An oil discovery at L53-B in 2011 was
        originally shut-in after the expiry of the 90 day production test
        period and a production license application over L53-B is expected
        to be approved in the first half of 2016.
    --  Proved plus probable crude oil reserves of 1,197,000 barrels at
        December 31, 2015 from conventional sandstone reservoirs, compared
        with proved plus probable oil reserves of 1,166,000 barrels at
        December 31, 2014. The three percent increase in 2015 reflects the
        following changes during 2015:
        --  2015 oil sales of 221,501 barrels (607 BOPD), with 130,985
            barrels (359 BOPD) from the L53G field, 50,806 barrels (139
            BOPD) from the L53D field and 39,710 barrels (109 BOPD) from the
            L53A field.
        --  An increase of 252,501 barrels resulting from 201,600 barrels of
            discoveries, 63,201 barrels from positive technical revisions
            less a reduction of 12,300 barrels from economic factors. These
            reserve additions are primarily at the L53-B and L53-G fields.
    --  Net present value (after tax) of Thailand proved plus probable crude
        oil reserves at December 31, 2015, using forecast prices and costs
        discounted at 10% per year, of Cdn$26 million. The change in net
        present value (after tax) of Thailand proved plus probable crude oil
        reserves from $33.1 million at December 31, 2014 results primarily
        from the decrease of $15.88 per barrel on average in the forecast
        oil sale price over the life of the fields.
--  Net to Pan Orient's 50.01% equity interest in POS:
    --  Pan Orient does not have any direct interest in, or control over,
        the crude oil reserves or operations of on-shore Concession L53/48.
        The values at December 31, 2015 identified as "Net to Pan Orient's
        50.01% Equity Interest in Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd." represent
        50.01% of POS reserves and values.
    --  Net to Pan Orient's 50.01% equity interest in POS, proved plus
        probable crude oil reserves of 598,500 barrels at December 31, 2015
        from conventional sandstone reservoirs.
    --  Net to Pan Orient's 50.01% equity interest in POS, net present value
        (after tax) of Thailand proved plus probable crude oil reserves at
        December 31, 2015, using forecast prices and costs discounted at 10%
        per year, of Cdn$13.0 million, or $0.24 per Pan Orient share based
        on the current 54.9 million Pan Orient shares outstanding.


Summary of Thailand Crude Oil Reserves on as of December 31, 2015, as
 provided by Sproule
Net to Pan Orient's 50.01% Interest in Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marketable Reserves - Company Gross         Light and
 (thousands of barrels)                    Medium Oil    Heavy Oil     Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proved                                            218           36       253
Probable                                          280           66       346
                                       -------------------------------------
Total Proved plus Probable                        497          102       599
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary of Thailand Net Present Values as of December 31, 2015, as provided
 by Sproule (After Income Tax)
Net to Pan Orient's 50.01% Interest in Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Present Value - After Tax (Cdn$
 million)                         Undiscounted        5%       10%       15%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proved                                       4         4         4         4
Probable                                    12        11        10         9
                                 -------------------------------------------
Total Proved plus Probable                  16        14        13        12
                                 -------------------------------------------
Per Pan Orient share (Note)             $ 0.29    $ 0.26    $ 0.24    $ 0.22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Per share values were calculated based on 54,885,407 Pan Orient shares
 currently outstanding

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary of Thailand Crude Oil Reserves as of December 31, 2015, as provided
 by Sproule
Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd. (with a 100% working interest in Concession
 L53/48)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marketable Reserves - Company Gross      Light and
 (thousands of barrels)                 Medium Oil     Heavy Oil       Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proved                                         435            71         506
Probable                                       559           132         691
                                    ----------------------------------------
Total Proved plus Probable                     994           203       1,197
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary of Thailand Crude Oil Proved plus Probable Reserves as of December
 31, 2015, by Major Field as provided by Sproule - Company Gross (thousands
 of barrels)
Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd. (with a 100% working interest in Concession
 L53/48)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Proved plus
Concession   Major Field            Proved        Probable          Probable
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
L53/48       L53A Field                120             217               337
             L53B Field                 68             106               174
             L53D Field                159             196               355
             L53G Field                160             171               331
                          --------------------------------------------------
                                       506             691             1,197
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reconciliation of Changes in Thailand Crude Oil Reserves as of December 31,
 2015, as provided by Sproule - Company Gross (Light and Medium Oil and
 Heavy Oil)
Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd. (with a 100% working interest in Concession
 L53/48)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Proved plus
(thousands of barrels)                 Proved       Probable        Probable
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 31, 2014                         435            731           1,166
Extensions                                  -              -               -
Improved Recovery                           -              -               -
Technical Revision                        222          (159)              63
Discoveries                                91            111             202
Acquisitions                                -              -               -
Dispositions                                -              -               -
Economic Factors                         (21)              8            (12)
Production                              (222)              -           (222)
                              ----------------------------------------------
December 31, 2015                         506            691           1,197
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary of Thailand Net Present Values as of December 31, 2015, as provided
 by Sproule (After Income Tax) Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd. (with a 100%
 working interest in Concession L53/48)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Present Value - After Tax
 (Cdn$ million)                Undiscounted         5%        10%        15%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proved                                    8          8          7          7
Probable                                 23         21         19         17
                            ------------------------------------------------
Total Proved plus Probable               31         28         26         24
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thailand Concession L53/48 Reserves Evaluation as of December 31, 2015, as
 provided by Sproule
Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd. (with a 100% working interest in Concession
 L53/48)
Notes:
  1)  Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd. is the operator and 100% working
      interest owner of Concession L53/48. Effective February 2, 2015 Pan
      Orient holds a 50.01% equity interest in Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd.

      Thailand reserves and values at December 31, 2015 shown as "100%
      working interest of Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd." represent a 100%
      working interest in Concession L53/48).
  2)  Reserves volumes reported above are "Company Gross Reserves", a
      classification of reserves used in the evaluation which represents
      production and reserves before deduction of royalties.
  3)  The tables shown have assessed reserves at forecast crude oil
      reference prices & costs.
  4)  The US$ reference price for crude oil per barrel (US$ UK Brent per
      barrel) is $45.00 for 2016, $60.00 for 2017, $70.00 for 2018, $80.00
      for 2019, $81.20 for 2020 and prices increase at 1.5% per year
      thereafter.
  5)  Oil revenue for these reserves is based on 87.4% of the forecast crude
      oil Brent reference price.
  6)  Tables show assessed reserves with a foreign exchange rate of
      CDN$1=US$0.75 for 2016, CDN$1=US$0.80 for 2017, CDN$1=US$0.83 for
      2018, and CDN$1=US$0.85 thereafter.
  7)  The capital cost inflation rate starting in 2017 is 1.5% per year. The
      operating expense inflation rate starting in 2018 is 1.5% per year.
  8)  Estimated future undiscounted development costs, in nominal dollars,
      at December 31, 2015 were Cdn$9.4 million for proved reserves and
      Cdn$14.2 million for proved plus probable reserves.
  9)  Net present values after income tax are after deduction of the SRB
      (Special Remuneratory Benefit tax) and income tax in Thailand. SRB tax
      rate is forecast to be zero percent per year based on the forecast oil
      rates and prices.
  10) Well abandonment and reclamation costs of Cdn$3.2 million for the
      proved plus probable case were included in this report and include
      abandonment and reclamation costs for all existing and future wells.
      No allowances for reclamation or salvage values were made.
  11) The net present values disclosed may not represent fair market value.
  12) Totals may not add exactly due to rounding.

Pan Orient is a Calgary, Alberta-based oil and gas exploration and production company with operations currently located onshore Thailand, Indonesia and in Western Canada.

This news release contains forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is generally identifiable by the terminology used, such as "expect", "believe", "estimate", "should", "anticipate" and "potential" or other similar wording. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, references to: estimates of reserves and the net present value of those reserves, anticipated future production performance, estimates of future crude oil reference prices and the percentage of those prices received by Pan Orient, and estimates of development costs, foreign exchange rates, inflation rates, taxes and well abandonment and disconnect costs. By their very nature, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release require Pan Orient and its management to make assumptions that may not materialize or that may not be accurate. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results, expectations, achievements or performance to differ materially, including without limitation: imprecision of reserve estimates and estimates of recoverable quantities of oil, changes in project schedules, operating and reservoir performance, the effects of weather and climate change, the results of exploration and development drilling and related activities, demand for oil and gas, commercial negotiations, other technical and economic factors or revisions and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Pan Orient. Although Pan Orient believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:
Pan Orient Energy Corp.
Jeff Chisholm
President and CEO (located in Bangkok, Thailand)
jeff@panorient.ca

Pan Orient Energy Corp.
Bill Ostlund
Vice President Finance and CFO
(403) 294-1770

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