CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With a wide range of preparatory activities now in motion, Pennine Petroleum Corporation (TSX-Venture: PNN) (“Pennine” or the “Corporation”) now anticipates a spudding date of early third quarter 2018 for its earning well No. 1 in Albania’s Velca Block.

Pennine expects to determine the exact drilling location in the Vela Block, located in south-central Albania, within six weeks, following a complete integration of geophysical and geological data, says the Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer N. Desmond Smith.

“We are making steady progress on a number of fronts in Albania,” says Mr. Smith. “Our geophysical team has retrieved all of the available data, and is reprocessing it to select an ideal drilling location. At the same time, our Albpetrol partners selected a location based on data collected in 2000, and we are using the most modern analysis techniques to examine that data and pinpoint a location.”

Detailed map showcasing Pennine’s Velca Block

In late November 2017, following final approval from Albania’s newly formed Council of Ministers, Pennine finalized a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the Velca Block as part of a joint venture with Albpetrol Sh.A, Albania’s national oil company.

As previously reported, Pennine’s newly appointed Vice President Operations Albania, Carey Chilliak, has also been busy identifying potential suppliers and contractors in advance of drilling.

“Carey has really hit the ground running,” says Mr. Smith. “He’s currently interviewing well drilling contractors, and also currently reviewing and shortlisting service contractors for the Velca Block. Carey’s thorough and diligent research is essential for us to adhere to the timeline we’re establishing.”

Pennine’s Ramica structure target—which has a best-case scenario of 26.5 million barrels of recoverable hydrocarbons, according to an NI 51-101-compliant independent prospective resource estimate—offsets the Amonica Field along Albania’s northwest-to-southeast “String of Pearls” fault lines.

The Amonica Field, one of those “pearls” located just north of the Ramica structure, lies within the 306-square-kilometer Velca Block concession, although it is the only zone excluded from the Velca Block PSA. Discovered in 1980 and developed in 1994, with 67 wells to date, the Amonica Field has produced more than 4 million barrels of medium-gravity crude oil, and is currently producing 120 barrels per day.

For more Pennine news, including the Corporation’s Albanian activities, visit PNN’s Paydirt blog channel (https://penninepetroleum.ca/paydirt-blog/).

About Pennine Petroleum Corporation: Pennine Petroleum Corporation (TSX-V: PNN), headquartered in Calgary, Canada, is an emerging oil and gas exploration and development company (www.penninepetroleum.ca) focused on extraction and production in eastern and southeastern Europe—including the Republic of Albania, where PNN has successfully negotiated the rights to the Velca Block.

For further information, contact:

Pennine Petroleum Corporation
N. Desmond Smith
T: 403.277.4421
F: 403.277.4439
E: des.smith@penninecorp.com

Dean Stuart
T: 403.617.7609
E: dean@boardmarker.net

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