Bankers Petroleum closes transaction to acquire 50% interest in Albanian oilfield

CALGARY, Feb. 11 – Bankers Petroleum Ltd. Announced Monday that it had successfully closed its previously announced acquisition of a 50 percent interest in the Kucova oilfield through the acquisition of 50 percent of the issued and outstanding securities of an independent private company (“Privatco”).
Canadian-based Bankers Petroleum Ltd completed a 40 million euro deal for the private placement of stock to finance oil exploration and asset purchase in Albania.
Privatco holds the exclusive right to evaluate and redevelop the Kucova heavy oilfield located in Albania pursuant to a Petroleum Agreement with Albpetrol Sh.A. of Albania, the state-owned petroleum company, and a License Agreement with the National Agency of National Resources. The consideration paid included cash and warrants. Application has been made for admission of the shares underlying the warrants to the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Bankers will undertake an evaluation of the oilfield to further define its remaining reserves and production potential. The terms of the transaction include an option to acquire the remaining 50 percent interest for an aggregate 100 percent; the Company has until June 30, 2008 to exercise this option.
Once finalized, the company will have issued an aggregate of 66,666,666 shares, at a price of 0.61 Euro per share.
The company has made application for the shares issued under the private placement to be traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Bankers Petroleum Ltd. is an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on opportunities in unconventional petroleum assets.
The company operates and has the full rights to develop the Patos-Marinza heavy oilfield in Albania, which is a 2 billion barrel resource.
Bankers Petroleum Ltd. is a Canadian-based oil and gas exploration and production company focused on opportunities in unconventional petroleum assets. Bankers operates and has the full rights to develop the Patos-Marinza heavy oilfield in Albania, which is a 2.0 billion barrel resource. It also holds interests in four areas in the Northern and Central regions of the United States, where it is currently pursuing the exploration, development and production of shale and tight sand gas plays. Bankers shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the AIM Market in London, England under the ticker symbol BNK.
The Kucova oilfield is located approximately 30 kilometers northeast of the Patos Marinza field. The field was discovered in 1928 and has had over 1,700 wells drilled, resulting in cumulative production of 23.2 million barrels by the end of 2006.
Estimates put the field’s capacity in excess of 490 million barrels of original-oil-in-place.
Bankers holds a 25-year license under existing agreements with state-controlled Albpetrol Sh.A and the National Petroleum Agency of Albania, and an option to renew for additional five-year terms.
Since June 2004, the company has invested approximately US$70 million in the development of Patos-Marinza.