Bankers Petroleum bags Hungarian exploration block

CALGARY, Alberta -- Bankers Petroleum has announced a successful bid, in the third Hungarian bid round, for the Püspökladány Block (Block "P"), within the Pannonian basin, in north eastern Hungary.

Bankers will operate the license and fund its share of the work commitment, totaling $13.05 million (EUR12.3 million) of new investment into Hungary over a 3.5-year contractual term.

"Over the past two years we've been screening first for the best acreage, and then the best partners, to extend Bankers technical expertise into commercial plays in the region. We are pleased to be working with the Hungarian authorities and our Hungarian partner, TDE Services, to leverage our eleven year record of bringing the best of western technology into regional oil and gas field development in a socially and environmentally responsible way." David French, president and CEO of Bankers Petroleum, said.

Block P

The Püspökladány Block totals 878 sq km containing the abandoned Biharnagybajom (BNB) oil field and prospects identified on both historical 2D and 3D seismic. The BNB oil field, one target particularly well suited to Bankers' expertise, has not been worked on within the past twenty years aside from a portion of a 3D seismic shot over 500 sq km of the block in 2005.

Bankers, under a newly formed joint venture with TDE Services known as PanBridge Hungary Zrt., committed to acquire 200 sq km of 3D seismic over a portion of the block and three subsequent vertical exploration wells to be drilled by 2019 to assess the potential of the oil field and surrounding exploration targets.

Financial Commitment

The bid by the joint venture included a $2.12 million (EUR2 million) signing bonus of which Bankers funded its 85% WI share from cash on hand. The concession agreement capital commitment will see Bankers Petroleum invest $13.05 million (EUR12.3 million) over a 3.5-year contractual period. The program will be financed through available cash resources.

The joint venture's plan to acquire 3D seismic as early as the fall of 2016 will require up to $3.7 to $4.25 million (EUR3.5 to 4 million) within the 2016 calendar year, with the remaining financial commitment to be spent on exploration drilling in 2017 and beyond.