TAG Oil Reports Ngapaeruru-1 Exploration Well Progress in New
Zealand's East Coast Basin
VANCOUVER, May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - TAG Oil Ltd. (TSX:
TAO) and (OTCQX:
TAOIF), is pleased to report that drilling of TAG's
100%-controlled
Ngapaeruru-1 exploration well is drilling ahead, and has
encountered
elevated mud gas readings at a depth of 800 to 977 meters. The
significance of the elevated gas readings will not be known
until
wireline logs have been run and evaluated.
The Ngapaeruru-1 well has reached intermediate casing point at
977
meters with operations continuing according to the drill plan.
The
planned total depth of the Ngapaeruru-1 well is approximately
1800
meters and is targeting the naturally fractured Waipawa Black Shale
and
Whangai source-rocks.
"We've passed a couple of critical drilling challenges successfully
in
the Ngapaeruru-1 well now, including cementing intermediate
casing
across the troublesome Weber and Wanstead Formations. TAG can now
drill
confidently ahead into the Waipawa and Whangai source rock
targets."
Drew Cadenhead, TAG's C.O.O.
commented. "We've had to increase the mud
weights considerably as we drill deeper, and we continue to see
rising
mudlog gas readings, including the oil-indicative C3-C5 factions,
which
is encouraging. The "oil kitchen" in these source rocks is
definitely
working below us - it promises to be interesting drilling over the
next
couple of weeks."
The Ngapaeruru-1 well was spudded on April
22, 2013 and is located in
TAG's 100% controlled Petroleum Exploration Permit 38349, located
in
the East Coast Basin of New
Zealand.
For further information on the Ngapaeruru-1 exploration well and
TAG
Oil's unconventional prospects please visit:
http://www.tagoil.com/20130422-TAG-Oil-First-Oil-And-Gas-Exploration-Well-East-Coast-Basin.asp
TAG Oil Ltd.
TAG Oil Ltd. (http://www.tagoil.com/) is a Canadian-based
production and exploration company with operations
focused exclusively in New
Zealand. With 100% ownership over all its
core assets, including extensive oil and gas production
infrastructure,
TAG is enjoying substantial oil and gas production and reserve
growth
through development of several light oil and gas discoveries. TAG
is
also actively drilling high-impact exploration prospects
identified
across more than 2,984,171 net acres of land in New Zealand.
In the East Coast Basin, TAG will explore and potentially develop
the
major unconventional resource potential believed to exist in the
tight
oil source-rock formations that are widespread over the
Company's
acreage. These oil-rich and naturally fractured formations have
many
similarities to North America's
Bakken source-rock formation in the
successful Williston Basin.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical
facts
are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and
uncertainty affecting the business of TAG. Such statements can
be
generally, but not always, identified by words such as
"expects",
"plans", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "forecasts",
"schedules", "prepares", "potential" and similar expressions, or
that
events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should"
occur.
All estimates and statements that describe the Company's
objectives,
mudlog gas readings, oil indicators, drilling, goals and or
future
plans with respect to the drilling in the East Coast Basin
forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and
necessarily involve risks and uncertainties including, without
limitation: risks associated with oil and gas exploration,
development,
exploitation and production, geological risks, marketing and
transportation, the risk associated with estimating
undiscovered
original initially-in-place, availability of adequate funding,
volatility of commodity prices, environmental risks, competition
from
others, and changes in the regulatory and taxation environment.
Actual
results may vary materially from the information provided in
this
release, and there is no representation by TAG Oil that the
actual
results realized in the future will be the same in whole or in part
as
those presented herein.
Other factors that could cause actual results to differ from
those
contained in the forward-looking statements are also set forth
in
filings that TAG and its independent evaluator have made,
including
TAG's most recently filed reports in Canada under National Instrument
51-101, which can be found under TAG's SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com.
TAG undertakes no obligation, except as otherwise required by law,
to
update these forward-looking statements in the event that
management's
beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors change.
SOURCE TAG Oil Ltd.