SINGAPORE, April 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Valeura Energy Inc. (TSX:VLE, OTCQX:VLERF) ("Valeura" or the "Company") has agreed to charter the Shelf Drilling Enterprise jack-up drilling rig for a three-year term that runs to 31 December 2029. Valeura has an option on the start date, and currently plans to commence drilling operations with the rig in Q4 2026, initially focused on delivering production acceleration projects.
Dr. Sean Guest, President and CEO commented:
"Three consecutive years of an approximately 200% reserves replacement ratio has materially transformed our asset base. With 57.8 mmbbls of proved plus probable reserves as of 31 December 2025, we see more opportunity and a larger inventory of drilling targets within our core Gulf of Thailand portfolio.
At the same time, we see a favourable pricing environment within the rig market, so we are moving decisively to capitalise on the opportunity before us by locking in the Enterprise rig for a term of three years.
Our business remains robust, even at the relatively low commodity prices we saw in late 2025. With that position now coupled with a robust balance sheet, we intend to pursue further development, appraisal, and exploration drilling across our portfolio with a programme of continual drilling through the end of 2029."
The Enterprise is a premium jack-up drilling rig owned by Shelf Drilling (Southeast Asia) Limited, a subsidiary of ADES Holding Company, which is suitable for drilling operations anywhere in the offshore Gulf of Thailand.
For further information, please contact:
| Valeura Energy Inc. (General Corporate Enquiries) Sean Guest, President and CEO Yacine Ben-Meriem, CFO Contact@valeuraenergy.com | +65 6373 6940 |
| Valeura Energy Inc. (Investor and Media Enquiries) Robin James Martin, SVP, Communications and Investor Relations IR@valeuraenergy.com | +1 403 975 6752 |
Contact details for the Company's advisors, covering research analysts and joint brokers, including Auctus Advisors LLP, Beacon Securities Limited, Canaccord Genuity Ltd (UK), Cormark Securities Inc., Research Capital Corporation, Roth Canada Inc., and Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited, are listed on the Company's website at www.valeuraenergy.com/investor-information/analysts/.
About the Company
Valeura Energy Inc. is a Canadian public company engaged in the exploration, development and production of petroleum and natural gas in Thailand and Türkiye. The Company is executing a growth-oriented strategy, reinvesting into its producing asset portfolio while deploying capital toward further organic and inorganic growth across Southeast Asia. Valeura is committed to delivering value-accretive growth for all stakeholders, underpinned by high standards of environmental, social and governance responsibility.
Additional information relating to Valeura is also available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Oil and Gas Advisories
Reserves disclosed in this news release are based on an independent evaluation conducted by the incumbent independent petroleum engineering firm, NSAI with an effective date of 31 December 2025. The NSAI estimates of reserves and resources were prepared using guidelines outlined in the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook and in accordance with National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities. The reserves estimates disclosed in this news release are estimates only and there is no guarantee that the estimated reserves will be recovered.
This news release contains the oil and gas metric "reserves replacement ratio" which does not have a standardised meaning or standard method of calculation and therefore such measure may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Such metric is commonly used in the oil and gas industry and has been included herein to provide readers with an additional measure to evaluate the Company's performance; however, such measure is not a reliable indicator of the future performance of the Company and future performance may not compare to the performance in previous periods.
"Reserves replacement ratio" for 2025 is calculated by dividing the difference in reserves between the NSAI 2025 Report and the previous independent engineering evaluation of the reserves attributable to the Company's four licences in the offshore Gulf of Thailand prepared by NSAI, plus actual 2025 production, by the assets' total production before royalties for the calendar year 2025.
Reserves
Reserves are estimated remaining quantities of commercially recoverable oil, natural gas, and related substances anticipated to be recoverable from known accumulations, as of a given date, based on the analysis of drilling, geological, geophysical, and engineering data, the use of established technology, and specified economic conditions, which are generally accepted as being reasonable. Reserves are further categorised according to the level of certainty associated with the estimates and may be sub-classified based on development and production status.
Proved reserves are those reserves that can be estimated with a high degree of certainty to be It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the estimated proved recoverable reserves.
Probable reserves are those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than proved reserves. It is equally likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the sum of the estimated proved plus probable reserves.