Lotus Creek Completes Wilson Creek Belly River Drilling Program

Lotus Creek Exploration Inc. has announced an update on its Wilson Creek Belly River development program, highlighting significant progress in production and infrastructure optimization. The Calgary-based company brought online two additional Belly River light oil wells, completing its five-well drilling program for the year. With 12 gross (11.9 net) Belly River wells now in production, corporate output has surpassed 5,500 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, with approximately 72% of this being light oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs).

The company's production is currently being optimized to maximize oil throughput through its Wilson Creek oil battery, which has reached its design capacity of 5,000 boe per day. In the near term, Lotus Creek plans to continue optimizing production and evaluating opportunities to debottleneck its existing infrastructure as the recently completed wells stabilize.

Looking ahead, the company has initiated planning for the next phase of infrastructure development at Wilson Creek, aiming to achieve a longer-term objective of approximately 10,000 boe per day. This next phase will require detailed engineering, equipment procurement, and regulatory approvals. Subject to completion of the 2027 budgeting process and required approvals, additional infrastructure capacity is targeted to be available by the end of the year. The company intends to provide further details regarding the scope, timing, and associated development program with its 2027 capital budget.

Initial well performance data shows that the first seven gross (6.9 net) Belly River wells delivered an average initial production (IP30) rate of approximately 350 barrels per day per well and a total production of around 600 boe per day per well. The first three of the company's most recent five gross (5.0 net) wells have averaged approximately 550 barrels per day of oil and 1,000 boe per day of total production over their first 30 days. The company plans to provide additional performance details on the remaining two wells once more representative production profiles are established.

Lotus Creek has also released a new corporate presentation, which can be accessed on the company's website. Additionally, the board of directors has approved the grant of 156,397 stock options to certain directors and officers. The stock options expire 30 business days following the date of vesting and are exercisable at a price of $3.87 per common share. The options vest one-third on each of the first, second, and third anniversary dates, beginning on September 6, 2027.

The company cautions that forward-looking information and statements in the press release are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including the ability to receive necessary regulatory approvals, well performance meeting expectations, and the availability of services, materials, and equipment to complete infrastructure build-out as expected.