International Petroleum Corp. Announces Completion of Acquisition of Light Oil Assets in Southern Alberta

International Petroleum Corp. ("IPC") (TSX, Nasdaq Stockholm: IPCO) is pleased to announce the closing of the previously announced acquisition of Granite Oil Corp. ("Granite”) (TSX:GXO; OTCQX:GXOCF) (the "Acquisition"). The Acquisition includes total proved plus probable ("2P") reserves of 14.0 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) and 6.2 MMboe of unrisked contingent resources (best estimate) as at December 31, 2019.

The Acquisition is comprised of high netback, light oil producing assets in southern Alberta (the "Assets"). The Assets include existing infrastructure to enable the current gas injection enhanced oil recovery (EOR) scheme, with capacity to allow for potential further field development opportunities. The Assets also include associated oil and gas processing and injection facilities located in proximity to key sales points.

Under the terms of the Acquisition, IPC acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Granite ("Granite Shares") for consideration of approximately USD 27 million (CAD 37.1 million) and IPC assumed Granite’s net debt of approximately USD 30 million (CAD 40 million). Each former Granite shareholder is entitled to receive CAD 0.95 for each Granite Share held prior to the Acquisition (the "Cash Consideration”).

The Granite Shares are expected to be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange and the OTCQX on or around March 10, 2020.

Pursuant to the letter of transmittal mailed to Granite shareholders in connection with the special meeting of Granite shareholders held on March 5, 2020, in order to receive the Cash Consideration, registered holders of Granite Shares are required to deposit a duly completed the letter of transmittal together with their share certificates, with Computershare Trust Company of Canada. Shareholders whose Granite Shares are registered in the name of a broker, dealer, bank, trust company or other nominee should contact their nominee with questions regarding receipt of the Cash Consideration.

International Petroleum Corp. (IPC) is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with a high quality portfolio of assets located in Canada, Malaysia and France, providing a solid foundation for organic and inorganic growth. IPC is a member of the Lundin Group of Companies. IPC is incorporated in Canada and IPC’s shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange under the symbol "IPCO".

For further information, please contact:

The information was submitted for publication, through the contact persons set out above, at 08:30 CET on March 6, 2020.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements and information which constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (within the meaning of applicable securities legislation). Such statements and information (together, "forward-looking statements") relate to future events, including IPC’s performance, business prospects or opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, unless otherwise indicated. IPC does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.

All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, forecasts, guidance, budgets, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "forecast”, "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe", "budget" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the expected timing of which the Granite Shares will be de-listed from the TSX and OTCQX; the ability of IPC to achieve and maintain current and forecast production and take advantage of production growth and development upside opportunities related to the Assets post-completion of the Acquisition; the ability of IPC to integrate the Assets into its current operations; the ability of existing infrastructure to enable EOR projects, as well as capacity to allow for potential further field development opportunities; the existence of drill-ready opportunities and their ability to add further near-term production of high netback, light oil barrels; estimates of reserves; estimates of contingent resources; the ability to generate free cash flows; and future drilling and other exploration and development activities. Statements relating to "reserves" and "contingent resources" are also deemed to be forward-looking statements, as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, that the reserves and resources described exist in the quantities predicted or estimated and that the reserves and resources can be profitably produced in the future. Ultimate recovery of reserves or resources is based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management.

The forward-looking statements are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by IPC, including expectations and assumptions concerning: prevailing commodity prices and currency exchange rates; applicable royalty rates and tax laws; interest rates; future well production rates and reserve and contingent resource volumes; operating costs; the timing of receipt of regulatory approvals; the performance of existing wells; the success obtained in drilling new wells; anticipated timing and results of capital expenditures; the sufficiency of budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out planned activities; the timing, location and extent of future drilling operations; the successful completion of acquisitions and dispositions; the benefits of acquisitions; the state of the economy and the exploration and production business in the jurisdictions in which IPC operates and globally; the availability and cost of financing, labour and services;  and the ability to market crude oil, Natural Gas and natural gas liquids successfully.

Although IPC believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because IPC cannot give assurances that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to: the risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general such as operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to reserves, resources, production, revenues, costs and expenses; health, safety and environmental risks; commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations; interest rate fluctuations; marketing and transportation; loss of markets; environmental risks; competition; incorrect assessment of the value of acquisitions; failure to complete or realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions or dispositions; the ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; failure to obtain required regulatory and other approvals; and changes in legislation, including but not limited to tax laws, royalties and environmental regulations. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.

Additional information on these and other factors that could affect IPC, or its operations or financial results, are included in the management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2019 (MD&A) (See "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" therein), the Corporation's Annual Information Form (AIF) for the year ended December 31, 2018 (See "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information", "Reserves and Resources Advisory" and "Risk Factors" therein) and other reports on file with applicable securities regulatory authorities, which may be accessed through the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com) or IPC's website (www.international-petroleum.com).

Disclosure of Oil and Gas Information  
This press release contains references to estimates of gross 2P reserves of IPC’s oil and gas assets. Gross reserves are the total working interest reserves before the deduction of any royalties and including any royalty interests receivable.

Reserve estimates, contingent resource estimates and estimates of future net revenue in respect of IPC’s oil and gas assets acquired in the Acquisition are effective as of December 31, 2019, and are included in reports prepared by Sproule Associates Limited (Sproule), an independent qualified reserves evaluator, in accordance with National Instrument 51-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities (NI 51-101) and the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook (the COGE Handbook) and using Sproule’s December 31, 2019, price forecasts.

The price forecasts used in the reserve reports are as at December 31, 2019 and are available on the website of Sproule (sproule.com).

"2P reserves" means gross proved plus probable reserves. "Proved reserves" are those reserves that can be estimated with a high degree of certainty to be recoverable. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the estimated proved 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.

Contingent resources are those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations using established technology or technology under development, but which are not currently considered to be commercially recoverable due to one or more contingencies. Contingencies are conditions that must be satisfied for a portion of contingent resources to be classified as reserves that are: (a) specific to the project being evaluated; and (b) expected to be resolved within a reasonable timeframe. Contingencies may include factors such as economic, legal, environmental, political, and regulatory matters, or a lack of markets. It is also appropriate to classify as contingent resources the estimated discovered recoverable quantities associated with a project in the early evaluation stage. Contingent resources are further classified in accordance with the level of certainty associated with the estimates and may be sub-classified based on a project maturity and/or characterized by their economic status.

There are three classifications of contingent resources: low estimate, best estimate and high estimate. Best estimate is a classification of estimated resources described in the COGE Handbook as being considered to be the best estimate of the quantity that will be actually recovered. It is equally likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the best estimate. If probabilistic methods are used, there should be at least a 50% probability that the quantities actually recovered will equal or exceed the best estimate.

Contingent resources are further classified based on project maturity. The project maturity subclasses include development pending, development on hold, development unclarified and development not viable. All of the contingent resources acquired in the Acquisition are classified as development unclarified. Development unclarified is defined as a contingent resource that requires further appraisal to clarify the potential for development and has been assigned a lower chance of development until contingencies can be clearly defined. Chance of development is the probability of a project being commercially viable.

References to "unrisked" contingent resources volumes means that the reported volumes of contingent resources have not been risked (or adjusted) based on the chance of commerciality of such resources. In accordance with the COGE Handbook for contingent resources, the chance of commerciality is solely based on the chance of development based on all contingencies required for the re-classification of the contingent resources as reserves being resolved. Therefore unrisked reported volumes of contingent resources do not reflect the risking (or adjustment) of such volumes based on the chance of development of such resources. Chance of development is the probability of a project being commercially viable and the chance of development risk of 70% has been applied by IPC to all of the contingent resources acquired in the Acquisition.  The risked contingent resources (best estimate) as at December 31, 2019 is 4.3 MMboe. The contingency for all of the unrisked best estimate contingent resources is IPC’s corporate commitment whether to proceed with the specific opportunities.

The contingent resources reported in this press release are estimates only. The estimates are based upon a number of factors and assumptions each of which contains estimation error which could result in future revisions of the estimates as more technical and commercial information becomes available. The estimation factors include, but are not limited to, the mapped extent of the oil and gas accumulations, geologic characteristics of the reservoirs, and dynamic reservoir performance. There are numerous risks and uncertainties associated with recovery of such resources, including many factors beyond the Corporation’s control. There is uncertainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the contingent resources referred to in this press release.

2P reserves and contingent resources have been aggregated in this press release by IPC. Estimates of reserves and future net revenue for individual properties may not reflect the same level of confidence as estimates of reserves and future net revenue for all properties, due to aggregation. There is no assurance that the forecast prices and cost assumptions used in the reserve evaluations will be attained and variances could be material. 

BOEs may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of 6 thousand cubic feet (Mcf) per 1 barrel (bbl) is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.  As the value ratio between natural gas and crude oil based on the current prices of natural gas and crude oil is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 6:1, utilizing a 6:1 conversion basis may be misleading as an indication of value.

Currency
All Dollar amounts in this press release are expressed in United States dollars, except where otherwise noted.  References herein to USD mean United States dollars.  References herein to CAD mean Canadian dollars.

Attachment

• IPC PR V5 Granite closing 06-03-2020