FY09 Crude Oil Production Increases 41% Year over Year to 908,126 Barrels
Installation of 30 New Wells in 4Q09 Exceeds Original Forecast
Oilfield Services Subsidiary Tiancheng Completes 60 Well Drilling Contracts in 4Q09
HARBIN, China and NEW YORK, March 17 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- China North East Petroleum Holdings Ltd. (the "Company" or "NEP") (NYSE Amex: NEP), an oil producing and oilfield services company in Northern China, today announced preliminary fourth quarter and full year oil production results and fourth quarter 2009 drilling results for its oil drilling and service subsidiary, Tiancheng.
The Company's crude oil production for the full year 2009 totaled 908,126 barrels, a 41% increase from 645,856 barrels in the year 2008. Oil production in the 2009 fourth quarter increased 6% to 236,774 barrels from 223,068 barrels in the same period a year ago. During the fourth quarter 2009, the Company drilled 30 new production wells for a total of 289 wells in production as of December 31, 2009, compared to 259 wells at the end of the 2009 third quarter and 247 wells at the end of 2008.
Additionally, the Company's newly acquired oil drilling and service subsidiary, Tiancheng completed drilling contracts for 60 wells with total drilling depth of 99,161 meters (325,331 feet) in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Mr. Hongjun Wang, President of China North East Petroleum commented, "After a challenging start in 2009, we were pleased to have accelerated our oil production, particularly in the second half of the year, and to have finished the year with record production results. We exceeded our original forecast of new wells drilled in the fourth quarter by 20% due to the ongoing economic recovery and stabilized oil prices. Additionally, our oilfield services business performed exceptionally well in the fourth quarter as Tiancheng benefitted from our well-capitalized business structure. We are delighted with their success thus far and look forward to their strong contributions going forward. We plan to update our shareholders on our latest fourth quarter & full year financial results as well as upcoming growth initiatives when we report our full year 2009 financial results within the next few weeks."
ABOUT CHINA NORTH EAST PETROLEUM
China North East Petroleum Holdings Limited is an independent oil company that engages in the production of crude oil in Northern China. The Company is a pioneer in China's private oil exploration and production industry, and the first Chinese non-state-owned oil company trading on the NYSE Amex.
The Company has a guaranteed arrangement with the PetroChina to sell its produced crude oil for use in the China marketplace. The Company currently operates four oilfields in Northern China. The Company also recently added an oil service subsidiary through its acquisition of Song Yuan Tiancheng Drilling Engineering Co. Ltd. ("Tiancheng"). For more information about the Company, please visit http://www.cnepetroleum.com .
Statements in this press release which are not historical data are forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties or other factors not under the company's control, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from the results, performance or other expectations implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, those detailed in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For more information, please contact:
United States:
Chao Jiang
Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance
Tel: +1-212-307-3568
Email: chao.jiang@cnepetroleum.com
ICR, Inc.
Bill Zima
Tel: +1-203-682-8200
China:
Yang Dio Zhang
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +86-451-5558-0253
Email: dio.zhang@cnepetroleum.com
