CALGARY, Alberta, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The following was released on
behalf of the Board of Tracer Petroleum Corporation, by David Robinson,
President and CEO:
Tracer Petroleum Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: TCXXF) ("Tracer" or the
"Company") reports a net loss of $2,028,006 for the year-ended
December 31, 2000, or $0.28 per share, compared to a net loss of $3,244,653 or
$0.74 per share for the year-ended December 31, 1999 (all figures in Canadian
dollars). The loss was primarily a result of administrative expenditures of
$1,609,501 (1999 - $1,243,641) which are mainly associated with the ongoing
pursuit of international petroleum development opportunities, and a write-down
of $367,375 to nil for the carrying value of the Company's investment in
eZuz.com Inc.
Revenue from oil and gas operations was negligible at $943
(1999 - $1,079,948), because of the completion in December 1999 of the sale of
all of the Company's producing oil and gas assets in Indonesia. Furthermore,
as a result of the sale, oil and gas operating expenses were nil
(1999 - $835,840) and depletion expense was reduced to $55,846
(1999 - $1,891,040).
At December 31, 2000, the Company had total assets of $1,163,725
(1999 - $1,379,474), a working capital deficiency of $281,483 (1999 - working
capital of $592,197), and shareholders' equity of $838,085 (1999 - $986,399).
During the year, the Company raised $1,879,692 of new equity capital through
private placements and the exercise of share purchase warrants and stock
options. In 2001, Tracer management expects that the Company will have to
raise additional funds through equity and/or debt in order to finance
acquisitions and operations.
During 2000, Tracer management continued to focus its efforts on creating
shareholder value through the acquisition of or participation in the
development of proven petroleum reserves internationally. In this regard,
considerable progress was made towards the Company securing an interest in one
or more significant petroleum development projects in the Islamic Republic of
Iran. The Company has identified a number of available petroleum projects in
Iran, which are commercially attractive, and these are being pursued in
conjunction with potential partners in Iran as well as potential partners from
the petroleum industry at large.
In December of 2000, Tracer entered into a Letter of Intent with a
subsidiary of a major Iranian company to form a joint venture for the
development of a significant offshore natural gas and gas condensate field in
the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Company is awaiting clarification from the
Iranian partner as to the acceptable options for the development of the field,
towards the preparation of a Master Development Plan to be submitted to the
National Iranian Oil Company for approval.
In April 2000, the Company purchased a 4.5% equity interest in Open Joint
Stock Company Caspi Neft ("OJSCCN") from Transmeridian Exploration Inc.
("TMEI") for US$614,158. OJSCCN owns the exploration and production rights
for the South Alibek field in the Aktyubinsk region of the Republic of
Kazakhstan. This interest was sold in April 2001 to the operator of the
project, TMEI, for US$1.5 million of convertible preferred shares of TMEI plus
1 million warrants exercisable at US$1.00 per share for a period of 2 years.
The preferred shares are convertible into 1.5 million common shares of TMEI at
a deemed value of US$1.00 per share at any time within 5 years. TMEI is in
the process of completing the necessary filings with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission in order to become a publicly-traded
company.
Copies of the Annual Audited Financial Statements and a detailed
Management Discussion and Analysis will be mailed to shareholders together
with Proxy documentation on Wednesday, May 23, 2001. They can be found on
SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com.
Tracer's Annual General Meeting will be held in the Board Room of the
offices of Tracer Petroleum Corporation, Suite 910 - 441 - 5th Avenue S.W.,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on June 25, 2001, at the hour of 10:00 a.m., Calgary
time.
This release contains "forward-looking statements" as per Section 21E of
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Although the
Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward looking
statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations
will prove to have been correct. Management is currently reviewing many
options and there is no assurance that they will not make decisions other than
those now contemplated. The Company is subject to political risks and
operational risks identified in documents filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including changing and depressed oil prices, unsuccessful
drilling results, change of government and political unrest in its main area
of operations
For more information please contact Mr. David Harrison, Corporate
Secretary, at 403-290-1676 at the Company's headquarters:
TRACER PETROLEUM CORPORATION, Suite #910, 441 - 5th Ave. S.W.,
Calgary, AB, T2P 2V1 Canada
Phone: 403-290-1676 or Fax: 403-264-5285, "e-mail"
tracerinfo@tracerpetroleum.com or web site, http://www.tracerpetroleum.com
SOURCE Tracer Petroleum Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.tracerpetroleum.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/121391.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 121391
CONTACT:
David Harrison, Corporate Secretary of Tracer
Petroleum Corporation, 403-290-1676
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