JHI Associates Inc. and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas Inc. Joint Press Release

TORONTO, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- JHI Associates, Inc. ("JHI") and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas, Inc. ("MOGI") wish to clarify the details concerning the award of the Canje Block offshore Guyana in 2015.  As a statement of record, the block was awarded on March 4, 2015, using the standard Guyana Model Production Agreement.  The Liza-1 well on the adjacent Starbroek Block was very high-risk and did not begin drilling until after the Canje Block licence was signed.  Prior to this, there were no discoveries anywhere offshore Guyana.  JHI and MOGI followed all applicable laws and regulations in their application for the licence for the Canje Block.

Neither JHI nor MOGI has received any request for information, and neither company has been notified of any pending investigations into the award of the licence for the Canje Block. Both companies welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter with duly authorized agencies of the Government of Guyana at any time.

JHI and MOGI value our reputations as good corporate citizens and are committed to operating all aspects of our businesses in an open, cooperative and transparent manner.  We recognize the importance of this resource to the people of Guyana and take our responsibility to explore for oil and gas offshore Guyana very seriously. 

The founders of JHI, Mr. John Cullen, and MOGI, Dr. Edris K. Dookie, each have over 20 years' experience exploring for oil offshore Guyana as the original co-founders of CGX Energy.  Through CGX, they both served Guyana exceptionally, through the drilling of several offshore wells, and especially in relation to the pivotal role they played in the successful resolution of the maritime boundary dispute with Suriname.

For the Canje Block licence application, Cullen and Dookie brought a technical team with over 130 years of offshore petroleum exploration experience, and significant financial capabilities based on prior successes in raising USD$100's of millions of dollars for oil and gas exploration projects in Guyana and elsewhere.  JHI's and MOGI's qualifications certainly met the Guyana Government's requirement that licence applicants must demonstrate technical expertise and financial capabilities.

Additional information regarding our technical expertise and financial capabilities can be found on our website www.jhiassociates.com.

Below is a timeline of events surrounding the Canje Licence:

• Negotiations for the Canje Block began in March 2013.
• The Canje Block licence was awarded on March 4, 2015.
• The Liza-1 well began drilling on March 5, 2015.
• On May 20, 2015, the Liza-1 well was announced as a "significant discovery."
• Over 40 wells had been drilled offshore in the Guyana-Suriname Basin prior to Liza-1, and none encountered commercial quantities of oil or gas.

For additional information, please visit our website at www.jhiassociates.com