BAKERSFIELD, Calif., Nov. 14, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Tri-Valley Corporation (AMEX:TIV) announced that it will run pipe to complete its B&N No. 1-7 exploratory well on its Oil Lake Prospect as logs have indicated all seven zones targeted have positive indicators for hydrocarbons. The Company was pleasantly surprised to learn the 14 individual intervals giving shows are primarily charged with good Btu natural gas rather than the expected oil.
Joseph R. Kandle, president of the operating subsidiary, Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co., noted that completion criteria for these same zones in the nearby super giant Elk Hills Oil Field and adjacent Buena Vista Oil & Gas Field is a minimum of 1.5 ohms resistance on the electric logs and the B&N No. 1-7 has approximately 370 net feet of 1.5 ohms and above. He is, thus, cautiously optimistic that one or more intervals may have producing qualities.
Tri-Valley's 3,000 acres of mapped Oil Lake Prospect closure is cut off from the main Buena Vista Field by a fault setting up the possibility of a significant extension of the original producing area. However, formation conditions may be slightly different than Buena Vista and it is not yet known if anything will inhibit production of the over-pressured zones. Still the potential volume of gas in place could be exceptional in the Prospect some 40 miles southwest of Bakersfield, California.
"Tri-Valley Corporation chooses targets of very large size for its exploration program and most of these are unconventional in some way. We know we will drill some dry holes, but discovery success on a target of magnitude can deliver exponential gain for our shareholders and drilling partners. The Oil Lake Prospect is a typical very large target in our drilling inventory and the natural gas potential now is even larger than our original oil objective," said F. Lynn Blystone, president and chief executive officer.
Tri-Valley Corporation and its subsidiaries, Tri-Valley Oil & Gas Co. and Tri-Valley Power Corporation are headquartered in Bakersfield, California, entering the 41st year of business as a successful operating company and 31 years as a full reporting 12 (g) publicly traded Delaware Corporation. Tri-Valley Corporation stock is publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol "TIV" in the United States and is also traded in Europe on the Berlin and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges under the symbol "TVC WKN 911919." Our company websites, which include all SEC filings, are www.tri-valleycorp.com and www.tri-valley.de.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results, events and performance could vary materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements which includes such words and phrases as exploratory, wildcat, prospect, speculates, unproved, prospective, very large, expect, potential, etc. Among the factors that could cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially are risks and uncertainties discussed in the company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2003, and the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002.