Coastal Energy Announces Results of Third Party Evaluation of Bua Ban North A & B

HOUSTON, Nov. 17, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coastal Energy Company (the "Company" or "Coastal Energy") (TSX:CEN) (AIM:CEO), an independent exploration and production company with assets in Thailand, announces the results of a third party evaluation of the stock tank oil originally in place ("STOOIP") and recoverable oil volumes at the Bua Ban North A & B fields. RPS Energy Ltd. ("RPS") prepared the report dated November 15, 2011 in accordance with the guidelines established by the Society of Petroleum Engineers ("SPE"), which is available on the Company's website. 

The following table presents a summary of the estimated gross STOOIP and recoverable oil volumes:

RPS assigned 54.9 mmbbl of recoverable volumes to the Proven (1P) category and an additional 12.1 mmbbl to Probable category, resulting in a 2P (Prove + Probable) recoverable volume of 67.0 mmbbl.

The RPS report reaffirms that Bua Ban North A & B are connected on the western side of the field. Given this, in the future the Company will refer to the fields collectively as "Bua Ban North". Bua Ban North is a totally separate field from our existing Bua Ban field, which is located several kilometers south.

RPS did not evaluate the net recoverable volumes with an economic analysis, and the volumes reported are therefore not designated as Reserves at this stage under SPE guidelines. However, an economic analysis resulting in net Reserve volumes is not expected to change the recoverable volume estimates by a material amount.

Randy Bartley, President and CEO of Coastal Energy, commented:

"The results of the RPS evaluation confirm the significant extent of the Bua Ban North field. We are pleased that the results are in line with our own internal estimates. We are also encouraged that RPS has assigned unrisked contingent and prospective recoverable resource volumes of an additional 63 mmbbl at Bua Ban North. Further drilling will be required to prove these additional volumes and maximize field recovery. We plan to drill an additional four to five wells to begin appraising these volumes following the completion of the current A-10 well."

The volumes stated above are in addition to Coastal's gross 27.1 mmbbls (net 24.8 mmbbls) 2P Reserves stated for the Songkhla Fields in our year-end 2010 reserves report. The contingent and prospective resources are for the Bua Ban North field only and are part of a larger corporate portfolio of 287 mmbbl recoverable prospective resources as outlined in the Company's presentation available at www.CoastalEnergy.com.

Randy Bartley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineering and Jerry Moon, Vice President, Technical & Business Development, a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, a Licensed Professional Geoscientist and a Certified Petroleum Geologist in the state of Texas, have reviewed the contents of this announcement.

Additional information, including the Company's complete competent person's report may be found on the Company's website at www.CoastalEnergy.com or may be found in documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

This statement contains 'forward-looking statements' as defined by the applicable securities legislation. Statements relating to current and future drilling results, existence and recoverability of potential hydrocarbon reserves, production amounts or revenues, forward capital expenditures, operation costs, oil and gas price forecasts and similar matters are based on current data and information and should be viewed as forward-looking statements. Such statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks and uncertainties beyond Coastal Energy's control. Actual results may differ substantially from the forward-looking statements.

The Coastal Energy Company logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=10062

These securities have not been registered under United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "US Securities Act") or the securities laws of any state and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to US persons (as defined in Regulation S under the US Securities Act) unless an exemption from registration is available.

Glossary:

1P - Volumetric numbers corresponding to "Proven" category for reserves, reflecting a high degree of confidence that the quantities exist and/or can be recovered.

2P - Volumetric numbers corresponding to "Proven" plus "Probable" categories, representing volumes that are more likely than not to exist and/or be recovered.

3P- Volumetric numbers corresponding to "Proven" plus "Probable" plus "Possible" categories, representing an upside estimate.

CONTINGENT RESOURCES are those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from known accumulations, but the applied project(s) are not yet considered mature enough for commercial development due to one or more contingencies. Contingent Resources may include, for example, projects for which there are currently no viable markets, or where commercial recovery is dependent on technology under development, or where evaluation of the accumulation is insufficient to clearly assess commerciality. Contingent Resources are further categorized in accordance with the level of certainty associated with the estimates and may be subclassified based on project maturity and/or characterized by their economic status.

PROSPECTIVE RESOURCES are those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development projects. Prospective Resources have both an associated chance of discovery and a chance of development. Prospective Resources are further subdivided in accordance with the level of certainty associated with recoverable estimates assuming their discovery and development and may be sub-classified based on project maturity