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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says her government plans to ban advertisements from the US Department of Homeland Security, which have broadcast across the country in recent weeks and show Secretary Kristi Noem warning migrants not to enter the United States illegally.

In one 30-second ad, Noem is seen in a light purple suit saying: “If you are a criminal alien considering entering America illegally, don’t even think about it.”

She goes on to warn that if migrants break US laws, “We will hunt you down.”

Mexico’s president has denounced the adverts, which have aired in the middle of soccer matches and on primetime programming, as “discriminatory.”

On Tuesday, her government sent lawmakers reform proposals that would prohibit foreign governments from spreading what it considers political and ideological propaganda in the country.

“We do not agree with the discriminatory propaganda against the migrant population that has been broadcast on television, radio, and social media by the United States government,” Sheinbaum said.

“The data shows the world is hearing our message. Border crossings have reached the lowest ever recorded,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an email. “Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, we have the most secure border in history.”

The US advertisements are part of a multimillion-dollar messaging campaign meant to deter illegal entry into the United States. The DHS says the videos are “hyper-targeted” at undocumented immigrants and would be distributed domestically and internationally on TV, radio, social media and through text messages.

In another series of adverts announced on Monday, Noem is seen telling undocumented immigrants to self-deport or face hefty fines, imprisonment and deportation.

Drawing the line at political ‘propaganda’

Sheinbaum argued this week that there’s precedent for such a ban, saying Mexico’s telecommunications law previously had an article barring domestic media from disseminating foreign political propaganda, but that the article was removed during a previous administration.

“I have requested an investigation into how that article was removed,” she said during her morning news conference on Monday. “But we think our sovereignty and respect for Mexico deserve reinserting that article into the law.”

The president of the Senate Gerardo Fernández Noroña said Tuesday that the upper house would fast-track Sheinbaum’s measure and send it to the Chamber of Deputies as soon as possible.

“I don’t think there is a single parliamentary group that opposes this reinstatement,” Fernández Noroña told reporters.

Sheinbaum insisted that Mexico would still allow countries to run ads that promote tourism and culture, but that it would draw the line at political “propaganda.”

“If any country in the world wants to promote itself in our country or we in another country, then there would be no problem. The problem is this propaganda from the government itself, in addition to acts that we consider discriminatory,” she said Tuesday.

Mexico’s anti-discrimination agency said it sent a letter to broadcasters last week, asking them to stop airing the TV spot.

“From our analysis, we have found that the spot contains a discriminatory message that violates human dignity and may encourage acts of rejection or violence against people on the move,” the letter from the National Council to Prevent Discrimination read.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Russia launched a wave of deadly attacks against Kyiv early Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump accused his Ukrainian counterpart of harming peace talks in a fresh tirade against Volodymyr Zelensky.

Drone and missile attacks hit 13 locations across the Ukrainian capital, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 70 others, according to Ukraine’s emergency services.

Engineers, rescue workers and recovery dogs are searching for people believed to be trapped under the rubble of a home destroyed by the strikes in the Sviatoshyn district, said Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko.

“There is information about two children who still cannot be found at the scene,” said Klymenko, adding the situation was “tragic.”

The city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko earlier urged people to take shelter. The Kyiv city military administration has since broadcast an all-clear message.

At least 42 people were taken to hospital, including six children, according to Ukraine’s emergency services.

Klymenko said eight regions of the country were targeted in what he called “a massive combined Russian attack” that hit Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Poltava, Khmelnytsky, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.

The attacks hit after Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky became involved in a new public spat, specifically over the future of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Any move to recognize Russia’s control of Crimea would reverse a decade of US policy and could upset the widely held post-World War Two consensus that international borders should not be changed by force.

Zelensky has repeatedly said Ukraine would not accept that, saying it would go against the country’s constitution.

On Wednesday, Trump said Zelensky’s position was “very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia.”

“It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War. He has nothing to boast about!” he posted on Truth Social.

Trump made the comments hours after Vice President JD Vance threatened to abandon negotiations, telling reporters during a visit to India that a “very explicit proposal” had been put to both Russia and Ukraine and that it was “time for them to either say yes or for the US to walk away.”

Earlier, talks between Ukraine, the US, Britain, France and Germany aimed at furthering work towards a ceasefire were downgraded to take place among officials, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio withdrew.

“Emotions have run high today,” Zelensky said on X Wednesday as the day’s developments threw fresh uncertainty over the diplomatic efforts to end the war.

The Trump administration’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Moscow on Friday for discussions with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Relations between India and Pakistan are cratering following a deadly attack in the disputed Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir that left more than two dozen tourists dead, raising fears of another military escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals.

New Delhi downgraded ties with Islamabad, summoned its top diplomat, suspended for the first time its involvement in a crucial water-sharing treaty and shut a key border crossing, among other punitive measures in the wake of what was the region’s worst assault on civilians in years.

All but one of the 26 people massacred were Indian citizens, prompting a new wave of unrest in a region claimed by both Pakistan and India and that has been the epicenter of often violent territorial struggle between the two countries.

For decades, several domestic militant groups, demanding either independence for Kashmir or for the area to become part of Pakistan, have fought Indian security forces, leaving tens of thousands killed in the violence.

On Wednesday, India accused Pakistan of supporting terrorist groups in the region, after a little-known militant group called The Resistance Front claimed responsibility. Pakistan has denied any involvement.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth,” during a speech in the northeastern state of Bihar.

“From the soil of Bihar I say to the whole world, India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers,” he said, using English rather than his usual Hindi.

“India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished. Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done. The entire nation is firm in this resolve.”

Here’s what you need to know.

What happened in Pahalgam?

Gunmen on Tuesday opened fire on sightseers in a popular travel destination in the mountainous destination of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, a rare assault on tourists.

At least 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali national were killed in the massacre, which unfolded in a meadow in the Baisaran Valley – which is only accessible by foot or on horseback.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror as the gunmen approached, opening fire on tourists from close range. Some recalled how the men were singled out and shot at. Other survivors speaking to local media said the gunmen accused the families of supporting Prime Minister Modi before shooting.

Photos and videos of the aftermath – showing lifeless bodies strewn on the ground and grieving loved ones wailing in fear – have reverberated across social media, a vivid portrayal of the pain and suffering endured by families whose holidays ended in horror.

Indian authorities have heightened police and military deployment to the region and personnel are on the hunt for the perpetrators.

Modi in his Thursday speech vowed punishment for the perpetrators of the attack.

“I want to say in clear words that whoever has carried out this attack, those terrorists, and the people who devised this attack, will be punished in a manner worse than anything they can imagine,” he said.

Who are The Resistance Front?

Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front (TRF), is a relatively new militant outfit that has claimed killings of civilians from minority communities residing in Kashmir in recent years. Not a huge amount is known about them.

TRF declared its existence in 2019 through the encrypted messaging app Telegram, after claiming responsibility for a grenade attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s largest city of Srinagar, according to research by the New Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

The arrival of TRF is portrayed as the “inception of a new indigenous resistance in Kashmir,” ORF said in 2021.

India has classified TRF as a “terrorist organization” and linked it to the outlawed Islamist group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, which was behind the deadly Mumbai attacks in 2008 and has a much higher profile.

“TRF positions itself as a political resistance force, born in Kashmir and one for Kashmir, against illegal occupational forces, having no centralised jihadi figure or leadership,” according to ORF.

Kashmir police on Thursday published notices naming three suspects allegedly involved in the attack. Two of the three are Pakistani nationals, according to the notices. They did not say how the men were identified.

Why is Kashmir important to India and Pakistan?

Kashmir is one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints. Claimed in its entirety by both India and Pakistan, the mountainous region has been the epicenter for more than 70 years of an often-violent territorial struggle between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

The festering issue has spurred three wars between the countries and a de facto border called the Line of Control divides it between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Tensions between Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan over the disputed region have surged in recent years, after the Modi-led government revoked its constitutional autonomy in 2019, bringing it under the direct control of New Delhi.

While the Indian government has said that militancy has since declined amid a heavy military presence, attacks have continued to plague the region, sparking unrest and protests. Meanwhile, there has been heavy media censorship and communication blackouts.

Analysts say Tuesday’s massacre shattered the illusion of calm that Modi has projected of the region and raises questions of how such a security lapse could have occurred in one of the most militarized zones in the world.

How have India and Pakistan responded?

India has not publicly blamed any group for the attack but has justified its retaliatory moves as a response to Pakistan’s alleged “support for cross-border terrorism.”

Pakistan has denied any involvement and will convene a national security meeting on Thursday to discuss next steps.

New Delhi announced several punitive measures against Islamabad a day after the attack, including shutting a key border crossing and further restricting already limited visas for Pakistani citizens. It also expelled military, naval and air advisors from the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.

But perhaps among the most significant acts of retaliation thus far is New Delhi suspending its role in the Indus Water Treaty, an important water-sharing pact between India and Pakistan that has been in force since 1960 and is regarded as a rare diplomatic success story between the two fractious neighbors.

The enormous Indus River system, which supports livelihoods across Pakistan and northern India, originates in Tibet, flowing through China and Indian-controlled Kashmir before reaching Pakistan. The vast volume of water is a vital resource for both countries, and the treaty governs how it is shared.

“Downgrading diplomatic ties and holding the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance does not bode well for stability in the region,” said Fahd Humayun, assistant professor of political science at Tufts University.

“Not only does the suspension amount to a violation of international treaty obligations, but the right to water as a lower riparian country is seen as a national security issue by Pakistan and suspending (it) will be read as a belligerent action.”

Pakistan’s Minister of Power Awais Leghari on Wednesday called the move “an act of warfare.”

“Every drop is ours by right, and we will defend it with full force — legally, politically, and globally,” said Leghari.

What is the situation like in Kashmir?

Thousands have flocked to the streets to condemn the deadly attacks as business owners express concerns over the impact it has already had on the popular tourist destination during peak season.

“There has been 80-90% cancellation of all our tours and travels in the coming days and weeks,” said Mohsin, who goes by one name, and manages a tour company in the region. “We are in complete monetary loss. I might have to shift to another business if this continues.”

Schools and businesses have resumed after being shut on Wednesday in many parts of Kashmir, while demonstrations of solidarity erupted in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, the city square.

“We all could not just sit by and watch. We came out to show emotion, solidarity, and condemn the killings,” said local resident Umar Nazir Tibetbaqan. “Our protests (on Wednesday) were a signal to everyone that all Kashmiris stand with the country in this hour of grief.”

Meanwhile, anti-Pakistan protests have erupted in India’s capital Delhi and several other cities, raising fears of fueling anti-Kashmiri and anti-Muslim sentiment.

What happens next?

All eyes are now on how New Delhi and Islamabad will respond. And the question, analysts say, is not if there will be military retaliation but when.

“Modi will have a very strong, if not irresistible, political compulsion to retaliate with force,” said Arzan Tarapore, a research scholar from Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation.

“We don’t know what that would look like, and it’s somewhat meaningless to speculate at this point, but I think the 2019 Balakot crisis provides some cues on what to watch for in India’s response,” Tarapore said, referring to New Delhi’s response to a militant attack on Indian troops which killed at least 40 paramilitary personnel in Indian-administered Kashmir.

New Delhi retaliated by launching airstrikes on Pakistan, the first such incursion into its territory since the 1971 war.

“The key question will be will they seek to impose more meaningful, tangible costs on terrorist groups, including by targeting their leadership or headquarters facilities? Or will India go even further, crossing the threshold to attack the Pakistan army?” said Tarapore.

“India’s military capabilities have grown since 2019, so it may feel emboldened to take on such bigger targets.”

And while India’s military prowess has grown in the years since, Pakistan has been rocked by political instability and economic disarray.

Yet Humayun, the professor from Tufts, said should the Indian government choose to resort to military action, there is “every reason to believe that Pakistan will respond in kind.”

“Absent strategic restraint or third-party intervention, the chances of uncontrolled escalation in the coming days is thus not insignificant,” he said.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

The family of a jailed Egyptian dissident has expressed renewed fears for his life as his health worsens more than 50 days after he went on hunger strike.

Prominent government critic Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a 42-year-old dual Egyptian British citizen, has remained in prison despite completing his sentence last September, according to his family, which has appealed to the UK prime minister to help secure his release.

The activist’s health has deteriorated since he began his third full-scale hunger strike in less than two years on March 1 in solidarity with his mother’s own partial hunger strike to call for his release, his family said in a statement on Facebook Tuesday.

Abd El-Fattah has suffered from vomiting, stomach flu and severe fatigue. He has been diagnosed with chronic inflammation of the esophagus and his body is rejecting previously prescribed medication because of his prolonged hunger strike, according to the statement.

His mother, Laila Soueif, “expressed her deep concern for her son and his health, saying he could not bear the strike. She renewed her demand for his release,” the statement said.

Abd El-Fattah’s more than decade-long imprisonment has long drawn international condemnation.

Arrested repeatedly since the height of the Egyptian uprising in 2011, he was sentenced in 2021 to an additional five years in prison for spreading false news and assaulting a police officer – charges that human rights organizations say were politically motivated.

Amnesty International says Abd El-Fattah is a political prisoner who remains imprisoned in “arbitrary” detention, according to a statement from the rights group in February.

Abd El-Fattah was granted British citizenship in 2022, through his British-born mother, in what his family said was part of the campaign for his release and to shed light on the struggle of his fellow inmates.

On Tuesday, his sister Sanaa Seif issued an urgent plea to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to raise his case with Egyptian authorities.

“I’m always afraid that we are on the verge of a tragedy. We need Keir Starmer to do all he can to bring Alaa home to us,” she said.

Starmer, who met with the jailed activist’s mother in February, previously vowed to “do all that I can to secure (Alaa’s) release.”

In 2022, then-UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raised the activist’s case during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the sidelines of the COP27 climate summit, a Downing Street spokesperson said at the time.

Sisi, a former military general, has long faced criticism for cracking down on dissent, imprisoning activists, journalists, and opposition figures since he came to power in 2014.

Abd El-Fattah’s mother launched her own hunger strike last September to demand her son’s release.

She was hospitalized in February on her 149th day of protest after her blood sugar, blood pressure, and sodium levels plummeted to critical lows. Abd El-Fattah escalated his protest following her hospitalization, according to relatives.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Pangolins have two claims to fame: first, that they are the world’s only scaly mammal, and second, they are one of the most trafficked animals globally.

Beyond that, most people know very little about them. But the new Netflix documentary “Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey,” hopes to change that.

The 90-minute film follows the story of a three-month-old ground pangolin, Kulu, who is rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, and the slow, intensive process to return him to the wild in South Africa.

“Kulu’s got an incredible personality, he’s very much his own pangolin,” says director Pippa Elrich, best known for the Oscar-winning documentary “My Octopus Teacher.”

“He’s incredibly stubborn, determined to go where he wants to go, not that keen to have this strange two-legged creature following him around everywhere he goes,” she adds.

The two-legged creature in question is Gareth Thomas, a conservation volunteer who took part in the sting operation that rescued Kulu.

Rehabilitating rescued pangolins is an “incredibly intensive process,” says Elrich: they rarely eat in captivity so they require daily walks, sometimes up to six hours a day, to feed on ants and termites. These daily walks aren’t just for feeding: they are also getting the pangolin ready for the sights, sounds, and smells of its new habitat, and helping it overcome the trauma of captivity.

“The rehabilitation team asked (Gareth) if he would take Kulu into the wild and set him free. And I don’t know if he realized that that was going to be the next 18 months of his life,” says Elrich.

The film follows the duo into the wild savanna of Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, a four-hour drive from Johannesburg, immersing the viewer in the world of pangolins.

“They’ve got a magical quality; they are a mammal but they’re covered in scales,” says Elrich. “You just don’t want pangolins to be seen only as the world’s most trafficked mammal. You want them to be seen as these joyful, unique, special little creatures.”

A ‘deep bond’

The ground pangolin, also known as Temminck’s pangolin or the Cape pangolin, is one of eight species found globally, and the most widely distributed of the four species in Africa, with a territory ranging from South Africa to Sudan.

When Kulu arrived at the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital, staff called him Gijima, which means “to run” in Zulu, as the severely underweight yet feisty pangolin was constantly trying to run away during his feeding walks. It was during the six-month stint in the savanna that Thomas nicknamed the pangolin Kulu, a variant of the word for “easy” in Zulu, to try to soothe him.

Thomas grew up spending summers in the wilderness in South Africa and Zimbabwe, where he was born; but after school, he became “detached” from nature, instead spending most of his time in the city. “I had a bit of a yearning to be out there again,” he recalls. So in 2019, after picking up wildlife photography, he started volunteering with the African Pangolin Working Group and the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital.

Thomas’ self-shot footage of the pangolins was pivotal to the film, says Elrich: Pangolins are incredibly sensitive creatures, so Elrich says the production team had limited shooting days and relied heavily on Thomas for videos of the rehabilitation process and close-ups of Kulu.

“I realized, he has a very deep bond with these animals, and he understands them,” says Elrich. “He understands how to get this very intimate footage, which almost makes you feel like you’re seeing the world through the eyes of a pangolin.”

While viewers will likely observe thematic similarities between “My Octopus Teacher” and “Kulu’s Journey” — both explore human-wildlife relationships and our emotional connection with nature— Elrich says the drastically different ecosystems changed her approach to the film.

“One of the things that was so compelling about (My Octopus Teacher) is that you’re going underwater, and that immediately takes you into this other universe,” she explains. “Being in the terrestrial world, even if you don’t know the bush, it is way more relatable.”

Trafficking terror

The biggest threat to the pangolins is poaching for the $20-billion illegal wildlife trade, where their scales, meat and body parts are sold for traditional medicine, and their skins used for leather products.

According to NGO Traffic, pangolins are largely trafficked to China and the US. With three of the four Asian species critically endangered, and difficulty breeding pangolins in captivity, poaching has increased in Africa: between 2017 and 2019, more than half of illegal pangolin seizures in Asia were from African pangolin species, accounting for 244,600 kilograms of scales and 10,971 individual animals.

Ray Jansen, the co-founder of the African Pangolin Working Group, who features in the documentary, has witnessed the scale of this threat firsthand: the zoologist-turned-sting operative helped rescue 301 live pangolins, including Kulu, between 2016 and 2024, leading to the arrest of nearly 700 wildlife traffickers.

Prior to 2017, Jansen says arrests in South Africa were met with meager fines, rather than jail time. But in recent years, conservationists like Jansen began providing expert witness testimony in court, resulting in sentences of up to 10 years.

“It sent out a huge warning message to these traffickers about pangolins,” Jansen says, adding that while he’s observed a decrease in “opportunistic” poaching in the country, “sophisticated” organized crime networks continue to traffic for the international trade.

Pangolins rescued from the wildlife trade are incredibly difficult to treat and rehabilitate, says Dr. Karin Lourens, the co-founder and head veterinarian of the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital, the first hospital in South Africa to treat pangolins (all pangolins are kept off-site in an undisclosed location).

“Because they haven’t eaten, they don’t have enough protein,” says Lourens, adding that this then causes a build-up of fluid in their lungs. “Then, their pancreas stops working, so they can’t digest food either.”

“It was a steep learning curve in the beginning,” says Lourens, adding she had no medical guidelines for the first ground pangolins in the hospital, but over the years, the survival rate has soared from 40% to 80%.

The film crew also worked with Lapalala Wilderness, the 48,000-hectare reserve where Kulu was ultimately released, to secure filming permits and coordinate with the on-site anti-poaching unit to ensure safety for the pangolins and those transporting them.

While poachers are an unavoidable topic when talking about pangolins, Elrich made the deliberate choice to highlight the emotional side of the little-known creatures. “You’ve got to be careful about anthropomorphism, and I’m sure that’s the criticism that we’re going to get,” Elrich says.

Lourens said she would have preferred for the documentary to focus on Africa’s pangolin trade, something she says is “sorely needed.” She also expressed concern about Kulu’s overexposure to people during filming. Elrich says Thomas was “incredibly strict” about when the additional videographers could film; “I think I only did two shoots with Kulu, most of the time it was just Gareth and him,” she adds.

Initially, Jansen too wanted the film to focus on the wildlife trade, a subject close to his heart — but after viewing the documentary, he changed his mind. “It’s a much, much better angle to focus on,” he says. “I’m hoping that it spreads a huge awareness, and the world can fall in love with these incredible creatures.”

A new threat — and a new hope

While poaching remains a major threat for pangolins globally, Jansen says electric fences in game reserves are now “responsible for the large majority of Temminck’s pangolin deaths” in South Africa, illustrated in one terrifying scene when Kulu nearly runs straight into one, saved at the last minute by Thomas.

Together with Thomas and Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, Jansen is working on a large-scale electric fence study and exploring new designs that could save wildlife.

And a new “pangolarium,” operated by the African Pangolin Working Group at Lapalala Wilderness, opened earlier this year — a kind of halfway house for pangolins between hospital and release, and a networking hub for conservationists. While it can house multiple pangolins, each one will still need its own dedicated walker for its daily mealtime.

Despite global conservation efforts, pangolin numbers are in decline, with all eight species considered vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered by the IUCN.

“Pangolins really are a symbol of the fragility that we see in one another and in nature all around us,” says Elrich.

She hopes audiences will connect with Kulu’s story, and be moved to protect them and their environment: “There is just nothing else like a pangolin.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

The oil sector faced volatility throughout the first quarter of 2025.

Concerns around weak demand, increasing supply and trade tensions came to head in early April, pushing oil prices to four year lows and eroding the support Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) had above the US$65 per barrel level.

Starting the year at US$75 (Brent) and US$72 (WTI), the oil benchmarks rallied in mid-January, reaching five month highs of US$81.86 and US$78.90, respectively. Tariff threats and trade tensions between the US and China, along with soft demand in Asia and Europe, dampened the global economic outlook for 2025 and added headwinds for oil prices.

This pressure caused oil prices to slip to Q1 lows of US$69.12 (Brent) and US$66.06 (WTI) in early March.

“The macroeconomic conditions that underpin our oil demand projections deteriorated over the past month as trade tensions escalated between the United States and several other countries,” a March oil market report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) notes, highlighting the downside risks of US tariffs and retaliatory measures.

The instability and weaker-than-expected consumption from advanced and developing economies prompted the IEA to downgrade its growth estimates for Q4 2024 and Q1 2025 to about 1.2 million barrels per day.

Despite the uncertain outlook, an announcement that OPEC+ would extend a 2.2 million barrel per day production cut into Q2 added some support to the market amid global growth concerns and rising output in the US.

Prices spiked at the end of March, pushing both benchmarks to within a dollar of their 2025 start values. However, the rally was short-lived and prices had plummeted by April 9.

Oil prices fall as OPEC hikes output and supply risks mount

WTI price performance, December 31, 2024, to April 23, 2025.

Sinking to four year lows, Brent and WTI fell below the critical US$60 per barrel threshold, to US$58.62 (Brent) and US$55.38 (WTI), lows not seen since April 2021. The decline saw prices shed more than 21 percent between January and April shaking the market and investor confidence.

Watch Hansen discuss where oil and other commodities are heading.

According to Hansen, if prices remain in the high US$50 range US production will likely decrease, aiding in a broader market realignment. ‘Eventually we will see production start to slow in the US, probably other places as well, and that will help balance the market,” the expert explained in the interview. “Helping to offset some of the risk related to recession, but also some of the production increases that we’re seeing from OPEC.”

In early April, OPEC+ did an about face when it announced plans for a significant increase in oil production, marking its first output hike since 2022. The group plans to add 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the market starting in May, effectively accelerating its previously gradual supply increase strategy.

Although the group cited “supporting market stability” as the reasoning behind the increase, some analysts believe the decision is a punitive one targeted at countries like Iraq and Kazakhstan who consistently exceed production quotas.

“(The increase) is basically in order to punish some of the over producers,” said Hansen. He went on to explain that Kazakhstan produced 400,000 barrels beyond its quota.

If these countries return to their agreed limits, it could offset OPEC’s planned production hikes.

At the same time, US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela may tighten global supply further, while a growing military presence in the Middle East also signals rising geopolitical risks, particularly involving Iran.

Oil price forecast for 2025

As such Hansen expects prices to fluctuate between US$60 to US$80 for the rest of the year.

“(I am) struggling to see, prices collapse much further than that, simply because it will have a counterproductive impact on supply and that will eventually help stabilize prices,” said Hansen.

Hansen’s projections also fall inline with data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The organization downgraded the US$74 Brent price forecast it set in March to US$68 in April.

The EIA foresees US and global oil production to continue rising in 2025, as OPEC+ speeds up its planned output increases and US energy remains exempt from new tariffs.

Starting mid-year, global oil inventories are projected to build. However, the EIA warns that economic uncertainty could dampen demand growth for petroleum products, potentially falling short of earlier forecasts.

“The combination of growing supply and lower demand leads EIA to expect the Brent crude oil price to average less than US$70 per barrel in 2025 and fall to an average of just over US$60 per barrel in 2026,” the April report read.

Supply concerns add tailwinds for natural gas

On the natural gas side, Q1 was marked by tight conditions amid rising demand. A colder-than-normal winter led to increased consumption, with US natural gas withdrawals in Q1 exceeding the five-year average.

Starting the year at US$3.59 per metric million British thermal units, prices rose to a year-to-date high of US$4.51 on March 10. Values pulled back by the end of the 90 day period to the US$4.09 level, registering a 13.9 percent increase for Q1.

‘Cold weather during January and February led to increased natural gas consumption and large natural gas withdrawals from inventories,” a March report from the EIA explains.

Natural gas price performance, December 31, 2024, to April 23, 2025.

“(The) EIA now expects natural gas inventories to fall below 1.7 trillion cubic feet at the end of March, which is 10 percent below the previous five-year average and 6 percent less natural gas in storage for that time of year than EIA had expected last month,’ the document continues.

Natural gas price forecast for 2025

Following record setting demand growth in 2024 the gas market is expected to remain tight through 2025, amid market expansion from Asian countries.

The IEA also pointed to price volatility brought on geopolitical tensions as a factor that could move markets.

“Though the halt of Russian piped gas transit via Ukraine on 1 January 2025 does not pose an imminent supply security risk for the European Union, it could increase LNG import requirements and tighten market fundamentals in 2025,” the organization notes in a gas market report for Q1.

Although the market is forecasted to remain tight the IEA expects growth in global gas demand to slow to below 2 percent in 2025. Similarly to 2024’s trajectory, growth is set to be largely driven by Asia, which is expected to account for almost 45 percent of incremental gas demand, the report read.

THe US-based EIA has a more optimistic outlook for the domestic gas sector, projecting the annual demand growth rate to be 4 percent for 2025.

“This increase is led by an 18 percent increase in exports and a 9 percent increase in residential and commercial consumption for space heating,” an April EIA market overview states.

The report attributes the expected export growth to increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments out of two new LNG export facilities, Plaquemines Phase 1 and Golden Pass LNG.

Venture Global’s (NYSE:VG) Plaquemines LNG facility in Louisiana commenced production in December 2024 and is currently in the commissioning phase.

Once fully operational, it is expected to have a capacity of 20 million metric tons per annum. The facility has entered into binding long-term sales agreements for its full capacity

Golden Pass LNG, a joint venture between ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) and state-owned QatarEnergy, is under construction in Sabine Pass, Texas. The project has faced delays due to the bankruptcy of a key contractor, with Train 1 now expected to be operational by late 2025 . Upon completion, Golden Pass LNG will have an export capacity of up to 18.1 million metric tons per annum.

The EIA forecasts natural gas prices to average US$4.30 in 2025, a US$2.10 increase from 2025. Farther ahead the EIA has a more modest forecast of US$4.60 for 2026.

Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Coelacanth Energy Inc. (TSXV: CEI) (‘Coelacanth’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce its 2024 year-end reserves as independently evaluated by GLJ Ltd. (‘GLJ’) effective December 31, 2024 (the ‘GLJ Report’ or the ‘Report’), in accordance with National Instrument 51-101 (‘NI 51-101’) and the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation (‘COGE’) Handbook. All dollar figures are Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

Introduction

During 2024, Coelacanth drilled an additional 3 Lower Montney wells on its 5-19 pad and started the construction of pipelines and facilities to allow for the production of all 9 wells on the 5-19 pad to come on production in Q2 2025. The 9 wells consist of 7 Lower Montney wells, 1 Upper Montney well and 1 Basal Montney well that have tested over 11,000 boe/d (flush production) (1). On completion of phase 1 of the facility in May 2025, Coelacanth will have capacity to produce 30.0 mmcf/d of gas plus the concurrent oil production for a combined capacity of approximately 7,500-8,000 boe/d. Phase 2 (adding compression) is scheduled for Q4 2025 and will double capacity.

Coelacanth almost doubled its reserves from 2023 while still only having recognized reserves on less than 10% of its 150 section Montney land block at Two Rivers. A total of 23 combined wells and locations are included in the Report comprised of 13 drilled and completed Montney wells plus 10 Montney undeveloped locations. The 13 existing wells include 8 Lower Montney wells, 4 Upper Montney wells, and 1 Basal Montney well. All 10 undeveloped locations booked were Lower Montney leaving potential to book additional Upper and Basal Montney wells on the same lands. Coelacanth believes it has been conservative in its bookings and, over time, will be able to expand the current reserve base to cover a greater portion of the land base.

The Report includes a total of $148.3 million of future development capital (‘FDC’) of which $33.5 million is in Jan-May of 2025 for phase 1 of the facility. By the end of May, the capital for phase 1 of the facility will have been spent and all of the proved developed non-producing and probable developed non-producing reserves will change to producing status. These adjustments will have a material effect on the Report given the FDC for phase 1 of the facility will be removed (thereby increasing the overall value) and the producing portion of the Report will increase dramatically with wells coming on production. Coelacanth is planning to engage GLJ to provide a mid-year update of the Report to better illustrate the magnitude of the changes.

Coelacanth’s business plan for the Two Rivers Montney Project includes:

  • Delineating and establishing production on multiple Montney zones over its extensive land base.
  • Accelerating production through pad drilling once initial infrastructure is complete.
  • Licensing and constructing additional facilities and pipelines to process future production additions.

Coelacanth is currently:

  • Finalizing the construction of Two Rivers East facility to accommodate the 5-19 pad production.
  • Licensing additional pads for future development.
  • Completing a third-party resource study to aid in well spacing and completion design as well as future delineation.
  • Completing a detailed review of Two Rivers for well development and future infrastructure requirements.

Coelacanth is excited to initiate its business plan to systematically develop the property, establish the ultimate reserve recoveries and move the established recoverable resource from land to its established producing reserve base.

Reserve Highlights

Coelacanth is pleased to report material increases in both reserves and value:

  • Increased Total Proved plus Probable reserves by 95% to 27.5 million boe from 14.1 million boe.
  • Increased Total Proved reserves by 63% to 17.1 million boe from 10.5 million boe.
  • Increased Total Proved plus Probable Reserve value (net present value before taxes, discounted at 10%) by 155% to $239.6 million from $93.9 million.

Notes:
(1) See ‘Test Results and Initial Production Rates’.

Reserves Summary

Coelacanth’s December 31, 2024 reserves as prepared by GLJ effective December 31, 2024 and based on the GLJ (2025-01) future price forecast are as follows: (1,4)

Working Interest Reserves (2) Tight Oil
(Mbbl)
Shale
Natural Gas
(Mmcf)
NGLs
(Mbbl)
Total Oil Equivalent
(Mboe) (3)
Proved
Producing 344 8,097 150 1,843
Developed non-producing 1,874 38,862 720 9,071
Undeveloped 1,137 27,324 506 6,197
Total proved 3,355 74,283 1,376 17,111
Probable 2,154 44,543 825 10,403
Total proved & probable 5,509 118,826 2,201 27,515

 

Notes:
(1) Numbers may not add due to rounding.
(2) ‘Working Interest’ or ‘Gross’ reserves means Coelacanth’s working interest (operating and non-operating) share before deduction of royalties and without including any royalty interest of Coelacanth.
(3) Oil equivalent amounts have been calculated using a conversion rate of six thousand cubic feet of natural gas to one barrel of oil.
(4) Disclosure of Net reserves are included in Company’s Annual Information Form (‘AIF’) dated April 23, 2025 filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. ‘Net’ reserves means Coelacanth’s working interest (operated and non-operated) share after deduction of royalties, plus Coelacanth’s royalty interest in reserves.

Reserves Values

The estimated future net revenues before taxes associated with Coelacanth’s reserves effective December 31, 2024 and based on the GLJ (2025-01) future price forecast are summarized in the following table: (1,2,3,4)

Discount factor per year
($000s) 0% 5% 10% 15% 20%
Proved
Producing 21,615 17,655 14,827 12,765 11,220
Developed non-producing 131,346 97,179 74,105 57,825 45,878
Undeveloped 93,068 63,389 44,903 32,689 24,196
Total proved 246,030 178,224 133,834 103,279 81,294
Probable 221,362 147,285 105,806 80,431 63,701
Total proved & probable 467,391 325,509 239,640 183,710 144,995

 

Notes:
(1) Numbers may not add due to rounding.
(2) The estimated future net revenues are stated prior to provision for interest, debt service charges or general administrative expenses and after deduction of royalties, operating costs, estimated well abandonment and reclamation costs and estimated future capital expenditures.
(3) The estimated future net revenue contained in the table does not necessarily represent the fair market value of the reserves. There is no assurance that the forecast price and cost assumptions contained in the GLJ Report will be attained and variations could be material. The recovery and reserve estimates described herein are estimates only. Actual reserves may be greater or less than those calculated.
(4) The after-tax present values of future net revenue attributed to Coelacanth’s reserves are included in Company’s AIF dated April 23, 2025 filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Price Forecast

The GLJ (2025-01) price forecast is as follows:

Year WTI Oil @ Cushing
($US / Bbl)
Edmonton Light Oil
($Cdn / Bbl)
AECO Natural Gas
($Cdn / Mmbtu)
Chicago Natural Gas
($US / Mmbtu)
Foreign Exchange
(Cdn$/US$)
2025 71.25 91.33 2.05 2.79 0.7050
2026 73.50 93.32 3.00 3.70 0.7300
2027 76.00 96.45 3.50 4.01 0.7500
2028 78.53 99.82 4.00 4.10 0.7500
2029 80.10 101.80 4.08 4.18 0.7500
2030 81.70 103.84 4.16 4.27 0.7500
2031 83.34 105.92 4.24 4.35 0.7500
2032 85.00 108.04 4.33 4.45 0.7500
2033 86.70 110.20 4.41 4.54 0.7500
2034 88.44 112.40 4.50 4.63 0.7500
Escalate thereafter (1) 2.0% per year 2.0% per year 2.0% per year 2.0% per year

 

Note:
(1) Escalated at two per cent per year starting in 2034 in the January 1, 2025 GLJ price forecast with the exception of foreign exchange, which remains flat.

Reserve Life Index (‘RLI’)

Coelacanth’s RLI presented below is based on estimated Q4 2024 average production of 1,084 boe per day.

Reserve Category RLI
Proved plus Probable Reserves 69.0
Proved Reserves 42.9

 

Reserves Reconciliation

The following summary reconciliation of Coelacanth’s working interest reserves compares changes in the Company’s reserves as at December 31, 2024 to the reserves as at December 31, 2023 based on the GLJ (2025-01) future price forecast: (1,2)

Total Proved Tight Oil  Shale
Natural Gas 
NGLs  Total Oil
Equivalent
  (Mbbl) (Mmcf)  (Mbbl) (Mboe) (3)
Opening balance          2,291       44,784         720       10,475
Discoveries                       –                    –                          –                  –
Extensions and improved recovery            1,212              27,468                 509          6,298
Technical revisions                 (28)             3,663              173         756
Acquisitions               –                  –                         –                    –
Dispositions                    –                    –                            –                           –
Economic factors              (15)            (297)               (1)              (66)
Production                    (105)            (1,335)                (24)           (352)
Closing balance           3,355               74,283           1,376           17,111
         
         
Proved plus Probable Tight Oil Shale
Natural Gas
NGLs Total Oil
Equivalent
  (Mbbl) (Mmcf) (Mbbl) (Mboe) (3)
Opening balance            3,038      60,432                970            14,080
Discoveries                 –                     –             –                       –
Extensions and improved recovery            2,599               56,330              1,043         13,031
Technical revisions               (9)              3,734                 213                     825
Acquisitions                      –               –                 –                      –
Dispositions                      –                         –         –                   –
Economic factors             (13)              (334)                       –             (69)
Production            (105)         (1,335)                   (24)          (352)
Closing balance       5,509         118,826          2,201         27,515​

 

Notes:
(1) Numbers may not add due to rounding.
(2) ‘Working Interest’ or ‘Gross’ reserves means Coelacanth’s working interest (operating and non-operating) share before deduction of royalties and without including any royalty interest of Coelacanth.
(3) Oil equivalent amounts have been calculated using a conversion rate of six thousand cubic feet of natural gas to one barrel of oil.

Capital Expenditures

Capital allocation by category is as follows:

       
($000s) 2024 2023 2022
Undeveloped land                   765                  1,006          1,164
Acquisitions             765            1,006              1,164
       
Drilling and completion            38,353           61,274              9,009
Facilities and related infrastructure            44,935          12,094         3,689
Geological, geophysical  and other             444             239              42
Exploration and development expenditures          83,732          73,607              12,740
       
Total capital expenditures    84,497   74,613      13,904

 

Finding and Development Costs (‘F&D’) and Finding, Development and Acquisition Costs (‘FD&A’)

Coelacanth has presented FD&A and F&D costs below:

   2024   2023  2022  3 Year Cumulative 
     Proved &
   Proved &    Proved &    Proved &
($000’s, except where noted)  Proved  Probable  Proved  Probable  Proved  Probable  Proved  Probable
                 
                 
Exploration and development expenditures      83,732      83,732      73,607      73,607      12,740      12,740   170,079   170,079
Change in FDC (1)      (1,713)      30,469      90,598      77,759      11,400      33,748   100,285   141,976
F&D costs       82,019   114,201   164,205   151,366      24,140      46,488   270,364   312,055
Acquisitions           765           765        1,006        1,006        1,164        1,164        2,935        2,935
FD&A costs       82,784   114,966   165,211   152,372      25,304      47,652   273,299   314,990
                 
Reserve Additions (Mboe) (2)                
Exploration and development        6,989      13,789        8,637        9,784        1,169        3,400      16,795      26,973
Acquisitions                 –                 –                 –                 –                 –                 –                 –                 –
         6,989      13,789        8,637        9,784        1,169        3,400      16,795      26,973
                 
F&D costs ($/boe)        11.74          8.28        19.01        15.47        20.65        13.67        16.10        11.57
FD&A costs ($/boe)        11.84          8.34        19.13        15.57        21.65        14.02        16.27        11.68

 

Notes:
(1) Future development capital (‘FDC’) expenditures required to recover reserves estimated by GLJ. The aggregate of the exploration and development costs incurred in the most recent financial period and the change during that period in estimated future development costs generally may not reflect total finding and development costs related to reserve additions for that period.
(2) Sum of extensions and improved recovery, technical revisions and economic factors in the reserves reconciliation included above.

For Coelacanth’s full NI 51-101 disclosure related to its 2024 year-end reserves please refer to the Company’s AIF dated April 23, 2025 filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words ‘expect’, ‘anticipate’, ‘continue’, ‘estimate’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘should’, ‘believe’, ‘intends’, ‘forecast’, ‘plans’, ‘guidance’ and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements or information.

More particularly and without limitation, this document contains forward-looking statements and information relating to the Company’s oil, NGLs and natural gas production and reserves and reserves values, capital programs, and oil, NGLs, and natural gas commodity prices. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company, including expectations and assumptions relating to prevailing commodity prices and exchange rates, applicable royalty rates and tax laws, future well production rates, the performance of existing wells, the success of drilling new wells, the availability of capital to undertake planned activities and the availability and cost of labor and services.

Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and information are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general such as operational risks in development, exploration and production, delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures, the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production rates, costs and expenses, commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations, marketing and transportation, environmental risks, competition, the ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources and changes in tax, royalty and environmental legislation. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this document are made as of the date hereof for the purpose of providing the readers with the Company’s expectations for the coming year. The forward-looking statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

Reserves Data

There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of tight oil, shale gas, and NGLs reserves and the future cash flows attributed to such reserves. The reserve and associated cash flow information set forth above are estimates only. In general, estimates of economically recoverable tight oil, shale gas, and NGLs reserves and the future net cash flows therefrom are based upon a number of variable factors and assumptions, such as historical production from the properties, production rates, ultimate reserve recovery, timing and amount of capital expenditures, marketability of oil and natural gas, royalty rates, the assumed effects of regulation by governmental agencies and future operating costs, all of which may vary materially.

Individual properties may not reflect the same confidence level as estimates of reserves for all properties due to the effects of aggregation.

This news release contains estimates of the net present value of the Company’s future net revenue from its reserves. Such amounts do not represent the fair market value of the Company’s reserves.

The reserves data contained in this news release has been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 51-101 (‘NI 51-101’). The reserve data provided in this news release presents only a portion of the disclosure required under NI 51-101. All of the required information will be contained in the Company’s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Reserves are estimated remaining quantities of oil and natural gas and related substances anticipated to be recoverable from known accumulations, as of a given date, based on the analysis of drilling, geological, geophysical and engineering data; the use of established technology, and specified economic conditions, which are generally accepted as being reasonable. Reserves are classified according to the degree of certainty associated with the estimates as follows:

  • Proved Reserves are those reserves that can be estimated with a high degree of certainty to be recoverable. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the estimated proved reserves.

  • Probable Reserves are those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than proved reserves. It is equally likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the sum of the estimated proved plus probable reserves.

Industry Metrics

This news release contains metrics commonly used in the oil and natural gas industry. Each of these metrics is determined by the Company as set out below or elsewhere in this news release. These metrics are ‘F&D costs’, ‘FD&A costs’, and ‘reserve-life index’. These metrics do not have standardized meanings and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. As such, they should not be used to make comparisons.

Management uses these oil and gas metrics for its own performance measurements and to provide shareholders with measures to compare the Company’s performance over time, however, such measures are not reliable indicators of the Company’s future performance and future performance may not compare to the performance in previous periods.

‘F&D costs’ are calculated by dividing the sum of the total capital expenditures for the year (in dollars) by the change in reserves within the applicable reserves category (in boe). F&D costs, including FDC, includes all capital expenditures in the year as well as the change in FDC required to bring the reserves within the specified reserves category on production.

‘FD&A costs’ are calculated by dividing the sum of the total capital expenditures for the year inclusive of the net acquisition costs and disposition proceeds (in dollars) by the change in reserves within the applicable reserves category inclusive of changes due to acquisitions and dispositions (in boe). FD&A costs, including FDC, includes all capital expenditures in the year inclusive of the net acquisition costs and disposition proceeds as well as the change in FDC required to bring the reserves within the specified reserves category on production.

The Company uses F&D and FD&A as a measure of the efficiency of its overall capital program including the effect of acquisitions and dispositions. The aggregate of the exploration and development costs incurred in the most recent financial year and the change during that year in estimated future development costs generally will not reflect total finding and development costs related to reserves additions for that year.

‘Reserve life index’ or ‘RLI’ is calculated by dividing the reserves (in boe) in the referenced category by the latest quarter of production (in boe) annualized. The Company uses this measure to determine how long the booked reserves will last at current production rates if no further reserves were added.

BOE Conversions

BOE’s may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of 6 Mcf: 1 Bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.

Abbreviations

Bbl barrel
Mbbl thousands of barrels
MMbtu millions of British thermal units
Mcf thousand cubic feet
MMcf million cubic feet
NGLs natural gas liquids
BOE barrel of oil equivalent
MBOE thousands of barrels of oil equivalent
WTI West Texas Intermediate at Cushing, Oklahoma

 

Test Results and Initial Production Rates

The 5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 9.4 days and produced at an average rate of 377 bbl/d oil and 2,202 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The A5-19 Basal Montney well was production tested for 5.9 days and produced at an average rate of 117 bbl/d oil and 630 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The B5-19 Upper Montney well was production tested for 6.3 days and produced at an average rate of 92 bbl/d oil and 2,100 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The C5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 5.8 days and produced at an average rate of 736 bbl/d oil and 2,660 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The D5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 12.6 days and produced at an average rate of 170 bbl/d oil and 580 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The E5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 11.4 days and produced at an average rate of 312 bbl/d oil and 890 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure was stable, and production was starting to decline.

The F5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 4.9 days and produced at an average rate of 728 bbl/d oil and 1,607 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The G5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 7.1 days and produced at an average rate of 415 bbl/d oil and 1,489 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The H5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 8.1 days and produced at an average rate of 411 bbl/d oil and 1,166 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure was stable and production was starting to decline.

A pressure transient analysis or well-test interpretation has not been carried out on these nine wells and thus certain of the test results provided herein should be considered to be preliminary until such analysis or interpretation has been completed. Test results and initial production rates disclosed herein, particularly those short in duration, may not necessarily be indicative of long-term performance or of ultimate recovery.

Any references to peak rates, test rates, IP30, IP90, IP180 or initial production rates or declines are useful for confirming the presence of hydrocarbons, however, such rates and declines are not determinative of the rates at which such wells will continue production and decline thereafter and are not indicative of long-term performance or ultimate recovery. IP30 is defined as an average production rate over 30 consecutive days, IP90 is defined as an average production rate over 90 consecutive days and IP180 is defined as an average production rate over 180 consecutive days. Readers are cautioned not to place reliance on such rates in calculating aggregate production for the Company.

For further information, please contact:

Coelacanth Energy Inc.
2110, 530 – 8th Ave SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P 3S8
Phone: (403) 705-4525
www.coelacanth.ca

Robert Zakresky
President and Chief Executive Officer

Nolan Chicoine
Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/249585

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Coelacanth Energy Inc. (TSXV: CEI) (‘Coelacanth’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce its financial and operating results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2024. All dollar figures are Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

2024 HIGHLIGHTS

  • Drilled and completed three Lower Montney wells and completed a previously drilled Upper Montney well on its 5-19 pad at Two Rivers East. Average test production from the three Lower Montney wells was 1,624 boe/d (61% light oil) and test production from the Upper Montney well was 1,338 boe/d (54% light oil). (2)
  • Secured revolving bank credit facilities for a total of $52.0 million from a Canadian chartered bank.
  • Substantially completed construction of pipelines to connect the 5-19 pad wells to the Two Rivers East facility.
  • Initiated construction of its Two Rivers East facility for a Q2 2025 on-stream date.
FINANCIAL RESULTS Three Months Ended Year Ended
  December 31 December 31
($000s, except per share amounts)  2024  2023  % Change  2024  2023  % Change  
             
Oil and natural gas sales 4,544 4,204 8 13,736 6,663 106
             
Cash flow from (used in) operating activities 3,157 (404 ) (881 ) 2,203 (4,234 ) (152 )
Per share – basic and diluted (1) 0.01 (-) (100 ) (0.01 ) (100 )
             
Adjusted funds flow (used) (1) 382 1,750 (78 ) 1,515 (333 ) (555 )
Per share – basic and diluted (-) (-)
             
Net loss (2,903 ) (750 ) 287 (8,897 ) (6,573 ) 35
Per share – basic and diluted (0.01 ) (-) 100 (0.02 ) (0.01 ) 100
             
Capital expenditures (1) 64,952 34,656 87 84,497 74,613 13
             
Adjusted working capital (deficiency) (1)       (18,637 ) 67,589 (128 )
             
Common shares outstanding (000s)            
Weighted average – basic and diluted 530,398 478,731 11 529,804 439,055 21
             
End of period – basic       530,670 528,650
End of period – fully diluted       615,930 609,989 1  

 

(1) See ‘Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures’ section.
(2) See ‘Test Results and Initial Production Rates’ section.

  Three Months Ended Year Ended
OPERATING RESULTS (1) December 31 December 31
   2024  2023  % Change  2024  2023  % Change  
             
Daily production (2)            
Oil and condensate (bbls/d) 473 419 13 320 139 130
Other NGLs (bbls/d) 29 28 4 34 16 113  
Oil and NGLs (bbls/d) 502 447 12 354 155 128
Natural gas (mcf/d) 3,490 2,858 22 3,648 1,624 125  
Oil equivalent (boe/d) 1,084 923 17 962 426 126
             
Oil and natural gas sales            
Oil and condensate ($/bbl) 87.06 87.38 (-) 89.46 88.94 1
Other NGLs ($/bbl) 33.28 32.32 3 33.22 33.22  
Oil and NGLs ($/bbl) 83.97 83.88 83.99 83.28 1
Natural gas ($/mcf) 2.07 2.86 (28 ) 2.14 3.26 (34 )
Oil equivalent ($/boe) 45.57 49.47 (8 ) 39.01 42.82 (9 )
             
Royalties            
Oil and NGLs ($/bbl) 16.86 19.38 (13 ) 18.70 20.24 (8 )
Natural gas ($/mcf) 0.13 0.26 (50 ) 0.21 0.57 (63 )
Oil equivalent ($/boe) 8.22 10.20 (19 ) 7.66 9.57 (20 )
             
Operating expenses            
Oil and NGLs ($/bbl) 8.34 11.57 (28 ) 9.47 13.25 (29 )
Natural gas ($/mcf) 1.25 1.28 (2 ) 1.58 2.21 (29 )
Oil equivalent ($/boe) 7.88 9.57 (18 ) 9.47 13.25 (29 )
             
Net transportation expenses (3)            
Oil and NGLs ($/bbl) 5.54 4.95 12 3.46 4.10 (16 )
Natural gas ($/mcf) 0.76 0.81 (6 ) 0.73 1.12 (35 )
Oil equivalent ($/boe) 5.01 4.92 2 4.04 5.75 (30 )
             
Operating netback (loss) (3)            
Oil and NGLs ($/bbl) 53.23 47.98 11 52.36 45.69 15
Natural gas ($/mcf) (0.07 ) 0.51 (114 ) (0.38 ) (0.64 ) (41 )
Oil equivalent ($/boe) 24.46 24.78 (1 ) 17.84 14.25 25
             
Depletion and depreciation ($/boe) (10.76 ) (12.18 ) (12 ) (13.59 ) (14.93 ) (9 )
General and administrative expenses ($/boe) (15.46 ) (10.77 ) 44 (14.34 ) (27.08 ) (47 )
Share based compensation ($/boe) (7.08 ) (16.31 ) (57 ) (11.12 ) (23.49 ) (53 )
Loss on lease termination ($/boe) (2.02 ) 100 (0.57 ) 100
Finance expense ($/boe) (18.02 ) (1.28 ) 1,308 (6.33 ) (3.09 ) 105
Finance income ($/boe) 3.65 10.01 (64 ) 8.23 18.75 (56 )
Unutilized transportation ($/boe) (3.88 ) (3.08 ) 26 (5.37 ) (6.65 ) (19 )
Net loss ($/boe) (29.11 ) (8.83 ) 230 (25.25 ) (42.24 ) (40 )

 

(1) See ‘Oil and Gas Terms’ section.
(2) See ‘Product Types’ section.
(3) See ‘Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures’ section.

Selected financial and operational information outlined in this news release should be read in conjunction with Coelacanth’s audited financial statements and related Management’s Discussion and Analysis (‘MD&A’) for the year ended December 31, 2024, which are available for review under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

OPERATIONS UPDATE

In Q4 2024, Coelacanth achieved two more significant milestones in its vision of moving the Two Rivers Montney Project from a large Montney land block to a proven resource with decades of inventory.

In 2022 and 2023, Coelacanth was able to prove productivity in the Lower Montney over a significant portion of lands at Two Rivers that allowed for the decision to build-out infrastructure and to continue pad drilling at Two Rivers East. During 2024, Coelacanth completed the licensing phase of the infrastructure and started construction while also continuing to develop the Montney resource.

In Q4 2024, Coelacanth was able to substantially complete all pipelines required for its 5-19 pad that connected it from the pad to the future facility and then on to a midstream gathering system. Concurrently, Coelacanth completed a successful Upper Montney well at Two Rivers East and changed the completion design in the Lower Montney on the 5-19 pad. The Upper Montney completion proved significant productivity (previously announced test rate of 1,136 boe/d) (1) in a zone that can be mapped over a significant portion of Coelacanth’s lands and should materially increase drilling inventory. The new Lower Montney completions yielded increased overall test rates as well as increasing the oil percentage (3-well average test rates previously announced at 1,624 boe/d with 61% light oil) (1) pointing to potentially higher per-well recoveries of oil and gas and corresponding per-well values than previously estimated.

Construction of the facility continued throughout Q1 2025 and is now substantially complete. With 9 wells and over 11,000 boe/d (1) of test production waiting on completion of the facility, we anticipate yet another major milestone will be reached imminently. We look forward to reporting updates on the Two Rivers East project as new developments arise.

(1) See ‘Test Results and Initial Production Rates’ section for more details.

OIL AND GAS TERMS

The Company uses the following frequently recurring oil and gas industry terms in the news release:

Liquids
Bbls Barrels
Bbls/d Barrels per day
NGLs Natural gas liquids (includes condensate, pentane, butane, propane, and ethane)
Condensat Pentane and heavier hydrocarbons
   
Natural Gas
Mcf Thousands of cubic feet
Mcf/d Thousands of cubic feet per day
MMcf/d Millions of cubic feet per day
MMbtu Million of British thermal units
MMbtu/d Million of British thermal units per day
   
Oil Equivalent
Boe Barrels of oil equivalent
Boe/d Barrels of oil equivalent per day

 

Disclosure provided herein in respect of a boe may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion rate of six thousand cubic feet of natural gas to one barrel of oil equivalent has been used for the calculation of boe amounts in the news release. This boe conversion rate is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead.

NON-GAAP AND OTHER FINANCIAL MEASURES

This news release refers to certain measures that are not determined in accordance with IFRS (or ‘GAAP’). These non-GAAP and other financial measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. The non-GAAP and other financial measures should not be considered alternatives to, or more meaningful than, financial measures that are determined in accordance with IFRS as indicators of the Company’s performance. Management believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP and other financial measures provides useful information to shareholders and investors in understanding and evaluating the Company’s ongoing operating performance, and the measures provide increased transparency to better analyze the Company’s performance against prior periods on a comparable basis.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted funds flow (used)
Management uses adjusted funds flow (used) to analyze performance and considers it a key measure as it demonstrates the Company’s ability to generate the cash necessary to fund future capital investments and abandonment obligations and to repay debt, if any. Adjusted funds flow (used) is a non-GAAP financial measure and has been defined by the Company as cash flow from (used in) operating activities excluding the change in non-cash working capital related to operating activities, movements in restricted cash deposits and expenditures on decommissioning obligations. Management believes the timing of collection, payment or incurrence of these items involves a high degree of discretion and as such may not be useful for evaluating the Company’s cash flows. Adjusted funds flow (used) is reconciled from cash flow from (used) in operating activities as follows:

  Three Months Ended Year Ended
  December 31 December 31
($000s)  2024  2023  2024  2023
Cash flow from (used in) operating activities  3,157 (404 ) 2,203 (4,234 )
Add (deduct):        
Decommissioning expenditures 161 206 1,427 1,883
Change in restricted cash deposits (5,361 ) (2,376 ) (784 )
Change in non-cash working capital 2,425 1,948 261 2,802  
Adjusted funds flow (used) (non-GAAP) 382 1,750 1,515 (333 )

 

Net transportation expenses
Management considers net transportation expenses an important measure as it demonstrates the cost of utilized transportation related to the Company’s production. Net transportation expenses is calculated as transportation expenses less unutilized transportation and is calculated as follows:

  Three Months Ended Year Ended
  December 31 December 31
($000s)  2024  2023  2024  2023  
Transportation expenses 887 680 3,313 1,930
Unutilized transportation (387 ) (262 ) (1,891 ) (1,035 )
Net transportation expenses (non-GAAP) 500 418 1,422 895

 

Operating netback
Management considers operating netback an important measure as it demonstrates its profitability relative to current commodity prices. Operating netback is calculated as oil and natural gas sales less royalties, operating expenses, and net transportation expenses and is calculated as follows:

  Three Months Ended Year Ended
  December 31 December 31
($000s)  2024  2023  2024  2023
Oil and natural gas sales 4,544 4,204 13,736 6,663
Royalties (820 ) (866 ) (2,698 ) (1,489 )
Operating expenses (786 ) (813 ) (3,335 ) (2,062 )
Net transportation expenses (500 ) (418 ) (1,422 ) (895 )
Operating netback (non-GAAP) 2,438 2,107 6,281 2,217

 

Capital expenditures
Coelacanth utilizes capital expenditures as a measure of capital investment on property, plant, and equipment, exploration and evaluation assets and property acquisitions compared to its annual budgeted capital expenditures. Capital expenditures are calculated as follows:

  Three Months Ended Year Ended
  December 31 December 31
($000s)  2024  2023  2024  2023
Capital expenditures – property, plant, and equipment 233 4,584 1,206 26,928
Capital expenditures – exploration and evaluation assets 64,719 30,072 83,291 47,685
Capital expenditures (non-GAAP) 64,952 34,656 84,497 74,613

 

Capital Management Measures

Adjusted working capital (deficiency)
Management uses adjusted working capital (deficiency) as a measure to assess the Company’s financial position. Adjusted working capital is calculated as current assets and restricted cash deposits less current liabilities, excluding the current portion of decommissioning obligations.

($000s)  December 31, 2024  December 31, 2023
Current assets 11,579 87,616
Less:     
Current liabilities  (37,234 ) (28,754 )
Working capital (deficiency)  (25,655 ) 58,862
Add:     
Restricted cash deposits 4,900 6,784
Current portion of decommissioning obligations 2,118 1,943
Adjusted working capital (deficiency) (Capital management measure) (18,637 ) 67,589

 

Non-GAAP Financial Ratios

Adjusted Funds Flow (Used) per share
Adjusted funds flow (used) per share is a non-GAAP financial ratio, calculated using adjusted funds flow (used) and the same weighted average basic and diluted shares used in calculating net loss per share.

Net transportation expenses per boe
The Company utilizes net transportation expenses per boe to assess the per unit cost of utilized transportation related to the Company’s production. Net transportation expenses per boe is calculated as net transportation expenses divided by total production for the applicable period.

Operating netback per boe
The Company utilizes operating netback per boe to assess the operating performance of its petroleum and natural gas assets on a per unit of production basis. Operating netback per boe is calculated as operating netback divided by total production for the applicable period.

Supplementary Financial Measures

The supplementary financial measures used in this news release (primarily average sales price per product type and certain per boe and per share figures) are either a per unit disclosure of a corresponding GAAP measure, or a component of a corresponding GAAP measure, presented in the financial statements. Supplementary financial measures that are disclosed on a per unit basis are calculated by dividing the aggregate GAAP measure (or component thereof) by the applicable unit for the period. Supplementary financial measures that are disclosed on a component basis of a corresponding GAAP measure are a granular representation of a financial statement line item and are determined in accordance with GAAP.

PRODUCT TYPES

The Company uses the following references to sales volumes in the news release:

Natural gas refers to shale gas.
Oil and condensate refers to condensate and tight oil combined.
Other NGLs refers to butane, propane and ethane combined.
Oil and NGLs refers to tight oil and NGLs combined.
Oil equivalent refers to the total oil equivalent of shale gas, tight oil, and NGLs combined, using the conversion rate of six thousand cubic feet of shale gas to one barrel of oil equivalent as described above.

The following is a complete breakdown of sales volumes for applicable periods by specific product types of shale gas, tight oil, and NGLs:

  Three Months Ended Year Ended
  December 31 December 31
Sales Volumes by Product Type  2024  2023 2024  2023
         
Condensate (bbls/d) 22 12 32 7
Other NGLs (bbls/d) 29 28 35 16
NGLs (bbls/d) 51 40 67 23
         
Tight oil (bbls/d) 451 407 287 132
Condensate (bbls/d) 22 12 32 7
Oil and condensate (bbls/d) 473 419 319 139
Other NGLs (bbls/d) 29 28 35 16
Oil and NGLs (bbls/d) 502 447 354 155
         
Shale gas (mcf/d) 3,490 2,858 3,648 1,624
Natural gas (mcf/d) 3,490 2,858 3,648 1,624
         
Oil equivalent (boe/d) 1,084 923 962 426

 

TEST RESULTS AND INITIAL PRODUCTION RATES

The 5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 9.4 days and produced at an average rate of 377 bbl/d oil and 2,202 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The A5-19 Basal Montney well was production tested for 5.9 days and produced at an average rate of 117 bbl/d oil and 630 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The B5-19 Upper Montney well was production tested for 6.3 days and produced at an average rate of 92 bbl/d oil and 2,100 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The C5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 5.8 days and produced at an average rate of 736 bbl/d oil and 2,660 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The D5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 12.6 days and produced at an average rate of 170 bbl/d oil and 580 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The E5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 11.4 days and produced at an average rate of 312 bbl/d oil and 890 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure was stable, and production was starting to decline.

The F5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 4.9 days and produced at an average rate of 728 bbl/d oil and 1,607 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The G5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 7.1 days and produced at an average rate of 415 bbl/d oil and 1,489 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure and production rates were stable.

The H5-19 Lower Montney well was production tested for 8.1 days and produced at an average rate of 411 bbl/d oil and 1,166 mcf/d gas (net of load fluid and energizing fluid) over that period which includes the initial cleanup where only load water was being recovered. At the end of the test, flowing wellhead pressure was stable and production was starting to decline.

A pressure transient analysis or well-test interpretation has not been carried out on these nine wells and thus certain of the test results provided herein should be considered to be preliminary until such analysis or interpretation has been completed. Test results and initial production rates disclosed herein, particularly those short in duration, may not necessarily be indicative of long-term performance or of ultimate recovery.

Any references to peak rates, test rates, IP30, IP90, IP180 or initial production rates or declines are useful for confirming the presence of hydrocarbons, however, such rates and declines are not determinative of the rates at which such wells will continue production and decline thereafter and are not indicative of long-term performance or ultimate recovery. IP30 is defined as an average production rate over 30 consecutive days, IP90 is defined as an average production rate over 90 consecutive days and IP180 is defined as an average production rate over 180 consecutive days. Readers are cautioned not to place reliance on such rates in calculating aggregate production for the Company.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This document contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words ‘expect’, ‘anticipate’, ‘continue’, ‘estimate’, ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘should’, ‘believe’, ‘intends’, ‘forecast’, ‘plans’, ‘guidance’ and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements or information.

More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to the Company’s oil and condensate, other NGLs, and natural gas production, capital programs, and adjusted working capital (deficiency). The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company, including expectations and assumptions relating to prevailing commodity prices and exchange rates, applicable royalty rates and tax laws, future well production rates, the performance of existing wells, the success of drilling new wells, the availability of capital to undertake planned activities, and the availability and cost of labour and services.

Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and information are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the risks associated with the oil and gas industry in general such as operational risks in development, exploration and production, delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures, the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production rates, costs, and expenses, commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations, marketing and transportation, environmental risks, competition, the ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources and changes in tax, royalty, and environmental legislation. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this document are made as of the date hereof for the purpose of providing the readers with the Company’s expectations for the coming year. The forward-looking statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

Coelacanth is an oil and natural gas company, actively engaged in the acquisition, development, exploration, and production of oil and natural gas reserves in northeastern British Columbia, Canada.

Further Information

For additional information, please contact:

Coelacanth Energy Inc.
Suite 2110, 530 – 8th Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P 3S8
Phone: (403) 705-4525
www.coelacanth.ca

Mr. Robert J. Zakresky
President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Nolan Chicoine
Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/249584

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Heliostar Metals Ltd. (TSXV: HSTR) (OTCQX: HSTXF) (FSE: RGG1) (‘Heliostar’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Mr. Stephen Soock as Vice President of Investor Relations and Development and Ms. Connie Lillico as Corporate Secretary.

Heliostar CEO, Charles Funk, commented, ‘We are delighted to add Stephen and Connie to our team as we continue to build our capacity. Stephen brings his understanding of institutional banking, sales and project knowledge from his role as an analyst at Stifel. He will lead the Company’s investor relationships and contribute to Heliostar’s strategy for production growth and reduction in our cost of capital. Connie brings a wealth of experience, having helped shepherd First Majestic from an ambitious junior to stable producer. She will lead the Company’s regulatory responsibilities in her role as Corporate Secretary. I would also like to thank Ms. Sheryl Dhillon for her diligent, professional long-term service to the Company as our Corporate Secretary.’

Mr. Soock has been in the mining industry for almost 20 years in both technical and capital markets roles. Prior to joining Heliostar, he was a Brendan Wood ranked sell side research analyst at Stifel. He covered growth and development companies in the precious metals space and brings a robust understanding of value creation from junior gold companies to his new role with Heliostar. Mr. Soock has also worked in various engineering roles at mine sites across Canada, including Vale’s Thompson Nickel operation, Mosaic’s Belle Plaine solution potash mine and Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond mine complex. He graduated from Queen’s University with a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering and is a CFA Charterholder.

Ms. Lillico brings 20 years of experience working with publicly traded companies in the mining industry. Ms. Lillico has worked with several TSX, TSX-V and NSYE listed companies and prior to joining Heliostar, Ms. Lillico served as the Corporate Secretary at First Majestic Silver Corp. Ms. Lillico has been involved in all aspects of administration of publicly listed companies including regulatory compliance, corporate governance, continuous disclosure requirements, equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, board and committee matters and shareholder communications.

Further, pursuant to the Company’s Omnibus Equity Incentive Compensation Plan, it has granted 700,000 stock options (‘Options’) at an exercise price of $1.05 and 150,000 restricted share units (each, an ‘RSU’) to employees and consultants of the Company. The Options are exercisable for a period of five years and will vest over the next two years. The RSUs will vest in three equal annual instalments commencing on the first anniversary of the grant date.

About Heliostar Metals Ltd.

Heliostar aims to grow to become a mid-tier gold producer. The Company is focused on increasing production and developing new resources at the La Colorada and San Agustin mines in Mexico, and on developing the 100% owned Ana Paula Project in Guerrero, Mexico.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Charles Funk
President and Chief Executive Officer
Heliostar Metals Limited
Email: charles.funk@heliostarmetals.com
Phone: +1 844-753-0045
Rob Grey
Investor Relations Manager
Heliostar Metals Limited
Email: rob.grey@heliostarmetals.com
Phone: +1 844-753-0045

 

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes certain ‘Forward-Looking Statements’ within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and ‘forward-looking information’ under applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words ‘anticipate’, ‘believe’, ‘estimate’, ‘expect’, ‘target’, ‘plan’, ‘forecast’, ‘may’, ‘would’, ‘could’, ‘schedule’ and similar words or expressions, identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the Company’s goal of becoming a mid-tier producer.

Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information relating to the terms and completion of the Facility, any future mineral production, liquidity, and future exploration plans are based on management’s reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on management’s experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the receipt of necessary approvals, price of metals; no escalation in the severity of public health crises or ongoing military conflicts; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; and the Company’s ability to operate in a safe and effective manner and its ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms.

These statements reflect the Company’s respective current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of other assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: precious metals price volatility; risks associated with the conduct of the Company’s mining activities in foreign jurisdictions; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to reliance on the Company’s management team and outside contractors; risks regarding exploration and mining activities; the Company’s inability to obtain insurance to cover all risks, on a commercially reasonable basis or at all; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; risks relating to project financing and equity issuances; risks and unknowns inherent in all mining projects, including the inaccuracy of reserves and resources, metallurgical recoveries and capital and operating costs of such projects; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; laws and regulations governing the environment, health and safety; the ability of the communities in which the Company operates to manage and cope with the implications of public health crises; the economic and financial implications of public health crises, ongoing military conflicts and general economic factors to the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; the Company’s interactions with surrounding communities; the Company’s ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; the speculative nature of exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; and the factors identified under the caption ‘Risk Factors’ in the Company’s public disclosure documents. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/249614

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Brunswick Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: BRW, OTCQB: BRWXF; ‘ BRW ‘ or the ‘ Company ‘) is pleased to report the first results from the 2025 Mirage winter drilling campaign where it drilled an additional twenty-four holes targeting extensions of known mineralized zones. The Mirage Project is located in the Eeyou Istchee-James Bay region of Quebec, approximately 40 kilometers south of the Trans-Taiga Road. This release focuses on the Central Zone including the MR-6, MR-3 dykes and Stacked Dyke area where BRW has continued to intersect wide and well mineralized intervals along strike and at depth.

Highlights include:

  • Significant interval of 36 meters at 1.51% Li2O in hole MR-24-102 within the Stacked Dyke area extending mineralization to the south-east and where an additional 13 dykes measuring between 1.3 and 9.35 meters were intercepted in the same hole.
  • New interval at the MR-6 Dyke with 1.32% Li2O over 28 meters in hole MR-24-101 extending the dyke to the northwest.
  • The MR-3, MR-6 and staked dyke system can now be traced together into a major swarm of spodumene bearing pegmatites covering a surface area of over 1,000 meters by up to 450m.
  • A total of 24 drill holes prioritizing near surfaces mineralization in the extension of the staked dyke area were completed during the winter. Assays are pending for a further 16 holes.

Mr. Killian Charles, President and CEO of BRW, commented: ‘To date, every drill campaign has demonstrated the significant exploration upside at Mirage and these first results from our winter 2025 campaign are no different. We have successfully extended the MR-6 pegmatite and continue to rapidly add considerable intercepts in the neighboring Stacked Dyke area. Interestingly, this high potential target area has continued to return multiple significant mineralized intercepts over the entirety of each drill hole and the Stacked Dyke area remains open in multiple directions.

Brunswick Exploration remains one of the most active lithium exploration companies globally and looks forward to releasing more drill results from Mirage and the restart of prospecting in Greenland. With its unique portfolio, the Company expects to have a milestone rich year.’

Mirage Project Drilling Overview

The Mirage Project comprises 427 claims located roughly 40 kilometers south of the Trans-Taiga Highway in Quebec’s James Bay region and 34 kilometers northeast of Winsome Resources’ Adina Project.

The 2025 winter drilling campaign focused on extending the mineralized Stacked Dyke area to the northeast. Highlights discussed in this release are shown in Table 1 and Figure 1. Collars are shown in Table 2.

Figure 1 : Central Zone of the Mirage Project

The holes MR-25-96 and MR-25-98 extended the MR-3 dyke 150m to the South with 0.79% Li2O over 12.2 meters from 55.8 meters to 68 meters and 1.26% Li2O over 7 meters from 176 meters to 183 meters. The hole MR-25-95 also confirmed the present of MR-3 and intersect a new dyke from 123.9 to 132 meters that returned 0.76% Li2O over 8.31 meters. This new shallow dipping mineralized pegmatite is located between MR-3 and MR-6 and is open in all directions. From 290 to 307 meters, the hole MR-25-95 holes also intersected three mineralized dykes that could be extensions to MR-6 at depth, dipping to the east.

The hole MR-25-102 extends the Staked Dyke area to the south with 14 mineralized dykes intercepted with the largest grading 1.51% Li2O over 35.65 meters from 166.6 meters to 202.25 meters. MR-23-32ext was drilled to connect the Stacked Dyke area to MR-6. Multiple dykes were intercepted in this hole and confirmed the presence of three new sub horizontal dykes under MR-6 with the largest returning 1.02% Li2O over 7.75 meters from 158.25 meters to 166 meters.

MR-25-101 confirmed the plunge to the north of MR-6 with an intercept of 28 meters at 1.32% Li2O from 173 meters to 201 meters and extends the MR-6 pegmatite by 100 meters. The hole MR-25-99 and MR-25-100 also intercepted the MR-6 dyke over 14.3 meters and 19.4 meters but showed signs of heavy alteration and no spodumene was identified.

Table 1 : 2025 Drilling Program Mentioned in this Release

Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) Li2O (%)
MR-23-32-ext

143.55 145.55 2.00 2.26
147.55 150.00 2.45 1.41
158.25 166.00 7.75 1.02
MR-25-95

49.50 56.75 7.25 0.55
123.90 132.00 8.10 0.79
225.25 228.25 3.00 1.61
290.00 291.00 1.00 1.44
299.00 300.90 1.90 1.20
303.50 307.20 2.70 1.33
MR-25-96

55.80 68.00 12.20 0.79
147.60 150.90 3.30 0.90
160.55 163.20 2.65 0.27
MR-25-97 18.40 23.20 4.80 1.25
MR-25-98 176.00 183.00 7.00 1.26
MR-25-101 173.00 201.00 28.00 1.32
MR-25-102

17.25 21.00 3.75 1.33
65.70 69.00 3.30 2.66
96.15 105.50 9.35 0.75
117.50 119.50 2.00 1.34
132.75 134.65 1.90 1.81
138.90 140.30 1.40 0.88
157.60 159.85 2.25 1.10
166.60 202.25 35.65 1.51
212.20 214.85 2.65 1.24
239.70 243.60 3.90 1.33
247.95 250.75 2.80 1.74
254.70 256.50 1.80 1.68
292.15 296.10 3.95 1.52
299.00 305.10 6.10 1.19


Table 2
: 2025 Drilling Collars Mentioned in this Release

Hole ID Azimut Dip Length (m) UTM NAD83 z18 East UTM NAD83 z18 North
MR-23-32-ext 320 -73 162 683263 5941204
MR-25-95 30 -60 369 682821 5940489
MR-25-96 30 -90 207 682821 5940989
MR-25-97 320 -65 48 683503 5941233
MR-25-98 315 -60 301.45 682784 5940878
MR-25-99 320 -90 168 682912 5941336
MR-25-100 320 -90 201 682832 5941326
MR-25-101 320 -60 285 682912 5941336


QAQC

All drill core samples were collected under the supervision of BRW employees and contractors. The drill core was transported by helicopter and by truck from the drill platform to the core logging facility in Val-d’Or. Each core was then logged, photographed, tagged, and split by diamond saw before being sampled. All pegmatite intervals were sampled at approximately 1-meter intervals to ensure representativity. Samples were bagged; duplicated on reject, blanks and certified reference materials for lithium were inserted every 20 samples. Samples were bagged and groups of samples were placed in larger bags, sealed with numbered tags, in order to maintain a chain of custody. The sample bags were transported from the BRW contractor facility to the AGAT laboratory in Val-d’Or. All sample preparation and analytical work was performed by AGAT by sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-OES and ICP-MS finish. All results passed the QA/QC screening at the lab and all inserted standard and blanks returned results that were within acceptable limits. All reported drill intersections are calculated based on a lower cutoff grade of 0.3% Li2O, with maximum internal dilution of 5 meters. Host basalts adjacent to the dykes may grade up to 0.3% Li2O but were excluded from the reported intersections.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Simon T. Hébert, VP Development. He is a Professional Geologist registered in Quebec and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Brunswick Exploration

Brunswick Exploration is a Montreal-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-V under symbol BRW. The Company is focused on grassroots exploration for lithium in Canada, a critical metal necessary to global decarbonization and energy transition. The company is rapidly advancing the most extensive grassroots lithium property portfolio in Canada and Greenland.

Investor Relations/information

Mr. Killian Charles, President and CEO ( info@brwexplo.ca )

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains ‘forward-looking information’ within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; changes in equity markets; inflation; fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development of projects; the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry; and those risks set out in the Corporation’s public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Corporation believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ea65ea8b-aa40-40d8-9be0-f901db569529

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