Serinus Energy Inc. (“Serinus”, “SEN” or the “Company”) (TSX:SEN, WSE:SEN) announces that it has temporarily shut-in production at the Chouech Es Saida field in Tunisia. This field was previously shut-in on January 10, 2017, as announced in a press release on January 16, 2017 with production start-up resuming on February 1, 2017. The current shut-in is again due to another announced strike notice issued by Tunisia General Trade Union (“UGTT”) representing the Company’s workers at the Chouech Es Saida field. This strike notice calls for a 5-day strike in response to the Company laying off 14 of the 52 Chouech Es Saida employees for economic redundancy reasons, even though these lay-offs are within the right of the Company and strictly follow the appropriate laws, work code and regulations. The UGTT has also initiated an illegal sit-in at the field beginning on February 27, 2017 in which the only participants are the 5 affected laid off personal currently at the field. The remaining unaffected employees have not joined this illegal sit-in. Due to the illegal sit-in of the facility and the proposed strike with production stoppage, the Company initiated to shut-in production for safety and security reasons.
UGTT Tataouine’s decision to not cooperate with the Company on a fair and equitable redundancy process has led the Company to the decision to not bring production back online until it has satisfactory resolution of the economic redundancy issue.
The average daily production from the field for the month of February, 2017, to date was 130 barrels of oil equivalent per day (“BOE/d”).
In the process of shutting in production, the Company will prepare for the orderly and safe mobilization of all employees out of the Chouech Es Saida facilities over the coming days. During this shut-in period, the Company will continue to engage in dialogue with UGTT and the Government of Tunisia regarding the economic redundancy process with the full hope that the UGTT realizes that the preservation of the 38 remaining jobs at the Chouech Es Saida field is preferable to a prolonged period of labour action that will benefit no one. Only with this realization will the production at Chouech Es Saida be brought back online.
Cautionary Statement:
BOEs 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.
About Serinus
Serinus is an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company that owns and operates projects in Tunisia and Romania.
For further information, please refer to the Serinus website (www.serinusenergy.com) or contact the following:
| Serinus Energy Inc.
Calvin Brackman Director, External Relations Tel.: +1-403-264-8877 |
Serinus Energy Inc.
Jeffrey Auld Chief Executive Officer Tel.: +1-403-264-8877 |
Translation: This news release has been translated into Polish from the English original.
Forward-looking Statements This release may contain forward-looking statements made as of the date of this announcement with respect to future activities that either are not or may not be historical facts. Although the Company believes that its expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, any potential results suggested by such statements involve risk and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Various factors that could impair or prevent the Company from completing the expected activities on its projects include that the Company’s projects experience technical and mechanical problems, there are changes in product prices, failure to obtain regulatory approvals, the state of the national or international monetary, oil and gas, financial , political and economic markets in the jurisdictions where the Company operates and other risks not anticipated by the Company or disclosed in the Company’s published material. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties and actual results may vary materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statement. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in this announcement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement, unless required by law.