Pan Orient Energy Corp.: Indonesia Update

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - March 24, 2011) -

Citarum Production Sharing Contract – Pan Orient 77% Interest & Operator

Pan Orient Energy Corp. ("Pan Orient") (TSX VENTURE:POE) is pleased to announce it has completed a transaction through subsidiaries which will increase its interest in the Citarum Production Sharing Contract ("PSC") in Indonesia from 69% to 77%. 

Through the transaction, Pan Orient is repurchasing an eight percent carried interest on the PSC previously owned by a third party for consideration of USD$0.5 million, including the issuance of 21,719 shares in Pan Orient at a deemed market value of USD$0.15 million.

Pan Orient, through its subsidiaries, is the operator of the Citarum PSC in Indonesia and expects to commence a high impact three well exploration drilling program late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of 2011. This program will target a combined un-risked best estimate prospective resource of 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (net to Pan Orient's 77% operated interest) on the heavily populated island of Java, and in a region with excellent pipeline infrastructure and robust natural gas demand.

Batu Gajah Production Sharing Contract – POE 97% Interest & Operator

Pan Orient is pleased to announce that Tuba Obi Utara-1, the first of three back to back high impact exploration wells located in the Batu Gajah PSC onshore Sumatra, is currently drilling ahead towards a planned total depth of approximately 1,400 meters. This well is targeting a combined un-risked best estimate prospective resource of 114 million barrels of oil and 429 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The Tuba Obi Utara-1 well is targeting the primary Upper and Lower Talang Akar formation sandstone objectives and the secondary Air Benakat and Gumai formation sandstone objectives between the depths of 300 to 1,400 meters. Total depth is anticipated to be reached in approximately 15 days, at which time the rig will be moved to the Betano-1 location to be followed by the SE Tiung-1 location. Testing, if technically justified by well results, will likely commence between the drilling of the second and third wells. 

Pan Orient is a Calgary, Alberta based oil and gas exploration and production company with operations currently located onshore Thailand, Indonesia and in Western Canada.

This news release contains forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is generally identifiable by the terminology used, such as "expect", "believe", "estimate", "should", "anticipate" and "potential" or other similar wording. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, references to: well drilling programs and drilling plans, estimates of reserves and potentially recoverable resources, and information on future production and project start-ups. By their very nature, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release require Pan Orient and its management to make assumptions that may not materialize or that may not be accurate. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results, expectations, achievements or performance to differ materially, including without limitation: imprecision of reserve estimates and estimates of recoverable quantities of oil, changes in project schedules, operating and reservoir performance, the effects of weather and climate change, the results of exploration and development drilling and related activities, demand for oil and gas, commercial negotiations, other technical and economic factors or revisions and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Pan Orient. Although Pan Orient believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct.