TPE Teton Petroleum New

Teton Petroleum Updates Russian Operations DENVER, May 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Teton Petroleum Company ("Teton") , an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with its principal operations in Russia, today announced additional information on the pending sale of Goloil and the potential purchase of additional oil fields. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030611/TETONLOGO ) On April 12, Teton announced the sale of its interest in the independent Russian oil company, Goloil. Subject to shareholder approval at the next annual meeting, Teton will sell its 35.3% interest to another Goloil shareholder, the Russian independent oil producer OAO NK RussNeft. The purchase price for Teton's interest in Goloil, including outstanding loans to be repaid, is $15 million in cash and will also result in the elimination of $9.9 million of Teton's share in net Goloil liabilities. As a result of the sale, Teton expects to record a gain on the disposition of approximately $12 million. The proceeds from the sale of Goloil, together with a portion of the proceeds from last year's equity offering, will be available to apply towards possible new producing acquisitions in Russia. Teton anticipates having approximately $20 million in cash to apply towards new acquisitions. Further information on the sale of Goloil will be provided in the Company's annual proxy statement, which will be released shortly. "Goloil was a great accomplishment for Teton. We now feel that in order to improve our financial performance and continue to grow the Company as planned, we need to deploy our capital towards larger, more profitable fields that will be jointly or fully operated by Teton," stated Karl F. Arleth, Teton's President and CEO. In an April 5th press release, Teton announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire a field that would net 3,400 barrels of daily production. The transaction is based on an agreement between Teton and Samson International Resources ("Samson") for the purchase of Samson's 52% interest in ZAO Pechoraneftegas (PNG) located in the Komi region of Siberia. Since then, Samson's partner in PNG, Vitol Cypress ("Vitol"), has exercised its preferential right to acquire Samson's interest in the property. Teton's $3.85 million deposit has been fully refunded, but the contract remains in effect. In the event that Vitol does not close on Samson's 52% interest, Teton and Samson may proceed with the contemplated transaction subject to Teton's due diligence. As part of the execution of its business plan, Teton is in preliminary negotiations for the acquisition of new oil fields. However, no agreements have been signed. This Press Release may contain certain forward-looking statements, including declarations regarding Teton and its subsidiary's expectations, intentions, strategies and beliefs regarding the future. All statements contained herein are based upon information available to Teton's management as at the date hereof and actual results may vary based upon future events, both within and without the control of the Teton's management. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030611/TETONLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Teton Petroleum Company CONTACT: Gillian D. Kane, Vice President, Investor Relations of Teton Petroleum Company, +1-970-870-1417, Web site: http://www.tetonpetroleum.com/

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