Tsakos Energy Navigation (TNP) to Sell Thrace Basin Natural Gas Unit; Issues Production Update

TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd. (NYSE: TAT) announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with Valeura Energy Netherlands B.V. (“Valeura”) for the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Thrace Basin Natural Gas (Turkiye) Corporation (“TBNG”), and provided a production update.

Entry into Share Purchase Agreement

On October 13, 2016, TransAtlantic Worldwide, Ltd. (“TransAtlantic Worldwide”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a share purchase agreement (the “Share Purchase Agreement”) with its joint venture partner, Valeura, for the sale of all of the equity interests in TBNG, a subsidiary of the Company with assets and operations in the Thrace Basin of Turkey. Pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement, Valeura will pay $22.0 million, subject to closing adjustments, to TransAtlantic Worldwide in exchange for the transfer of all of the equity interests in TBNG. Concurrent with its acquisition of TBNG, Valeura will sell the deep rights on certain of its Turkish joint venture lands to Statoil Banarli Turkey B.V. (“Statoil”).

N. Malone Mitchell, 3rd, the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated, “We are glad to enter into the transaction with Valeura to sell our interest in TBNG. Valeura has been a good joint venture partner. They have brought significant technical support to the joint venture and we look forward to Valeura and Statoil proving the deeper productivity of the Thrace Basin.” He added that “if Valeura and Statoil are able to establish deep basin productivity in the area, we will be able to join that deep basin play through our 100% interest in the west offset of the Temrez block.”

Mr. Mitchell also noted that “the sale of TBNG represents the equivalent to TransAtlantic of the sale of approximately 379 net barrels of oil equivalent per day ('BOEPD') (99% gas) when using the September 2016 production rate. We intend to use the sale proceeds received to increase our cash reserves and fund drilling operations in our Southeast Turkey oilfields, which we believe will more than offset the decrease in production resulting from the sale of TBNG. This sale accomplishes the important second step of our planned financial restructuring.”

The sale of TBNG is expected to occur prior to year-end 2016, and is subject to certain closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals and the closing of the sale of Valeura’s deep rights to Statoil.

Production Update

TransAtlantic’s current 7-day average net production rate is approximately 4,632 BOEPD, comprised of approximately 4,080 barrels of oil per day (“BOPD”) and 3.3 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (“MMCFPD”). Daily net oil production increased from the end of the second quarter of 2016, primarily due to production enhancement in the Bahar Field in Southeast Turkey, which is ongoing. Incremental production from this work was approximately 500 BOPD.

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