News Release

2018

January 19, 2018

Encounter of Hydrocarbons Onshore Papua New Guinea

PRESS RELEASE

Mr. Shunsaku Miyake, President and CEO of JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Merlin Petroleum Company (President and CEO, Hironori Wasada, "Merlin"), encountered hydrocarbons in the Toro and Digimu sandstones after drilling the onshore P'nyang South-2 well, located in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea.

Together with our co-venture partners, we are in the process of evaluating the well results and will assess the P'nyang field resource potential and development pathway.

We will also be working with Papua New Guinea's Government for the development of P'nyang field.