BPZ Energy Announces Commencement of Development Drilling at Corvina Field CX-15 Platform in Peru

HOUSTON, July 23, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BPZ Energy (NYSE:BPZ) (BVL:BPZ), today announced spudding of the first development well at the Corvina field CX-15 platform, located in offshore Block Z-1 in Peru.  Drilling and completion of the CX15-1D well is expected to take up to twelve weeks. Conventional core samples of the Zorritos formation reservoir rocks will be cut during drilling operations and an additional casing string will be used as a precaution to manage any potential shallow gas. Targeted depth of the well will be approximately 7,400 feet subsea. Subsequent wells at the CX-15 platform are expected to be drilled and completed in less time.

In early July, sea and swell conditions caused pre-drilling operations at the CX-15 to be stopped for safety reasons. As a result, operations which were supporting installation of the top drive were suspended, one of the final steps required before drilling could begin. These conditions affected a large area of the Peruvian and Chilean coastlines and forced the closure of numerous ports. Necessary repairs to a crane that was supporting the top drive installation were also completed during the work stoppage on the platform. 

President and CEO Manolo Zuniga commented, "We are excited to begin our previously announced multi-well development drilling campaign at the CX-15 platform, which will be instrumental in helping grow our oil production volumes. I congratulate the teams who worked diligently to finalize drilling preparations for this first well, which is another milestone for our Company. We look forward to sharing results of this well in the coming weeks."

ABOUT BPZ ENERGY

Houston-based BPZ Energy, which trades as BPZ Resources, Inc. under ticker symbol BPZ on the New York Stock Exchange and the Bolsa de Valores in Lima, is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company which has license contracts covering approximately 2.0 million net acres in offshore and onshore Peru. The Company holds a 51% interest in offshore Block Z-1, which it is developing in partnership with Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (TSX:PRE) (BVC:PREC) (BOVESPA:PREB). BPZ Energy also holds 100% working interests in three onshore blocks in Peru.  Please visit the Company's website at www.bpzenergy.com for more information.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT

This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward looking statements are based on our current expectations about our company, our properties, our estimates of required capital expenditures and our industry. You can identify these forward-looking statements when you see us using words such as "will," "expected," "estimated," and "prospective," and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties.

Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward looking statements. Such uncertainties include successful installation of our new platform in Corvina, the success of our project financing efforts, accuracy of well test results, results of seismic testing, well refurbishment efforts, successful production of indicated reserves, satisfaction of well test period requirements, successful installation of required permanent processing facilities, receipt of all required permits, the successful management of our capital expenditures, and other normal business risks. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING CERTAIN INFORMATION RELEASES

The Company is aware that certain information concerning its operations and production is available from time to time from Perupetro, an instrumentality of the Peruvian government, and the Ministry of Energy and Mines ("MEM"), a ministry of the government of Peru. This information is available from the websites of Perupetro and MEM and may be available from other official sources of which the Company is unaware. This information is published by Perupetro and MEM outside the control of the Company and may be published in a format different from the format used by the Company to disclose such information, in compliance with SEC and other U.S. regulatory requirements.

Additionally, the Company's joint venture partner in Block Z-1, Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. ("PRE"), is a Canadian public company that is not listed on a U.S. stock exchange, but is listed on the Toronto (TSX), Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (BVC) and BOVESPA stock exchanges. As such PRE may be subject to different information disclosure requirements than the Company. Information concerning the Company, such as information concerning energy reserves, may be published by PRE outside of our control and may be published in a format different from the format the Company uses to disclose such information, in compliance with SEC and other U.S. regulatory requirements.

The Company provides such information in the format required, and at the times required, by the SEC and as determined to be both material and relevant by management of the Company. The Company urges interested investors and third parties to consider closely the disclosure in our SEC filings, available from us at 580 Westlake Park Blvd., Suite 525, Houston, Texas 77079; Telephone: (281) 556-6200. These filings can also be obtained from the SEC via the internet at www.sec.gov.

CONTACT: Investor and Media Contact:
         A. Pierre Dubois
         Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
         BPZ Energy
         (281) 752-1240
         pierre_dubois@bpzenergy.com