Gran Tierra Energy Inc. Provides Operations Update Highlighted by Continued Success with Costayaco A-Limestone, Acordionero Development and Putumayo Exploration

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - May 4, 2017) - Gran Tierra Energy Inc. ("Gran Tierra" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT:GTE)(TSX:GTE) today announces the voting results from its annual meeting of stockholders held on May 3, 2017. Stockholders elected all seven individuals nominated by Gran Tierra. In addition, stockholders voted "FOR" the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte LLP as Gran Tierra's independent registered public accounting firm for 2017, "FOR" the approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of Gran Tierra's named executive officers, and "EVERY YEAR" as the preferred frequency of solicitation of stockholder advisory votes on the compensation of Gran Tierra's Named Executive Officers. The detailed results of the vote are as follows:
Proposal 1 - Election of Directors
For

Gran Tierra Energy Announces Final Voting Results of its Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. Provides Operational Update Highlighted by New Discoveries in the Putumayo and Middle Magdalena Valley Basins

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - May 3, 2017) - Gran Tierra Energy Inc. ("Gran Tierra" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT:GTE)(TSX:GTE), a company focused on oil and gas exploration and production in Colombia, today announced its financial and operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. All dollar amounts are in United States ("U.S.") dollars unless otherwise indicated. Per barrel of oil equivalent ("BOE") amounts are based on working interest ("WI") sales before royalties. For per BOE amounts based on net after royalty ("NAR") production, see Gran Tierra's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed May 3, 2017. Key Highlights
Increased average WI production before royalties in first quarter 2017 ("the Quarter") to 29,879 barrels of oil equivalent per day ("BOEPD"), 17% higher than first quarter 2016's average WI production before royalties of 25,610 BOEPD. First quarter 2017's average WI production before royalties was down 4%, or 1,152 BOEPD, relative to fourth quarter 2016 (the "Prior Quarter"), as a result of the sale of certain non-core, low operating net back assets with associated working interest production of 950 BOEPD, and a series of technical and operational decisions affecting the timing of certain projects. Demonstrated ongoing strong financial performance in first quarter 2017:
Operating netback1 on a per BOE basis increased by 14% relative to the Prior Quarter to $23.72 per BOE and increased 136% relative to first quarter 2016;
Operating expenses for the Quarter of $8.87 per BOE increased by 4% compared with the Prior Quarter, primarily due to field operations and logistics costs being higher on a per BOE basis as a result of lower sales volumes;
Transportation expenses for the Quarter of $2.58 per BOE were consistent with the Prior Quarter;
General and Administrative ("G&A") expenses for the Quarter decreased by 25% to $2.81 per BOE compared with the Prior Quarter;
Net cash provided by operating activities for the Quarter was $50 million compared with $7 million in the Prior Quarter. Net cash provided by operating activities increased primarily due to increased oil and natural gas sales, decreased operating, transportation, G&A, interest expenses and current income tax expense, lower realized foreign exchange losses and an $5 million cash inflow from changes in assets and liabilities from operating activities, partially offset by higher equity tax expense;
Funds flow from operations1 increased by 24% to $45 million compared with the Prior Quarter;
Capital expenditures in the Quarter were $46 million, in line with funds flow from operations;
Net income of $13 million was a significant increase over the Prior Quarter's net loss of $127 million due to a reduction in non-cash impairment charges, and represents the first time Gran Tierra has reported net income since third quarter 2014;
Earnings before interest, taxes, depletion, depreciation, accretion and impairment ("EBITDA")1 increased by 100% to $62 million compared to the Prior Quarter;
This overall strong financial performance in the Quarter was achieved while the average Brent oil price only increased by 7% to $54.66 per barrel ("bbl") compared with the Prior Quarter;
The Company repaid a net amount of $5 million of the balance outstanding on its revolving credit facility during the Quarter and exited the Quarter with $165 million of undrawn capacity on its $250 million credit facility and $27 million of cash on the balance sheet. Gran Tierra's committed borrowing base is expected to be increased by $50 million to $300 million, subject to final documentation, which is expected to increase total liquidity to approximately $242 million. Demonstrated strong operational results during the Quarter:
Successfully drilled, cased and tested the Acordionero-8i injection well and the Acordionero-9 development well, both of which discovered a new, deeper medium-gravity 24-27° API oil reservoir in the Lisama D Sand; the Acordionero-9 is now producing oil from the Lisama C Sand, and Acordionero-8i was being converted to a planned water injection pilot at the end of first quarter 2017. Continued evaluating the new oil play in Costayaco's "A" Limestone:
The Costayaco-2 was recompleted into the "A" Limestone in first quarter 2017 and now, along with the Costayaco-9 and 19 wells, continues to produce oil from the "A" Limestone with less than 2% watercut;
Successfully drilled Costayaco-28, Gran Tierra's first dedicated "A" Limestone horizontal well and ran a slotted liner into the 1,718 foot ("ft") horizontal section where numerous natural fracture zones were encountered, with production testing expected to begin around mid-May 2017. As a result of mechanical challenges drilling the horizontal section, testing, stimulation and ultimately production was delayed 12 weeks. The well is now complete and is being stimulated prior to testing;
Costayaco-29, a second horizontal well, is expected to spud immediately after Costayaco-28 testing and stimulation is completed, and is planned to test the "A" Limestone in a different part of the Costayaco structure. Continued drilling in the "N" Sands and "A" Limestone exploration plays in the Putumayo Basin during first quarter 2017:
The Confianza-1 exploration well in the Putumayo-7 ("PUT-7") block discovered oil in the Villeta "U" Sand and the "A" Limestone, both of which represent new discoveries in PUT-7, as well as encountered net oil pay in the previously discovered Villeta "N" Sands. Both the "U" Sand and the "A" Limestone tested light sweet oil. As of May 2, 2017, the Confianza-1 is now producing from the "N" Sands. Subsequent to the end of the Quarter, on April 27, 2017, the Company closed the previously announced strategic acquisitions of the Santana and Nancy-Burdine-Maxine blocks, along with key pipeline and transportation infrastructure, for cash consideration of $30 million. Gran Tierra expects 2017 average WI production before royalties to be 34,000 to 38,000 BOEPD from the Company's assets in Colombia and Brazil, which would represent an increase of 26% to 40% from our 2016 average WI production before royalties of 27,062 BOEPD. The 2017 guidance includes 1,200 to 1,500 BOEPD of production from Brazil. Message to Shareholders
Gary Guidry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gran Tierra, commented "Gran Tierra's strong first quarter 2017 results clearly demonstrate that we are delivering on our focused strategy of growing the Company's net asset value per share through our financially disciplined and results-driven exploration and development of our diversified Colombian asset base. We are pleased to report new oil discoveries in the Lisama D Sand in the Acordionero field in the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin and the "U" Sand and "A" Limestone in the PUT-7 block in the Putumayo Basin. Based on open hole logs, we also believe the Lisama B Sand at Acordionero may be a new discovery, but needs to be production tested at a later date. We are also continuing to develop our new oil play in Costayaco's "A" Limestone, where we are now producing oil from 3 vertical wells and have just cased our first dedicated horizontal well in this play, the Costayaco-28. We believe the "A" Limestone play may extend from the Costayaco field in the north to the PUT-7 block in the south of the Putumayo Basin and could represent a significant resource with positive basin-wide implications. This new play will be further tested through the multiple exploration wells we plan on drilling in the Putumayo Basin in 2017 and 2018. We have a very strong position in the basin with 13 blocks and 1.1 million gross acres. We did experience pump failures in both Acordionero-7 and Cumplidor-1, which impacted first quarter 2017 production by approximately 1,200 BOEPD. Subsequent to first quarter 2017, we have changed the pump design and expect to minimize failures going forward. We also deferred production from the final completion of Confianza (Villeta "N" Sands) and the Acordionero-8i and -9 to complete the testing of newly discovered zones and experienced well downtime due to workovers in the Costayaco Field. Our strong first quarter 2017 financial performance is demonstrated by the fact that funds flow from operations was up 24% relative to the Prior Quarter to $45 million, and covered 98% of the Company's first quarter 2017 capital expenditures of $46 million. The increase in funds flow from operations was due to higher operating netbacks and lower G&A expenses. Average Brent prices in the first quarter 2017 increased 7% to $54.66 per bbl from the Prior Quarter, while Gran Tierra's average realized oil price increased 10% to $35.17 per BOE in the same time period. Gran Tierra has successfully driven down combined operating and transportation expenses to $11.45 per BOE for the Quarter, a decrease of 5% from one year ago. Our operating netback increased 14% compared with the Prior Quarter to $23.72 per BOE, as a result of higher realized prices. We believe our low cost structure and solid production base allow us to be successful in a variety of pricing environments. We are focused on delivering long-term growth in net asset value per share to our shareholders. Therefore, when Gran Tierra makes new discoveries such as the Lisama D Sand at Acordionero, the "A" Limestone at Costayaco and the "U" Sand and "A" Limestone in the PUT-7 block, we will spend the extra time necessary to fully evaluate these potential new resources even when these deliberate decisions lead to temporary delays in bringing production online. Our transformed asset base is located in proven basins with stacked reservoirs and are either underexplored or underdeveloped and, at times, require additional time to evaluate. The time dedicated to properly test and assess new discoveries is expected to result in enhanced long-term value creation. Mostly as a result of the extended production testing of the Acordionero-8i and 9 and the Confianza-1 wells, as well as the pump failures at Acordionero-7 and Cumplidor-1, WI production before royalties for first quarter 2017 averaged 29,879 BOEPD, 4% lower compared to 31,031 BEOPD in the Prior Quarter, but 17% higher than first quarter 2016's average WI production before royalties of 25,610 BOEPD. Over the next three years, we continue to forecast both visible organic production growth and to drill a total of 30 to 35 exploration wells, with all of this activity expected to be funded from cash flows from operations. On behalf of our board of directors and the team at Gran Tierra, I want to thank all of our stakeholders for their continued support. We look forward to communicating additional updates in the coming quarters. We believe that our focused strategy is delivering results by proving up our significant exploration potential and that Gran Tierra is well positioned for growth through the end of 2017 and beyond." Financial and Operational Highlights (all amounts in $000s, except per share and BOE amounts)
Three Months Ended December 31
Three Months Ended March 31,
2016

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. Announces First Quarter 2017 Results Highlighted by Strong Financial Performance and New Discoveries in the Putumayo and Middle Magdalena Valley Basins

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - March 1, 2017) - Gran Tierra Energy Inc. ("Gran Tierra" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT:GTE)(TSX: GTE), a company focused on oil and gas exploration and production in Colombia, today announced the Company's financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016. All dollar amounts are in United States ("U.S.") dollars unless otherwise indicated. Per barrel of oil equivalent ("BOE") amounts are based on working interest ("WI") sales before royalties. For per BOE amounts based on net after royalty ("NAR") production, see Gran Tierra's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed February 28, 2017. Unless otherwise expressly stated, all reserves and resources values contained in this press release have been calculated in compliance with Canadian National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities ("NI 51-101") and the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook ("COGEH") and are based on the Company's 2016 year-end estimated reserves as evaluated by the Company's independent qualified reserve evaluator McDaniel & Associates Consultants Ltd. ("McDaniel") in a report with an effective date of December 31, 2016 (the "GTE McDaniel Reserves Report"). Key Highlights
Announced two successful strategic acquisitions in the Ecopetrol 2016 Bidding Round in the Putumayo Basin on November 28, 2016, which are expected to close by end of first quarter 2017. Increased average WI production before royalties in 2016 to 27,062 barrels of oil equivalent per day ("BOEPD"), 16% higher than 2015's average WI production before royalties of 23,401 BOEPD. Increased average WI production before royalties in fourth quarter 2016 to 31,031 BOEPD, 34% higher than fourth quarter 2015's average WI production before royalties of 23,138 BOEPD. Increased net asset value to $4.852 per share, based on before tax net present value ("NPV") discounted at 10% of 2P reserves, and year-end 2016 net working capital deficit and long term debt of $220.4 million (including convertible senior notes). Demonstrated ongoing strong financial performance in 2016, with full year average operating, transportation and general and administrative ("G&A") expenses on a per BOE basis decreasing by 9%, 37% and 28%, respectively, compared to 2015, while fourth quarter 2016 operating netback1 of $20.79 per BOE increased 31% relative to the third quarter 2016 (the "Prior Quarter"). Successfully drilled and cased the Acordionero-7 development oil well and spud the Acordionero-8i development water injection well during the fourth quarter of 2016, both of which pushed down the depth of the lowest known oil in Acordionero's reservoirs. Continued evaluating an exciting new oil play in Costayaco's "A" Limestone, where the Costayaco-9 and 19 wells continue to produce an average of 527 and 1,587 barrels of oil per day ("bopd"), respectively (2017 year-to-date), from the "A" Limestone with virtually no water; commenced drilling of the Costayaco-28, Gran Tierra's first dedicated "A" Limestone horizontal well, which continues with testing expected to begin on or around March 15, 2017; a second horizontal well, Costayaco-29, is expected to spud immediately after Costayaco-28 and is planned to test the "A" Limestone in a different part of the Costayaco structure. Continued drilling in the "N" Sands and "A" Limestone exploration plays in the Putumayo Basin, and spud the Confianza-1 exploration well on January 17, 2017, which is designed to test both formations. Maintained financial flexibility with an increased committed borrowing base of $250.0 million, of which only $90.0 million was drawn as of December 31, 2016. Message to Shareholders
Gary Guidry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gran Tierra, commented "During 2016, Gran Tierra successfully transformed its portfolio by delivering on our strategy of building a high-quality, diversified suite of assets in Colombia with high netback production, low base production declines, an expanded drilling inventory and a large resource base. Now that we have transformed the portfolio, our focus is on execution. With our delivery of strong production growth in fourth quarter 2016, we are demonstrating that Gran Tierra has created a sustainable business model which we expect to be fully funded point-forward by forecasted cash from operating activities. Since we operate over 90% of our production, Gran Tierra also has significant control and flexibility on capital allocation and timing. We transformed our portfolio through four strategic, accretive acquisitions in Colombia in 2016 (three completed, one pending), which established a dominant land position in the highly prospective, underexplored Putumayo Basin and a new core area in the prolific Middle Magdalena Valley Basin. Our high quality asset base now has 74% of its 2P reserves contained in three large operated, conventional, onshore Colombian oil assets: Acordionero, Costayaco and Moqueta. As we reported on January 23, 2017, this transformed portfolio delivered, during 2016, proved ("1P"), proved plus probable ("2P") and proved plus probable plus possible ("3P") WI reserves growth of 51%, 91% and 146% respectively, compared to 2015. Our inventory of net undrilled development locations has grown to 36 (2P) and 54 (3P) during the year. We are also pleased that we were able to increase our 2P reserve life index from 7.8 years to 11.1 years3. This robust set of assets is now expected to have visibility to 2018 WI production greater than 40,000 BOEPD by 2018, based on the 2P forecast. With our large resource base, we also plan to drill 30 to 35 exploration wells over the next three years, which are all expected to be funded by cash from operating activities. Our exploration campaign is designed to test the majority of our portfolio of prospective resources with these wells, including our now dominant Putumayo position in the emerging "N" Sand and "A" Limestone oil play fairways. We believe Gran Tierra ended 2016 on a strong note by delivering strong production growth in fourth quarter 2016, as we realized the first full three months of production from the PetroLatina acquisition which closed August 23, 2016. Fourth quarter 2016 WI production averaged 31,031 BOEPD, an increase of 34% from fourth quarter 2015's level of 23,138 BOEPD and an increase of 20% from the Prior Quarter. Commensurate with our increased production, our funds flow from operations1 saw a substantial increase of 54% in fourth quarter 2016 to $36.2 million compared with $23.5 million in the Prior Quarter. Oil prices increased in fourth quarter 2016, with Brent prices averaging $51.13 per barrel, a 9% increase from the Prior Quarter, while Gran Tierra's realized oil price also rose by 9% to $31.89 per BOE in the same time period. Gran Tierra continued to be successful in driving down combined operating and transportation expenses to $11.10 per BOE in the fourth quarter, a decrease of 17% from the Prior Quarter. We believe our low cost structure and growing production base allow us to be successful in a variety of pricing environments. Our ongoing focus on cost reductions allowed us to increase our operating netback in fourth quarter 2016 to $20.79 per BOE, up 31% from the Prior Quarter, a larger increase than the 9% increase in the Brent oil price over the same period. On behalf of our Board of Directors and the team at Gran Tierra, I want to thank all of our stakeholders for their continued support. We believe that our focused strategy is delivering results on several fronts and that Gran Tierra is well positioned for an exciting year of growth in 2017 and beyond as we efficiently create value in the multi-horizon, proven hydrocarbon producing basins of Colombia." Financial and operating highlights for the year include:
Production:
WI production before royalties for the quarter averaged 31,031 BOEPD, or 26,263 BOEPD NAR, compared with 25,835 BOEPD WI production before royalties and 21,980 BOEPD NAR in the Prior Quarter. WI annual production before royalties for 2016 averaged 27,062 BOEPD, or 23,187 BOEPD NAR, compared with 23,401 BOEPD WI annual production before royalties or 19,489 BOEPD NAR in 2015. Sales volumes for the fourth quarter were 26,477 BOEPD compared with 21,485 BOEPD in the Prior Quarter. Sales volumes increased due to higher working interest production (5,196 BOEPD) and a reduction of inventory (709 BOEPD), partially offset by higher royalty volumes (913 BOEPD). Annual sales volumes were 23,954 BOEPD compared with 18,260 BOEPD in 2015. Gran Tierra expects 2017 average WI production before royalties to be 34,000 to 38,000 BOEPD from the Company's assets in Colombia and Brazil, which would represent an increase of 26% to 40% from our 2016 average WI production before royalties of 27,062 BOEPD. The 2017 guidance includes 1,200 to 1,500 BOEPD of production from Brazil. The Company's production guidance only includes forecasted volumes from existing operations and expected development projects; no volumes are assumed for any exploration success. Financial:
Funds flow from operations(1) was $105.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared with $107.6 million in 2015, and, for the fourth quarter, $36.2 million compared with $23.5 million in the Prior Quarter. Net loss was $465.6 million, or $1.45 per share basic and diluted, for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared with $268.0 million, or $0.94 per share basic and diluted, in 2015. The increase in net loss was primarily due to higher impairment losses. Impairment losses increased by $183.1 million, net of income tax recovery, compared to 2015. For the fourth quarter, net loss was $127.4 million, or $0.36 per share basic and diluted, compared with $229.6 million, or $0.71 per share basic and diluted, in the Prior Quarter. Impairment losses decreased by $76.1 million, net of income tax recovery, compared with the Prior Quarter. At December 31, 2016, cash and cash equivalents (including current restricted cash) were $33.5 million, working capital deficiency (including cash and cash equivalents) was $23.3 million and $90.0 million was outstanding on the Company's revolving credit facility. The working capital deficiency was primarily a result of current tax related to a one-time restructuring. Average realized prices decreased to $28.38 per BOE for the year ended December 31, 2016 from $34.06 per BOE in 2015, but for the fourth quarter increased to $31.89 per BOE from $29.28 per BOE in the Prior Quarter. Operating expenses decreased to $8.51 per BOE for the year ended December 31, 2016 from $9.31 per BOE in 2015, primarily as a result of Colombian operating cost savings, partially offset by the effect of the weakening of the U.S. dollar against local currencies in South America. Workover expenses increased by $0.46 per BOE compared with the prior year. Excluding workover expenses, operating costs decreased by $1.26 per BOE to $6.28 per BOE. For the fourth quarter, operating expenses decreased to $8.50 per BOE from $10.93 per BOE in the Prior Quarter, primarily as a result of workover expenses of $1.92 per BOE compared with $4.30 per BOE in the Prior Quarter. Excluding workover expenses, operating costs per BOE were consistent with the Prior Quarter. Transportation expenses decreased to $3.12 per BOE for the year ended December 31, 2016 from $4.96 per BOE in 2015 primarily due to a lower percentage of volumes sold using pipelines, and the use of alternative transportation routes, which had lower costs per BOE than the routes used in 2015. For the quarter, transportation expenses increased to $2.60 per BOE from $2.47 per BOE in the Prior Quarter. The increase was primarily due to a lower percentage of sales at the wellhead, 50% in the current quarter, compared with 56% in the Prior Quarter. G&A expenses per BOE for the year ended December 31, 2016 decreased to $2.66 per BOE from $3.67 per BOE in 2015. Financial and Operational Highlights (all amounts in $000s, except per share and BOE amounts)
Three Months Ended September 30,
Three Months Ended

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results for 2016 Highlighted by Completion of a Transformational Year and 34% Increase in Production

Acquired

Tierra Energy was a Energy & Utilities company based in Austin, Texas.  Tierra Energy was acquired in 2005.

Date	12/7/2005
Round	Acquired
Amount
Investors	Energy Investors Funds
Valuation	$99M
Revenue	0 FY undefined
Sources

First funding	12/7/2005
Last Funding	12/7/2005
Investor	Energy Investors Funds
Rounds	1 Acquired
Board Seats
Type	Private Equity
Location	Massachusetts

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