ORCA EXPLORATION GROUP INC. PROVIDES UPDATE ON COVID-19 STRATEGY

TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, March 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orca Exploration Group Inc. ("Orca" or the "Company" including its subsidiaries and affiliates) (TSX-V: ORC.A, ORC.B) today is announcing that it has taken several steps to limit the impact of the COVID-19 virus on its operations in Tanzania and the health of its employees.

It has been reported that there are now three confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Tanzania, all of whom are foreign nationals or have recently returned from Europe.  The Government of Tanzania is reported to be considering control measures which may include restricting access to the country and enforcing self-quarantine for some entrants. 

The Company and its subsidiary, PanAfrican Energy Tanzania Limited (“PAET”) have taken action to mitigate the operational impact of the COVID-19 virus.  In addition to staff medical briefings and increased sanitization of the offices and other work areas, all non-essential face to face meetings have been curtailed, all non-essential travel to our operational worksites has been stopped, and all Company personnel or contractors entering Tanzania from COVID-19 affected areas are now required to self-isolate for 7 days, extendible to 14 days, if they demonstrate any symptoms of the virus.  The Company’s IT systems are cloud based and are unlikely to be affected by the pandemic.  However, with the possibility of increased remote working, internet access and upgraded hardware and software has been provided to all key staff. 

On Songo Songo Island (“SSI”), the operational staff rotate every 4 weeks and this provides some in-built cover should some employees contract COVID-19.  As part of the contingency planning, we are identifying Company employees and Tanzanian contractors who could fill in for personnel who are required to self-isolate.

Currently the Company is not undertaking any critical activities that will be impacted by the virus in the short term.  The debottlenecking of the flowline system that is expected to increase production capacity by 10 million standard cubic feet a day is in process and we have secured the requisite equipment for this project.  During the second half of the year, we will require a land rig for workover operations and the management of this project will need to be undertaken in conjunction with government directives in place at that time.  We continue to negotiate an engineering, procurement and construction contract for the installation of compression on SSI by the end of 2021.   This compression is essential to ensure that there is no loss in production through Songas’ gas processing and pipeline facilities as field pressure declines.  At this stage, we do not envisage any delay with this project.