Anatolia Energy announces spudding of the Guvenir-1 well on the Antep Licence in Turkey

CALGARY, Aug. 16, 2012 /CNW/ - Anatolia Energy Corp. (the "Company") (TSX-V: AEE) is pleased to announce that its partner, Çalık Enerji San. ve Tic. AŞ. ("Calik"), has commenced drilling at Guvenir-1, the initial exploration well on the Antep Licence in Turkey, where Anatolia holds a 50% interest.

Guvenir-1 will be the first well to target the Dadas Shale on the 845,418  gross acre (422,709 net acres) Antep Licence where our independent third party resource evaluator, Ryder Scott, has allocated 318 MMBbls (159 MMBbls net) of unrisked prospective resources (June 11, 2012 news release).

Drilling of the well is expected to take approximately 80 days to reach a total depth of approximately 8,500 feet (2,600 meters). The Company plans to extract core samples from the Dadas Shale in Guvenir-1 which will be analyzed in a specialized core laboratory in Calgary for properties and rock mechanics.

Following receipt of the core analysis from the Guvenir-1 well, the Company intends to conduct a fracture stimulation test within the Dadas Shale. The test will provide critical data to help management design the optimal full horizontal well and multi-stage fracture stimulation which is anticipated to more effectively and efficiently determine the productive capacity of the shale interval.

In addition to the unconventional Dadas Shale, the Guvenir-1 well will test the conventional Bedinan reservoir (Ordovician) which sits immediately below the Dadas.

On an aggregate basis, Anatolia Energy has an interest in 11 licences in Turkey with exposure to 1.2 million gross acres (581,428 net) of Dadas Shale and/or conventional oil prospective acreage.  Within the Antep Licence, the Company has identified an expansive area of prospective Dadas Shale and numerous prospects in the Bedinan sand.

About Anatolia Energy Corp.

Anatolia is an international oil and gas company engaged in the exploration and development of oil and gas assets in Turkey. Anatolia has the right, pursuant to its joint venture agreements with Çalık Enerji San. ve Tic. AŞ., the wholly-owned oil and gas subsidiary of the large Turkish conglomerate Çalık Holding A.Ş., to earn working interests between 25% and 50% in two development licences and working interests of 50% in nine exploration licences covering 1,162,856 gross acres of land in Turkey's proven Southeastern oil basin. Anatolia is focused on four play types in Turkey namely the Silurian Dadas shale oil trend, Paleozoic Bedinan sand trend, Cretaceous Mardin strike slip trend and Garzan reef trend.  The Dadas formation in southeast Turkey is an extension of the prolific Silurian source rocks of the Middle East.

Cautionary Statements

Prospective resources are those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development projects. Prospective resources have both an associated chance of discovery and a chance of development.  There is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion of the prospective resources.

Certain information included in this press release constitutes forward-looking information under applicable securities legislation.  Such forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Forward-looking information typically contains statements with words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", "project" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking information in this press release may include, but is not limited to, information with respect to: ultimate economic viability of the Dadas Shale, operational decisions and the timing thereof, and timing for drilling and exploration plans on the properties of Anatolia.  Forward-looking information is based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such information but which may prove to be incorrect.  Although Anatolia believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information is reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information because Anatolia can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which have been used.  Anatolia undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. For further information on the Company and the risks associated with its business, please see the Company's AIF dated June 4, 2012, which is available on SEDAR.  The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Anatolia Energy Corp.

Peter Argiris, VP Business Development
Anatolia Energy Corp.
403.802.0770 ext. 225