New TAG Oil Pipeline Nears Completion: Paves Way for Natural Gas Sales and Field Development

NEW PLYMOUTH, New Zealand, May 14, 2015 /CNW/ - Oil and gas operator TAG Oil Ltd., listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (trading symbol TAO), and in the US on the OTCQX Market (trading symbol TAOIF), reports that pipeline construction connecting the Cheal-E development area to TAG's main Cheal-A production infrastructure is nearly complete. The TAG-led, NZ$4.5 million (US$3.3 million) project was completed on budget and ahead of schedule.

"The new pipeline is an important addition to TAG's overall infrastructure in the Taranaki region," said Max Murray, TAG Oil's New Zealand Country Manager. "It allows us to significantly reduce operating costs even while generating additional revenues, and it gives us the ability to quickly monetize future oil and gas wells drilled in the Cheal-E development area."

Cheal-E to Cheal-A Site Pipeline

The 4" pipeline connecting the new Cheal-E site to TAG's Cheal-A site production facility is undergoing pre-commissioning and rigorous testing now. It will shortly, over the next week, move into the commissioning phase, at which point a three-phase well stream of fluids (oil, gas and water) will be processed through the Cheal-A site production facility.

In addition to the pipeline installation, an 11 kV HV electrical cable and a fibre optic cable have been installed to improve the power supply and communications between the Cheal-E and the Cheal-A production sites.

"Along with the benefits of increased production revenue from the sale of gas, we are very pleased to eliminate the need to flare the solution gas at Cheal-E onsite," Max Murray further commented. "The additional associated gas will be sold under an existing Gas Sales Agreement."

TAG Oil Ltd.

TAG Oil Ltd. (http://www.tagoil.com/) is a Canadian based, development stage, oil and gas company with extensive operations—including production infrastructure—in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. As one of New Zealand's leading operators, TAG is poised for long-term, reserve-based growth, and is positioned with attractive exploration activities in the lightly explored Taranaki Basin discovery fairway. As a low cost, high netback oil and gas producer, TAG is debt-free and reinvests its cash flow into development and step-out drilling along trend with the Company's existing production.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainty affecting the business of TAG. Such statements can be generally, but not always, be identified by words such as "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "forecasts", "guidance", "schedules", "prepares", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. All estimates and statements that describe the Company's objectives, goals, forecasts, guidance, production rates, test rates, optimization, timing of operations, increased pace of drilling, statements regarding prospects being drill ready and/or future plans with respect to the drilling and field optimization work in the Taranaki Basin are forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve risks and uncertainties including, without limitation: risks associated with oil and gas exploration, development, exploitation and production, geological risks, marketing and transportation, availability of adequate funding, volatility of commodity prices, environmental risks, competition from other producers, and changes in the regulatory and taxation environment. Actual results may vary materially from the information provided in this release, and there is no representation by TAG Oil that the actual results realized in the future would be the same in whole or in part as those presented herein.

Other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements are also set forth in filings that TAG and its independent evaluator have made, including TAG's most recently filed reports in Canada under NI 51-101, which can be found under TAG's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. TAG undertakes no obligation, except as otherwise required by law, to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors change.

SOURCE TAG Oil Ltd.

Ashley Garnot, Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected], Website: http://www.tagoil.com/, Blog: http://blog.tagoil.com/