2009-08-10-2008-08-01-2008-08-01

JV to drill 516,000-gross-acre Windsor Block in Maritimes Basin.

Privately held, Calgary-based Zodiac Exploration Corp. has entered a joint venture with Triangle Petroleum Corp., Calgary, (OTCBB: TPLM) to drill up to six new delineation wells on its Windsor Block in the Maritimes Basin of Nova Scotia. The 516,000-gross-acre program is the second phase of Triangle's three-phase strategy for developing gas from shale in eastern Canada. Zodiac will pay 50% of the drilling costs for up to C$7.5 million to earn a 12.5% working interest in the block. The company then has a 30-day option to commit another C$7.5 million for an additional 12.5%. Should Zodiac pay the full C$25 million, it will hold 25% working interest in the block and Triangle would hold 45% and remain operator. The first well is expected to spud in late July. Subsequent wells are expected to test the gas content and productivity of the Horton Bluff shales. Zodiac chief executive Murray Rodgers says, "Triangle has done an outstanding job of positioning the company as a leading operator in Eastern Canada and we look forward to a dynamic joint-venture partnership. This is a rare opportunity to participate in the exploration and development of a basin scale opportunity with a spectrum of play types that includes a vast shale gas resource." Triangle chairman and CEO Mark Gustafson says, "We now have a partner who can assist us in accelerating the drilling program and who can also contribute significant technical expertise as well."