Cordex Signs A Joint Venture With ENAP For A 950,000 Acre Block In The Productive Austral Basin, Chile.

DENVER, COLORADO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 1997--(TSE:CZX.A.) CORDEX Petroleums Inc. (TSE:CZX.A) and ENAP (Empresa National Del Petroleo) today signed a joint venture agreement to explore and develop a 950,000 acre block in the Austral Basin, Chile. ENAP will be the operator with 45 percent interest in the venture whereas CORDEX will have the remaining 55 percent interest and will be technical operator of the project. This block is located northeast of the Straits of Magellan, continuing north to the Argentinean border. The acreage is on trend with recent Springhill and Tertiary discoveries made by Qunitana and Perez Compac in the Argentinean part of the Austral basin. Several undeveloped and/or older shut-in discoveries are included within the joint venture area.

CORDEX's President and CEO, Ralph Wilkerson states that "CORDEX has been working on this venture for over two and one half years. Chile is one of CORDEX's focus areas where the economic terms are attractive and where new technology can be used to enhance hydrocarbon exploration. In-place infrastructure also enhances the economics of any discovery. This joint venture combines ENAP's experience and infrastructure with CORDEX's technical expertise from ongoing work at the Laguna Los Capones and Del Mosquito fields in Argentina. This deal is significant in that it is the first joint venture with ENAP in the productive part of the Chilean Austral Basin. Both companies will benefit from this joint venture."

The contract term is 35 years with an initial exploration stage of 4 years and a complementary exploration stage of six years is possible with additional drilling commitments. The initial stage is divided into three phases. The first phase is 1.5 years in which $400,000 will be spent by the joint venture evaluating geologic data and reprocessing selected seismic data. The second 1.5-year phase will consist of obtaining new geologic and geophysical data with a minimum expenditure of $2 MM (minimum of 150 Kms of new seismic data). The last phase is one year and requires the drilling of two wells.

CONTACT: CORDEX Petroleums Inc.

Bob Zilinski, 303/297-2016 ext. 122