Empire Petroleum Corporation provided an update on its North Dakota development drilling program and reported results for the first quarter of 2024. North Dakota ? Williston Basin: Empire expects North Dakota development efforts to drive production improvements targeted to return operations to positive cash flow and support New Mexico exploration and development in late 2024 and beyond.

70% of the horizontal wells completed or in progress and more under development over the next 2 quarters; the remaining 30% of the horizontal laterals will be completed for initial Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) development in Q2-Q3 2024; First stage of the EOR infrastructure to be completed in Q2-2024 and the balance installed in Q3-2024; Initial production impact anticipated to ramp in Q3-2024 to Q4-2024 and beyond; Drill core data, currently being evaluated, has confirmed new zones of potential development; and 3-D seismic program to guide North Dakota drilling and development; Completed 3-D & 2-D seismic shoot in early May 2024; expect to complete 3-D processing/analysis and updated 3-D model by end of Q2-2024 to support launch of development program in Q3-2024. New Mexico ? Permian Basin: Initiated data and analytics on historical water injection profiles across all injectors in Empire?s waterflood units; Currently focused on evaluating conformance improvements; Optimizing waterflood aerial performance to enhance overall recovery efficiency; Constructed reservoir simulation model of Eunice Monument South Unit (EMSU), Eunice Monument South Unit-B (EMSU-B) and Arrowhead Grayburg Unit (AGU) to evaluate performance and impact to SWD injection and long-term flooding into the San Andres; Identified high potential recompletion opportunities in outlying fields; and Initiated legal and regulatory actions against third parties trespassing on the NM water floods.