Apex Resources Group Inc. (Pink Sheets APXR.PK) Reports That the National Energy Board (NEB) Announced That They Will Be Hearing Final Arguments on the Proposed 1,220-Kilometer Long Gas Pipeline Along the Northwest Territories’ Mackenzie Valley in Mid-April

SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On January 6, 2010, the National Energy Board (NEB) announced that they will hear final arguments on the proposed 1,220-kilometer long gas pipeline along the Northwest Territories' Mackenzie Valley in mid-April. The hearings into the Mackenzie (Valley) Gas (Pipeline) Project (MGP) will start April 12 till approximately April 17 in Yellowknife, then will continue the following week in Inuvik from April 20 to April 24 and will be carried live on the NEB website, http://www.neb.gc.ca.

The Joint Review Panel (JRP) gave the proposed MGP a conditional approval that was released on Dec. 30, 2009.  The NEB will gather comments from the project's proponents and individuals who participated in either the NEB or JRP's hearings, while also collecting comments on the numerous JRP Report recommendations directed towards government departments and agencies.

In January 2006, the NEB began hearing evidence on the proposed pipeline from its five proponents: Imperial Oil Resources Ventures Limited, the Mackenzie Valley Aboriginal Pipeline Limited Partnership, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, ConocoPhillips Canada (North) Limited, Shell Canada Limited and ExxonMobil Canada Properties. Construction on the pipeline could begin as early as the fall of 2013, with the first gas flowing by 2016.

Apex Resources Group Inc. is partners with Imperial Oil and ConocoPhillips and other majors in the Itiyok I-27 Well, a major oil and gas discovery known as the Significant Discovery License #55 (SDL #55) located in the Beaufort Sea. Apex Resources Group Inc. is the fourth largest partner in the Itiyok I-27 Well with a 3.745% working interest.

CITADEL ENGINEERING REPORT

The Citadel Engineering Report states that the Itiyok I-27 Well (SDL #55) was originally drilled in 1983, at a total cost of CA$85 million. A review of Well data and geological prognosis indicates that a 640 acre area would contain proven recoverable gas reserves of 108 Bscf and proven recoverable oil reserves of 8,976 MSTB, with Apex Resources Group Inc. 3.745 % working interest net reserves of 4.04 Bscf and 336 MSTB.

Seismic data indicates a structure closure of approximately 40 square KM with a gross potential reserve of 1.16 TCF and 160 MMSTB (Apex 3.745 % working interest net – 34 Bscf and 4.7 MMSTB). The lands in which the Apex Resources Group Inc. owns an interest comprised of 21.54 square KM containing gross potential reserves of 625 Bscf of gas and 86 MMSTB of oil (Apex 3.745 % working interest net - 23.4 Bscf of gas and 3.2 MMSTB of oil). Values of proven, probable and possible gas and oil reserves, of Apex 3.745 % working interests.

APEX RESOURCES GROUP INC. PROVEN, PROBABLE & POSSIBLE GAS & OIL RESERVES IN THE ITIYOK I-27 SDL #55 IN THE BEAUFORT SEA VALUED AT US$1.2+ BILLION DOLLARS:

In 1997 Apex Resources Group Inc. purchased a 3.745% working interest in the Itiyok I-27 Well (SDL#55) in the Beaufort Sea and is the fourth largest partner in the Itiyok I-27 Well, with Imperial Oil as the operator and the largest partner with an interest of 58.67312%. At current oil & gas market prices, the Apex 3.745% working interest in the Itiyok I-27 well in the Beaufort Sea estimated value is US$1.2+ Billion Dollars as calculated below.

MACKENZIE VALLEY PIPELINE APPROVED BY JOINT REVIEW PANEL

After waiting about 9 years, the Mackenzie Valley natural-gas pipeline has finally been approved by a seven-member panel, which had to consider the environmental and social impact of the 1,200-kilometer project headed by Imperial Oil Ltd.

In a statement the Joint Review Panel (JRP) stated "it is confident that the project as filed, if built and operated with full implementation of the panel's recommendations, would deliver valuable and lasting overall benefits and avoid significant adverse environmental impacts." It was added that the project "would provide the foundation for a durable and sustainable future in the Mackenzie Valley and the Beaufort Delta regions, adding that this future would be a better one than a future without the project."

According to the report, the pipeline would ship up to 1.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the edge of the Beaufort Sea down to Alberta and southern markets. Many in the Northwest Territories view this as a means of achieving economic independence.

The panel was created in 2001, in an effort to streamline regulatory processes around the pipeline. In 2006, it launched public hearings in the Northwest Territories with the expectation of submitting a report by mid-2007, but the deadline was delayed and extended at least twice as the panel analyzed the findings. According to TransCanada Corp. chief executive Hal Kvisle, he estimated the regulatory delays have added $3 billion to the project's bottom line.

In 2000 the Mackenzie Valley pipeline was announced by a consortium of four oil and gas companies, Imperial Oil, Exxon-Mobil Oil, Shell Oil & ConocoPhillips, and also included aboriginal partners, known as the Aboriginal Pipeline Group Inc., consisting of 5 First Nations tribes and their financial backer Trans Canada Pipelines Inc.  Trans Canada Pipelines Inc. wants the natural gas to feed its markets in the USA.

These groups have continuously lobbied for federal support, boosting efforts after filing the pipeline application with regulators in 2004. Apex Resources Group Inc. believes the approval announcement is an opportunity for all parties to work together to finance and start the construction of the CA$16.2 Billion Dollar Mackenzie Valley Gas Pipeline for the benefit of all Canadians, while also benefiting the USA by increasing energy independence. This also spurts further developments to go ahead and to open up the huge potential of Northern Canada, where there is an abundance of mineral wealth of Gas, Oil, Gold, Diamonds, Copper, and Uranium, providing job opportunities and growth for the region and for their First Nation peoples.

APEX MISSION STATEMENT

Apex Resources Group Inc. now has the bases to start building a very powerful Gas and Oil Company for a very prosperous 2010 and a decade of growth for Apex and the Shareholders. The Company would like to take this opportunity to thank all the shareholders for their past and continued support through some very challenging times. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL ROGER REYNOLDS AT (780)990-0991

The foregoing contains forward-looking statements. For this purpose any statements contained in this document that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, such words a "may", "will", "believes", "anticipates", "estimates", "continue", or comparable terminology intends to identify forward-looking statements. These statements by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially depending upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the successful negotiation and execution of the definitive acquisition agreement and receipt of certain exhibits and schedules requested by Apex Resources Group Inc.

SOURCE Apex Resources Group Inc.