QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC -- (Marketwire) -- 07/16/12 -- Junex (TSX VENTURE:JNX) is pleased to announce that it has received all required government approvals to acquire new seismic data on Anticosti Island and that it has started line-cutting operations for this seismic program. This large, 250 line-kilometre 2D seismic program is being conducted to select future drilling locations that will aid in evaluating the oil potential of the Macasty Shale ("Macasty") and deeper geologic horizons on Junex's solely-held, 233,275 acre-sized block of exploration permits.

A public information session was held with interested parties in Port Menier on Anticosti Island on July 5, 2012, at which time Junex provided information about the nature and impact of its seismic program and answered questions raised by the public.

This seismic program, part of a multi-phase exploration program targeting the Macasty and deeper targets on Junex's acreage, is a prerequisite to selecting well locations for future drilling. These subsequent drilling phases are envisaged to include an initial phase of multiple vertical wells targeting the Macasty and deeper targets to confirm their potential. Another phase including horizontal drilling and completion may follow.

The Macasty is the stratigraphic equivalent of the Utica Shale in the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the oil-rich Utica/Point Pleasant Shale in Ohio. Junex's acreage is dominantly situated in the Deep Macasty Fairway, where the company's mapping interprets that the Macasty averages approximately 80 metres in thickness, which is approximately two times the thickness than that encountered in wells previously drilled by other operators outside of the Deep Macasty Fairway.

Junex's interpretation of pertinent lab data indicates that the organic-rich Macasty on its acreage places it within the Oil Window of thermal maturity, with the top of the Macasty ranging in depth from approximately 800 metres to 2,200 metres. Based on its direct experience with the Utica Shale in the Saint Lawrence Lowlands at varying formation depths, Junex considers that the greater formation depth of the Macasty on its acreage in the Deep Macasty Fairway should translate into greater formation pressure (or reservoir energy) that could yield an increased production potential in the event that the exploration program continues to yield positive results.

In terms of petroleum potential, Junex's acreage was previously evaluated by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc., ("NSAI"), a firm of worldwide petroleum consultants based in Texas. In its report, NSAI placed their Best Estimate of the undiscovered shale oil initially-in-place ("OIIP") volume for the Macasty Shale on Junex's acreage at 12.2 billion barrels.

About the NSAI Report

Details about the NSAI Report were previously announced by Junex in a press release on September 28, 2011 and it is recommended that the reader consult this press release for further information. The resource estimates in the report must be treated as scoping level estimates and used with caution. Undiscovered petroleum initially-in-place (OIIP) (equivalent to undiscovered resources) is that quantity of petroleum that is estimated, as of a given date, to be contained in accumulations yet to be discovered. The undiscovered shale OIIP volumes shown in the report were estimated from data available, as of September 1, 2011, but the data were insufficient in quality or quantity for these volumes to be classed as discovered. There is no certainty that any portion of the in-place volumes will be discovered.

The OIIP in the Report was determined from a range of possible values for multiple parameters. These parameters were limited to the critical driving factors for both statistical and practical reasons.

The probabilistic analysis performed by NSAI created cumulative probability distribution curves that defined a range of potential outcomes. As described in the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook (COGEH), the resulting probability distribution curves represent the low estimate, best estimate, and high estimate, which correspond to the P90, P50, and P10 probability estimates of hydrocarbon volumes, respectively. The probability that the quantities of oil actually in place will equal or exceed the estimated amounts is 90 percent for the low estimate, 50 percent for the best estimate, and 10 percent for the high estimate.