Investor Insight

Brazil’s expanding natural gas market, supported by an attractive and stable regulatory framework and fiscal regime, presents a unique opportunity for Alvopetro Energy to leverage its high-potential upstream and midstream assets. In early 2025, Alvopetro also announced a strategic entry into Western Canada focused on the prolific Mannville stack play fairway in Saskatchewan. With capital investment opportunities in Canada and Brazil, Alvopetro is on the pathway for long-term growth.

Overview

Alvopetro Energy (TSXV:ALV;OTCQX:ALVOF) is an independent energy company focused on unlocking onshore natural gas in Brazil while expanding its footprint into Canada. The company is recognized as Brazil’s first integrated onshore natural gas producer, having established a unique model that combines upstream production, midstream infrastructure and long-term sales agreements with stable pricing linked to Brent and Henry Hub benchmarks.

Since commencing production in 2020, Alvopetro has delivered strong operating results, sector-leading netbacks and consistent dividends. With a disciplined capital allocation strategy, approximately half of the cash flow from operations has been reinvested in organic growth, while the remainder has been returned to shareholders through dividends, debt reduction and share repurchases. This balance has underpinned exceptional shareholder returns, including a cumulative 1,495 percent total shareholder return since 2018.

Alvopetro’s growth is anchored by two pillars: its high-margin natural gas business in the Recôncavo Basin of Bahia, Brazil, and its newly established Western Canadian heavy oil platform. Together, these assets provide a diversified base of production and reserves, supporting near-term growth and long-term value creation.

Headquartered in Calgary, Canada, and operating in Salvador, Brazil, Alvopetro is led by a proven management team with extensive international oil and gas experience. The company is committed not only to profitable growth but also to sustainable development, investing in local communities through education, entrepreneurship, cultural programs and biodiversity initiatives.

Company Highlights

• Alvopetro is a leading independent upstream and midstream gas operator in the state of Bahia, Brazil.
• The company’s growth strategy targets opportunities with the best combinations of geological prospectivity and fiscal regime. In Brazil, Alvopetro is focused on unlocking Brazil’s on-shore natural gas potential, building off the development of its Caburé and Murucututu natural gas fields strategic midstream infrastructure. In Canada, four wells have been drilled and are on production and Alvopetro has expanded its land base with potential for over 100 drilling locations.
• Over 95 percent of Alvopetro’s Brazil production is from natural gas and the company has a 2P reserve base of 9.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) with a before-tax NPV10 of $327.8 million.
• The company generates highly attractive operating netbacks and profitability per unit of production, setting it apart from its Latin American and North American peers. The state of Bahia boasts a favorable fiscal regime with low royalties and Alvopetro’s projects are eligible for a 15 percent income tax rate.

Key Projects

Caburé

The company’s flagship Caburé asset has historically delivered the majority of the company’s production. The project is a joint development of a conventional natural gas discovery across four blocks, two held by Alvopetro and two by its partner.

Following the first redetermination in 2024, Alvopetro’s working interest in Cabure increased to 56.2 percent, entitling the company to a larger share of production. The unitized area includes eight producing wells and all necessary production facilities. Gross unit production capacity has increased by 33 percent to 21.2 million cubic feet per day (MMcfpd), and an ongoing development program includes five additional wells, four of which have already been drilled.

Murucututu Gas

Immediately north of Caburé, Murucututu is a 100 percent owned Alvopetro asset with significant growth potential. Independent reserves evaluators have assigned 2P reserves of 4.6 MMboe, with an additional 4.5 MMboe of risked best estimate contingent resources and 10.2 MMboe of risked best estimate prospective resources.

The company successfully completed the 183-A3 well in 2024 and drilled the 183-D4 well updip of the 183-A3 well in 2025, bringing the 183-D4 well online in August 2025, which achieved initial production of 953 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). With field production facilities already in place, Alvopetro plans a multi-year development program targeting both the Gomo and Caruaçu formations, including at least six more development wells.

Midstream – Infrastructure and marketing

Alvopetro owns and operates all of the key infrastructure needed to process and deliver its natural gas. Production from Caburé and Murucututu is transported via Alvopetro’s 11-kilometre transfer pipeline to its UPGN gas processing facility, which has a capacity of more than 18 MMcfpd.

At the UPGN, condensate and water are removed, with condensate sold at a premium to Brent. Processed natural gas is delivered to the Bahiagás city gate, with onward transportation through a 15-kilometre distribution pipeline into Bahia’s Camacari industrial complex. Under the long-term gas sales agreement with Bahiagás, pricing is set quarterly based on Brent and Henry Hub benchmarks. An updated agreement, effective January 1, 2025, increased firm sales volumes by 33 percent, further securing Alvopetro’s cash flow stability.

Western Canadian Growth Platform

Beyond Brazil, Alvopetro has expanded its global footprint into North America with the establishment of a new heavy oil growth platform in Western Canada. The company holds a 50 percent working interest in 27.5 sections (8,890 net acres) of Mannville conventional heavy oil lands in Alberta and Saskatchewan, in partnership with an experienced operator, where we are deploying leading edge open hole multilateral drilling technology:

The diagram above depicts the evolution of drilling technology to develop a ¼ section of land. On the far left, traditional development would have required 32 vertical wells. Technology then advanced to horizontal wells, as depicted in the middle of the diagram with 4 separate wells. Today, multilateral drilling technology (as depicted on the far right) allows for just a single well with 6+ open-hole lateral legs developing the ¼ section of land. Alvopetro’s first 2 wells drilled in Saskatchewan each included 6 lateral legs. A total of 15 km of open-hole horizontal legs were drilled.

The Mannville stack is a multi-zone fairway with shallow depths, lower geological risk and attractive drilling economics. The first two earning wells were drilled with more than 15 km of open hole and brought into production in April 2025. Two additional wells were drilled in Big Gully in July 2025, with more than 19 km of open hole, with oil sales from the new wells are expected to commence in September 2025.

With the potential for more than 100 drilling locations, the Canadian platform provides Alvopetro with a complementary source of long-term production growth.

Management Team

Corey C. Ruttan – President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Corey C. Ruttan is the president, chief executive officer and director of Alvopetro. He was the president and CEO of Petrominerales, from May 2010 until it was acquired by Pacific Rubiales Energy in November 2013. Prior to that, he was the vice-president of finance and chief financial officer of Petrominerales. From March 2000 to May 2010, Ruttan was the senior vice-president and chief financial officer of Petrobank Energy and Resources, and held increasingly senior positions with Petrobank since its inception in 2000. He also served as executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Lightstream Resources from October 2009 to May 2010; served as vice-president of Caribou Capital from June 1999 to March 2000; and manager financial reporting of Pacalta Resources from May 1997 to June 1999. He began his career at KPMG where he worked from September 1994 to May 1997. Ruttan obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in accounting from the University of Calgary in 1994 and his chartered accountant designation in 1997.

Alison Howard – Chief Financial Officer

Alison Howard is a chartered accountant with over 20 years of experience in Canadian and international taxation, accounting and finance. Howard joined Petrominerales in July 2011 as a tax manager and was subsequently promoted to tax director. From May 2008 to July 2011, Howard was the tax manager at Petrobank Energy and Resources. Prior to that, Howard spent a number of years at Deloitte LLP in Calgary. She obtained her Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1999.

Adrian Audet – VP, Asset Management

Adrian Audet joined Petrominerales in 2013 and has held increasingly senior roles with Alvopetro since its inception. Audet has spent extensive time in Bahia overseeing the operations, realizing extensive cost savings and improvements in efficiency. Previously, Audet held engineering roles with increasing responsibility in the oil and gas industry. Audet began his career in 2006 and completed his masters and undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering at the University of Alberta. Audet is a professional engineer registered with APEGA and is a CFA charterholder.

Nanna Eliuk – Exploration Manager

Nanna Eliuk is a professional geophysicist (M.Sc.) with over 23 years of diversified petroleum exploration and development experience. She has expertise in conventional and unconventional plays in both carbonate and clastic reservoirs in different depositional and structural settings (including pre-salt) in various basins around the world. Prior to joining Alvopetro, Eliuk was the senior explorationist of Condor Petroleum (Kazakhstan) for two years, and prior thereto, she was the vice-president of geophysics and land for Waldron Energy. Eliuk started her career in 1997, holding progressively senior roles at Husky Energy for five years, and at Compton Petroleum for over six years. Her extensive experience includes geophysical evaluation and analysis for business development opportunities and new ventures in various international basins, along with regional mapping, play fairway analysis, petroleum system evaluation, prospect definition, and seismic attribute analysis. Eliuk holds a masters degree in geology and geophysics, and a BSc. in geology.

Darcy Reynolds – Western Canadian Business Unit Lead

Darcy Reynolds, P.Geo is the Western Canadian Business Unit Lead with over 20 years of subsurface and asset evaluation experience across Western Canada. For the past 12 years, Reynolds has focused on heavy oil development, including horizontal multilateral wells, enhanced oil recovery (waterflood, polymer, CO₂), and thermal SAGD projects. He has held senior leadership and technical roles at Rubellite Energy (senior geologist), Cenovus Energy (geoscience director), Husky Energy (geoscience director), and Talisman Energy (geology manager). Reynolds holds a B.Sc. in Geology from the University of Alberta and is a registered professional geoscientist with APEGA

Frederico Oliveira – Country Manager

Frederico Oliveira has held increasingly senior roles since 2008 and has expertise in regulations, contracts, partnerships, management and cost efficiency. He has held management roles in large private companies in Brazil, performing strategic planning, project implementation, process restructuring, efficiency and productivity improvements, and cost control. Oliveira obtained an MBA from the Federal University of Minas Gerais in 2004 and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais.

Investor Insights

Aurum Resources offers a compelling value proposition through its highly prospective gold assets in Côte d’Ivoire, a fast-emerging gold region in West Africa. Its cost-effective exploration strategy of drill rig ownership also distinguishes it from its peers.

Overview

Aurum Resources (ASX:AUE) is a mineral exploration company primarily focused on gold through its Boundiali and Napié gold projects in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa.

Côte d’Ivoire’s gold mining sector is experiencing significant growth and development, with several key projects contributing to the country’s economic expansion. The overall gold mining sector in Côte d’Ivoire is supported by substantial investments in infrastructure and exploration.

Geopolitically, Côte d’Ivoire outperforms most developing countries in the world in political, legal, tax and operational risk metrics. Additionally, Côte d’Ivoire continues to make notable strides in its political stability and Absence of Violence and Terrorism Index.

Boundiali Gold Project – BD Target 1 Artisanal Working

In March 2025, Aurum completed the acquisition of 100 percent of Mako Gold, bringing together its strong balance sheet and industry-leading drilling efficiencies to accelerate resource growth across northern Côte d’Ivoire. The company now holds a 90 percent interest in the highly prospective Napié Project, a 224 sq km land package with a 30 km strike near Korhogo.

Aurum has delivered a major milestone in 2025 with a +50 percent increase in the JORC Mineral Resource Estimate at its Boundiali Gold Project in Côte d’Ivoire, adding 820koz for a total of 2.41Moz. This lifts the company’s group resources to 3.28Moz, including Napié, highlighting the scale and growth potential of Aurum’s portfolio.

Supported by a seasoned board and management team with deep gold sector expertise—and strengthened by its recent capital raising—Aurum is well-funded to expand resources and advance development plans that drive long-term shareholder value.

Company Highlights

• 3.28Moz and Growing in Côte d’Ivoire: Two cornerstone gold projects — Boundiali (2.41Moz) and Napié (0.87Moz) — positioned for rapid growth with multiple resource updates and development milestones in 2025–2026.
• Outstanding Metallurgy = Simple, Profitable Processing: Boundiali delivers free milling ore with 95 percent recoveries and a straightforward flowsheet, while Napié achieves +94 percent recoveries in tests, showcasing strong economics and low technical risk.
• Aggressive, Cost-Effective Growth Strategy: In-house drill fleet drives efficiency and scale: 100,000m at Boundiali and 30,000m at Napié planned in 2025.
• Premier Mining Jurisdiction: Located in Côte d’Ivoire’s prolific Birimian Greenstone Belt, backed by a stable, supportive government and excellent infrastructure—creating the right conditions for mine development success.
• Leadership with a Proven Track Record: A seasoned management team with a history of value creation, supported by committed shareholders who back the company’s long-term growth vision.

Key Projects

Boundali Gold Project

The Boundiali gold project in Cote d’Ivoire is located within the Boundiali Greenstone Belt, which hosts Resolute’s Syama gold operation (11.5 Moz) and the Tabakoroni deposit (1 Moz) in Mali. Neighbouring assets also include Barrick’s Tongon mine (5 Moz) and Montage Gold’s Kone project (4.5 Moz).

The Boundiali project area covers the underexplored southern extension of the Boundiali belt, where a highly deformed synclinal greenstone horizon traverses finer-grained basin sediments, and to the west, Tarkwaian clastic rocks lie in contact with a granitic margin. The project benefits from year-round road access and excellent infrastructure.

The first stage of drilling at Boundiali occurred from late October 2023 to end of November 2024 for both the BM and BD tenements (BM1 and BM2; BD1, BD2 and BD3 targets) and was designed to test below-gold-in-soil anomalies oriented along NE trending structures, define new gold prospects and define maiden JORC resources. With over 63,000m diamond holes drilled during this period, Maiden JORC gold resources estimate was delivered in late December 2024.

Drilling costs are estimated at US$45 per metre, as Aurum owns all of its eight drilling rigs and employs its operators, representing a significant value proposition relative to peers who use commercial drilling companies that charge upwards of $200 per meter. The company believes there is potential for multi-million ounce gold resources to be defined with hundreds thousands meters of drilling over years within the Boundiali Gold Project’s land holding areas.

The Boundiali gold project comprises four contiguous granted licenses: PR0808 (80 percent interest), PR0893 (80 percent and earning to 88 percent interest), PR414 (100 percent interest), and PR283 (earning to 70 percent interest). Historic exploration at PR0893 includes 93 AC drill holes and four RC holes. Airborne geophysical surveying, geological mapping and extensive soil sampling have also been performed at PR0893, while PR0808 has had 91 RC holes drilled for 6,229 metres along with geochemical analysis and modeling. Detailed geochemical sampling and drilling at PR414 revealed three strong gold anomalies and returned impressive high-grade results.

In May 2024, Aurum entered a strategic partnership agreement to earn up to a 70 percent interest in exploration tenement PR283, to be renamed Boundiali North (BN). Aurum, through subsidiary Plusor Global Pty Ltd, has partnered with Ivorian company Geb & Nut Resources Sarl and related party (GNRR) to explore and develop the Boundiali North (BN) tenement which covers 208.87sq km immediately north of Aurum’s BD tenement. Further to this agreement,

Aurum announced it has earned 80 percent project interest after completing more than 20,000 m of diamond core drilling.

Boundiali Project JORC Mineral Resource Estimate

Aurum has announced a maiden independent JORC mineral resource estimate of 1.59 Moz gold for its 1,037 sq. km. The Boundiali Gold Project comprises the BST, BDT1 & BDT2, BMT1 and BMT3 deposits. Drilling is ongoing on these deposits, and Aurum has identified other prospects at Boundiali which have yet to be drilled. Since October 2023, the company has completed an extensive 63,927-metre diamond drilling program. This aggressive exploration campaign has rapidly defined a significant gold resource of 50.9 Mt @ 1.0 g/t gold for 1.6 million ounces.

In August 2025, Aurum announced a 50 percent increase in the JORC Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). The update adds 820koz, lifting Boundiali’s resource to 2.41Moz and boosting total group resources to 3.28Moz, including Napié. The 2025 MRE covers six deposits, including BST1, BDT1, BDT2, BDT3, BMT1, and BMT3, with drilling ongoing and additional untested targets offering strong growth potential.

Aurum is working towards completing an open pit PFS for the Boundiali Gold Project by the end of 2025. This will provide an evaluation of the project’s economics and technical feasibility.

Napié Gold Project

Aurum holds a 90 percent interest in the Napié Project in north-central Côte d’Ivoire, acquired through its takeover of Mako Gold. Located approximately 30 km southeast of Korhogo, the project covers a 224 sq km land package with a 30 km strike length along the highly prospective Napié Shear Zone.

As of June 2022, Napié hosts a JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate of 868,000 ounces of gold (22.5 Mt at 1.20 g/t Au), based on the Tchaga and Gogbala deposits—two of four known prospects along the shear. To date, only 13 percent of the Napié Shear has been explored, leaving substantial potential for further discoveries.

Napié Project – Previous results with detailed mapping area on Komboro Prospect shown in black rectangle

Project Highlights:

• Gold Resource: Shallow open pit 0.87Moz JORC Resource at 1.20g/t Au, with mineralisation open along strike and at depth. Maximum resource depth between 160 m – 195m across the two deposits
• Exploration Upside: Less than 13 percent of the 30 km Napié Shear has been explored, offering significant potential for resource growth.
• Preliminary Recovery Test Work: Returned more than 94 percent average gold recoveries.
• Resource Growth Target: First MRE update planned end of 2025, to significantly expand the resource base.
• Infrastructure: Excellent access to hydroelectricity, roads, and water, supporting future development.

Management Team

Troy Flannery – Non-executive Chairman

Troy Flannery has more than 25 years’ experience in the mining industry, including nine years in corporate and 17 years in senior mining engineering and project development roles. He has a degree in mining engineering, masters in finance, and first-class mine managers certificate of competency. Flannery has performed non-executive director roles with numerous ASX listed companies and was the CEO of Abra Mining until October 2021. He has worked at numerous mining companies, mining consultancy and contractors, including BHP, Newcrest, Xstrata, St Barbara Mines and AMC Consultants.

Dr. Caigen Wang – Managing Director

Dr. Caigen Wang founded Tietto Minerals (ASX:TIE), where he led the company as managing director for 13 years through private exploration, ASX listing, gold resource definition, project study and mine building to become one of Africa’s newest gold producers at its Abujar gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire. He holds a bachelor, masters and PhD in mining engineering. He is a fellow of AusIMM and a chartered professional engineer of Institution of Engineer, Australia. Wang has 13 years of mining academic experience in China University of Mining and Technology, Western Australia School of Mine and University of Alberta, and over 20 years of practical experience in mining engineering and mineral exploration in Australia, China and Africa. Other professional experience includes senior technical and management roles in mining houses, including St. Barbara, Sons of Gwalia, BHP Billiton, China Goldmines PLC and others.

Mark Strizek – Executive Director

Mark Strizek has nearly 30 years’ experience in the resource industry, having worked as a geologist on various gold, base metal and technology metal projects. He brings invaluable geological, technical and development expertise to Aurum, most recently as an executive director at Tietto Minerals’, which progressed from an IPO to gold production at the Abujar gold project in West Africa. Strizek has worked as an executive with management and board responsibilities in exploration, feasibility, finance, and development-ready assets across Australia, West Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Steve Zaninovich – Non-Executive Director

Ateve Zaninovich is a qualified engineer with over 25 years of experience in mining project development, business development, maintenance, and operational readiness, with a focus on gold, base metals, and lithium. He is currently director of operations at Kodal Minerals, where he is responsible for advancing the Bougouni Lithium Project. His previous roles include project director at Lycopodium Minerals for the Akyem Gold Project in Ghana and chief operating officer at Gryphon Minerals. Following Gryphon’s acquisition by Teranga Gold Corporation, he became vice-president of major projects and a member of Teranga’s executive management team.

Understanding the two faces of AI

While public attention often gravitates toward chatbots and image generators, many of the most impactful AI innovations are systems that optimize supply chains, detect fraud in financial transactions or accelerate drug discovery.

Enterprise AI, as these systems are often referred to, offers solutions to complex challenges that are unique to large corporations, financial institutions and government entities.

A significant portion of Canada’s AI buildout has been focused on institutional or B2B use cases, even if business adoption has been slower compared to the US. The country’s AI approach involves an organized strategy largely guided by the government, conducive to creating AI products and services designed specifically for large organizations.

Canada’s blueprint for AI adoption within federal departments is laid out in a report released earlier this year, which lists building a central AI capacity as the first of four key priority areas.

A related initiative, the Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy, outlines how Canada will ensure it has the physical computing capacity to compete globally and maintain data sovereignty.

It includes a C$2 billion investment to build and provide access to domestic AI computing power and infrastructure. This initiative is a key focus for Evan Solomon, Canada’s minister of AI and digital innovation.

Cohere, a privately owned leading Canadian AI company that specializes in enterprise-focused large language models, exemplifies the country’s strength in this space.

Cohere’s B2B AI strategy takes off

Founded in 2019, Cohere has become a prime example of a successful B2B strategy. The company develops highly specialized, institutional AI solutions for industries like finance, healthcare and logistics.

Its focus on privacy and security enables it to serve large markets needing specialized and secure solutions, providing enterprise-grade large language models and tools for custom AI applications.

Underscoring its growing success, Cohere secured US$500 million in an August funding round led by Canadian funds Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital, bringing its valuation to US$6.8 billion. The company has formed working relationships with several tech industry giants, including Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) and SAP (NYSE:SAP), and has onboarded former executives from Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META). Global consulting firm McKinsey also works with Cohere to help its clients integrate generative AI into their operations.

A key part of Cohere’s work is Cohere North, an enterprise-ready AI platform that Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) began offering to its enterprise customers this past May as part of a complete AI package.

In the financial sector, Cohere and the Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY,NYSE:RY) have partnered to introduce North for Banking, a secure generative AI platform designed to enhance productivity and data security specifically within the financial services sector. A January press release emphasizes the goal of speeding generative AI solutions.

This summer, Cohere teamed up with Bell Canada (TSX:BCE,NYSE:BCE) to supply specialized AI models to government and enterprise customers, with Bell providing the infrastructure layer with its AI Fabric network of data centers.

BUZZ High Performance Computing, a subsidiary of Canadian digital infrastructure company Hive Digital Technologies (TSXV:HIVE,NASDAQ:HIVE), contributes to the Cohere-Bell endeavor by providing NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) GPU clusters as the foundational hardware layer for large-scale AI workloads.

Cohere has also received backing from the Canadian government, with Ottawa signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the company to integrate AI into public services on August 19.

The non-binding agreement acknowledges the company’s public sector ambitions and the government’s interest in leveraging AI for productivity and domestic sourcing.

According to Cohere co-founder and CEO Aidan Gomez, this MOU represents “the beginning, hopefully, of our technology being rolled out quite broadly within the Canadian government.”

Cohere struck a similar agreement with the UK government in June.

Government support for Canadian AI ventures

Canada’s approach to AI is built on stable, institutional-grade solutions and is championed by the administration of Prime Minister Mark Carney, offering a nuanced and attractive proposition for discerning investors.

Focusing on the B2B market provides a foundation of stability, as it offers stable, predictable revenue through multimillion-dollar, long-term contracts and full-stack solutions that ensure customer loyalty and economic resilience.

Many investments also have government support, providing a somewhat “de-risked” play for investors.

The Carney administration has made public commitments to incorporate AI into the public sector, promised to provide tax incentives for companies and said it will slash regulatory red tape on AI infrastructure projects like data centers.

The Department of Finance has already introduced draft reforms to the Scientific Research and Experimental Development program that would extend refundable tax credits to Canadian public companies.

Finally, the strategy is buoyed by a robust domestic investment landscape.

Canadian investors have historically provided strong financial backing for homegrown AI startups. Firms like BDC Capital, Real Ventures and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund have taken the lead in terms of deal count, demonstrating a strong, homegrown commitment to fostering the Canadian AI ecosystem from its earliest stages.

Canada’s quiet AI leadership

Canada’s stealthy AI strategy is cementing its role as a quiet yet formidable force in the global AI landscape.

Companies like Cohere, bolstered by initiatives such as AXL’s initiative to launch 50 Canadian AI companies in the next five years, underscore a commitment to developing and retaining Canadian AI talent and intellectual property.

For discerning investors, this focus on stable, institutional solutions offers a significant and differentiated long-term growth story beyond the consumer AI buzz.