Mr. Garrett Soden reports

SHAMARAN ACQUIRES TAQA INTEREST IN ATRUSH AND PARTNERS WITH HKN

Shamaran Petroleum Corp. has entered into definitive agreements for a two-step transaction to increase its indirect working interest in the Atrush block in Kurdistan from 27.6 per cent to 50 per cent with HKN Energy IV Ltd., an affiliate of HKN Energy Ltd., indirectly acquiring a 25-per-cent working interest and operatorship, subject to required approvals.

Garrett Soden, president and chief executive officer of Shamaran, commented: "This transaction continues Shamaran's consolidation strategy in Kurdistan. We are acquiring TAQA's 47.4-per-cent interest in Atrush and selling a 25-per-cent interest and operatorship to HKN IV. Shamaran and HKN are already co-venturers in the adjoining Sarsang block operated by HKN. We look forward to working together at Atrush to realize significant synergies on both blocks."

In the first step of the transaction, Shamaran's wholly owned Cayman subsidiary, General Exploration Partners Inc., entered into an agreement with TAQA International BV, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC, to acquire TAQA Atrush BV. TABV is a Dutch holding company with a 47.4-per-cent working interest and operatorship in the Atrush production-sharing contract in Kurdistan. Step 1 is subject to customary closing conditions for a share sale and purchase agreement in the Netherlands and customary stock exchange approvals in Canada.

At closing of Step 1, HKN IV will begin operating Atrush on a fee basis in contemplation of the second step of the transaction. The appointment of HKN IV as operator is subject to review by the Ministry of Natural Resources in Kurdistan.

In the second step of the transaction, TABV will transfer a 25-per-cent working interest in the Atrush PSC to GEP2, a new Cayman wholly owned subsidiary of GEP. In parallel, GEP has entered into an agreement to sell GEP2 to HKN IV for nominal consideration such that HKN IV will hold a 25-per-cent working interest and operatorship in the Atrush PSC. The sale of GEP2 to HKN IV will be subject to approval by the Kurdistan regional government.

After closing the above transaction steps, the Atrush block will have the following parties: GEP 50 per cent, HKN IV (through GEP2) 25 per cent and KRG 25 per cent.

About Shamaran Petroleum Corp.

Shamaran is a Canadian independent oil and gas company focused on the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The company indirectly holds an 18-per-cent working interest (22.5-per-cent paying interest) in the Sarsang block and, subject to closing the above transaction, will increase its indirect 27.6-per-cent working interest in the Atrush block to 50 per cent. The company is listed in Toronto on the TSX Venture Exchange and in Stockholm on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market (ticker SNM). Shamaran is part of the Lundin group of companies.

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