East West Petroleum announces acquisition of a new exploration block in Morocco

Friday, Oct 07, 2011

VANCOUVER, Oct. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - East West Petroleum Corp. (the "Company" or "East West") is pleased to announce the Company has acquired an interest in a large prospective exploration block onshore Morocco.  The Petroleum Agreement was signed with the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines ("ONHYM") in Rabat, the country's capital city.

The 1997 sq. km. (approx. 500,000 acres) Doukkala Block is situated along the Atlantic coast approximately 125 km. southwest from the city of Casablanca.  Under the Petroleum Agreement, East West will partner with ONHYM to explore for oil and gas over an 8 year period.  The Company will retain a 75% participation interest in the block and operatorship, with ONHYM retaining a 25% participation interest.

The Company will carry out regional geological studies, seismic acquisition and reprocessing, followed by exploratory drilling.  Both conventional and unconventional oil plays have been identified on the acreage.  Two wells previously drilled on the Block encountered numerous hydrocarbon shows in the Devonian shale section.  The Doukkala Block represents East West's first operated program.  The Company is reviewing other opportunities in the country.

Mr. Greg Renwick, President and CEO, commented "the Doukkala Block award represents the Company's first entry into Morocco and we look forward to working with our new partner ONHYM in pursuing both conventional and unconventional resource plays. ONHYM is a knowledgeable partner which brings many years of experience working in this area"

Mr. Wak Kani, Advisory Board Member of Company commented "Previous drilling on the Doukkala Block demonstrates the presence of hydrocarbon shows in a thick Devonian shale section over a depth range of 1500 to 3000 meters.  The Devonian section in Doukkala is of similar age and geology to the emerging unconventional Marcellus shale play in the eastern US."

Morocco has been attracting more industry attention recently due to the presence of a number of basins which demonstrate the potential to contain unconventional shale resource plays.  Recently, companies such as Anadarko and EOG have taken positions in the country.  The fiscal terms offered by the Government of Morocco rank amongst the best in the world.

ABOUT EAST WEST PETROLEUM CORP.

East West Petroleum Corp. trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "EW". East West is an emerging exploration and production company focused on conventional and unconventional petroleum resources.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE East West Petroleum Corp.

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