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NR new board, new PP and strategy...

posted on Apr 13, 2010 09:14AM

CALGARY, CANADA (TSX-V:CEX)

NEWS RELEASE

Contact Exploration Announces Private Placement, New Board of Directors

and New Management Team

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH U.S. NEWSWIRES

April 12, 2010, (Calgary, Alberta) Contact Exploration Inc. (“Contact” or the “Corporation”)

(

TSX-V: CEX

) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a financing and reorganization agreement

(the “

Agreement

”) with Steve Harding which contemplates (i) the appointment of a new board of

directors (the “

New Board”), (ii) the appointment of a new management team (the “

New Management

Team

”), and (iii) a non-brokered private placement of up to $3.5 million (the “Private Placement

”)

(collectively, the “

Transactions

”).

Proposed Board of Directors

The New Board of Contact shall consist of the following individuals:

Steve Harding, Proposed Director, President and Chief Executive Officer

- Mr. Harding is President

and CEO of American Exploration Corp. With 27 years experience, Steve Harding has occupied various

senior positions within EnCana Corporation, its predecessor Alberta Energy and Husky Oil and Gas Ltd.

(now Husky Energy). His experience includes Vice President Northern Canada and Vice President

Alaska/MacKenzie Delta at EnCana and Chief Geoscientist at Husky Energy. Mr. Harding has extensive

experience with oil and gas exploration and development within numerous geological basins, both within

and outside of North America. Included in his accomplishments is developing the geological model

which lead to the discovery of the giant White Rose field, offshore Newfoundland. While at EnCana, Mr.

Harding negotiated and secured the largest exploration position in the US and Canadian Arctic, leading

to the discovery of the Umiak field and receiving an MMS corporate citizen award for outstanding

cultural and environmental efforts in Alaska.

Mr. Harding’s Bachelor of Science degree in Geology (Hons) is from McMaster University in Hamilton,

Ontario and he earned his Masters degree in Geology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He is a

professional Geologist with the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of

Alberta.

Don C. Stachiw, Proposed Director

- Mr. Stachiw is President and CEO of Amarone Oil & Gas Ltd.

Prior to Amarone, he was Vice President of Exploration and COO of Capitol Energy Resources Ltd. Mr.

Stachiw has 25 years of domestic and international oil and gas exploration and production experience

around the world including: Off-shore East Coast Canada, MacKenzie Delta, Alaska, British North Sea,

Gulf of Mexico and Ecuador. He has served in several capacities of increasing responsibility including

senior technical geological, managerial and Vice President positions at a series of major and junior

exploration and production oil & gas companies.

Mr. Stachiw holds an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of Toronto and

is a professional Geologist with the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists

of Alberta.

- 2 -

Scott Hadley, Proposed Director

- Mr. Hadley is VP Exploration Fairbourne Energy Inc. Mr. Hadley is

a Professional Geologist with 24 years of oil and gas development and exploration experience. Mr.

Hadley has developed prospects throughout Western Canada in carbonate reef plays, tight gas sands, coal

bed methane and shale gas. He is also experienced in the Michigan Basin area in the tight gas sand and

reef plays as well as Devonian Shale gas. Mr. Hadley began his career as an Exploration Geologist with

Amoco Canada Petroleum. In 1996-97 he attended Amoco Corporation’s Petrophysics training program

in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Upon his return to Amoco Canada he worked in the Exploration and Production

Technology Group as a Staff Petrophysicist. Between 1998 and 2001 he held various management roles

and director positions with several TSX Venture Exchange oil and gas companies. Mr. Hadley joined

Fairborne Energy in 2002 and has served in various roles of increased technical responsibility to his

current position of Vice President Exploration.

Mr. Hadley holds a Bachelor of Science (Honors) degree in Geology from the University of Western

Ontario and a Master of Science Degree in Geology from McMaster University. Mr. Hadley is a

professional member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists

(APEGGA), a member of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG), a member of the

American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and a member of the Canadian Well Logging

Society (CWLS).

Steve Haysom, Proposed Director

– VP Exploration Seven Generations Energy Ltd. Mr. Haysom is a

proven oil finder with approximately 15 years in the Canadian oil and gas industry. During his career

Mr. Haysom has been directly involved in the acquisition and divestiture of over $700MM worth of

Canadian oil & gas properties.

Currently employed at Seven Generations Energy, he was an integral component to the acquisition of

Samson (Canada) in August 2008. Working in a geoscience capacity, Mr. Haysom began his career with

Husky Energy working numerous project areas across Western Canada. He subsequently moved to Cabre

Exploration Ltd. Mr. Haysom joined Alberta Energy Company in 2000 (AEC, now Encana). At

AEC/Encana he was employed initially as Regulatory Technical Advisor where he was one of the

founders of the Government-Industry Advisory Group (GIAG) and Co-Chair of the Thermal Bitumen

Sub-Committee. Mr. Haysom subsequently joined junior start-up Krang Energy as Senior Geoscientist

and project manager.

Mr. Haysom is a 1994 graduate of St. Mary’s University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in

Geology/Geochemistry. He subsequently completed studies in Geochemistry at Boston College’s

Graduate School of Arts and Science.

New Management Team

The New Management Team shall consist of the following individuals:

Steve Harding, Proposed President and Chief Executive Officer

Raymond Sully, Proposed Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Sully has over 10 years of diversified experience in the areas of exploitation, reservoir, facilities, and

operations engineering, as well as marketing, joint venture and business development. Prior to his current

position at Contact Exploration Inc., Mr. Sully served in several capacities of increasing responsibility at

a number of oil and gas operating and service companies. His most recent experience was with Seven

- 3 -

Generations Energy Ltd. (2008-2010) and Samson Canada/Samson Exploration Ltd. (2004-2008) where

he was responsible for assessing new business opportunities and establishing strategies for best

exploiting identified reservoirs. Previously, Mr. Sully was employed with AltaGas Ltd. in an Operations

Engineering capacity, managing the gathering and processing of natural gas at six gas plants. Mr. Sully’s

early experience includes assignments with Imperial Oil Ltd., Nova Chemicals and Suncor Energy.

Mr. Sully earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alberta.

He is a professional engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and

Geophysicists of Alberta.

Ian Thomson, Proposed Chief Financial Officer

Ian Thomson completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Calgary in 2003. He

articled at Heywood Holmes & Partners LLP in Red Deer, Alberta for a year before returning to Calgary

and joining DNTW Chartered Accountants, LLP. He wrote the UFE in 2005 and obtained his CA

designation in September 2006. In January 2006, Mr. Thomson moved on to work with Ascend LLP

which merged with Meyers Norris Penny LLP in January 2008. Mr. Thomson started his own firm, Ian

Thomson Professional Corporation, in December 2008 through which he provides accounting support to

public and private companies, as well as compilations and tax services for owner-managed businesses.

The appointment of the New Management and New Directors remains subject to approval by the TSXV,

as such, certain of the current directors and/or officers may continue on in their respective roles until

such approval is given by the TSXV at which time they will step down.

Stock Options

Concurrent with the appointment of the New Board and the New Management Team, up to 4,574,339

stock options exercisable at $0.13 shall be granted to the New Board and the New Management Team

and certain consultants, subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Private Placement

Members of the New Board, the New Management Team and supporting investors will be the primary

subscribers for up to 43,750,000 units (the “

Units

”) of Contact at a price of $0.08 per unit. The

aggregate gross proceeds to Contact will be approximately $3.5 million. Each Unit will be comprised of

one common share and one warrant (a “

Warrant

”). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one

common share at a price of $0.12 for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance. It is anticipated

that Contact may pay finder’s fees to certain arm’s length finders (“

Finder’s Fees

”) in connection with

the Private Placement. The Finder’s Fees may be payable in cash or Units. No Finder’s Fees will be

paid to the New Board, the New Management Team, the current board or the management team of

Contact.

The gross proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to further develop Contact’s Stoney Creek oil

field in New Brunswick, as well as continued exploration in Atlantic Canada.

It is anticipated that the Private Placement may close in one or more closings with the first closing for

minimum gross proceeds of at least $2 million to occur immediately following receipt of the required

shareholder and TSXV approvals discussed in more detail below.

- 4 -

Shareholder and Stock Exchange Approvals

Completion of the transactions contemplated under the Agreement is subject to a number of conditions

and approvals including, but not limited to, the approval of the TSXV. It is not anticipated that the

Private Placement will result in the creation of a Control Person under the policies of the TSXV. The

TSXV requires that the Transaction requires approval of the shareholders of Contact. The required

shareholder approval may be obtained by Contact either by receipt of written consents by holders of more

than 50% of the issued and outstanding voting shares of Contact (the “

Written Consent

”) or by approval

of a resolution at a special meeting of shareholders (the “

Contact Meeting

”). Pursuant to the Agreement,

Contact has agreed to obtain the Written Consent.

Board of Directors and Management Support of the Agreement

The current board of directors of Contact has determined that the transactions contemplated by the

Agreement are in the best interests of its shareholders, has unanimously approved the Transactions and

recommends that the shareholders approve the Transactions and execute the Written Consent.

Any

shareholder of Contact wishing to obtain and execute the Written Consent should contact the

Corporation as set out below.

The board of directors of Contact has agreed, among other things, to resign concurrently upon

completion of the Private Placement and to cancel all unexercised options issued by Contact prior to

January 29, 2009 and held by them.

“I am very pleased to support the New Board and the New Management Team” commented Darcy Spady,

current President and CEO of Contact. “They bring proven experience and a technical track record which

is very much needed to further develop Contact’s properties in Atlantic Canada. I expect their technical

capabilities will become a valuable asset to Contact’s shareholders as they begin their work in the

region’s very challenging but exciting geology.”

Strategic Rationale and Corporate Strategy

The New Board and the New Management Team believe that Contact has assets and exploration

potential that will require new funding and new technical expertise to be effective in unlocking their

value. The current market conditions and increasing interest in Atlantic Canadian onshore oil and gas

exploration create a compelling entry point for the New Board and the New Management Team.

Following completion of the Private Placement, the New Management Team expects to initially focus on

increasing production from the Stoney Creek oil field. The New Management Team will also monitor

the current drilling program at Parsons Pond in western Newfoundland, in which Contact holds a 5%

carried interest, and actively review the shale gas opportunities on leases held by Contact in New

Brunswick.

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