Imperial Starts Illinois Basin Leasing Program

Imperial Petroleum, Inc. announced Wednesday that it has formed a lease pool with a private group to begin acquiring acreage on certain oil and natural gas drilling prospects located in the Illinois Basin.

Jeffrey Wilson, President of the Company, said, "In addition to our oil sands business located in the eastern Illinois Basin, we have identified several promising shallow drilling prospects in other parts of the Illinois Basin and have formed a lease pool to begin acquiring acreage. Our partner will provide the cash, while the Company will source drilling prospects and manage acreage acquisition. We will share on a 50-50 basis in the proceeds and retained interest in the subsequent sale of each prospect."

Mr. Wilson added, "Our initial project covers a 6,500 acre drilling project to depths of less than 2,500 feet and is targeting development of the Trenton formation in an old field using current completion techniques. This particular field was partially developed 60 years ago in the Trenton formation and was produced without the benefit of hydraulic fracturing or horizontal drilling techniques, so oil recoveries were low. We believe with new completion practices we will be able to significantly improve oil production and recovery. There is renewed interest now being shown in the Illinois Basin by large independents and we believe that we can position the Company to strategically take advantage of this activity."