Petrolifera Petroleum announces appointment of Dr. Robert N. Erlich to the position of Vice President, Exploration and New Ventures

CALGARY, Oct. 1, 2008 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX News Network) --

Petrolifera Petroleum Limited (PDP - TSX) announces today the appointment of Dr. Robert ("Bob") N. Erlich to the position of Vice President, Exploration and New Ventures with the company. In this position, he will report directly to Mr. Gary D. Wine, President and Chief Operating Officer of the company. Dr. Erlich will be located in the company's newly established Houston office and will assist Mr. Wine in the conduct of the company's South American exploration programs and business activities in Peru, Colombia and to a lesser extent in Argentina. Additionally, he will focus his energies and expertise on seeking out new business opportunities in Central and South America. We welcome Dr. Erlich to Petrolifera and are confident based on his education, training, expertise and business experience that he will make a valuable contribution to the growth and development of Petrolifera in its pursuit of well-established business objectives in selected countries in South America.

Bob Erlich holds a PhD in Palaeoceanography from Vrije University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He also secured an MS in Geology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BS in Geology from the University of Miami, Florida.

He has approximately 28 years of worldwide oil industry experience with divisions of major oil companies, including extensive experience initially in the United States onshore and offshore and then in Southeast Asia. For most of the past eighteen years he has concentrated on South America (including Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Latin America and the Caribbean including Trinidad) and most recently was Manager, Exploration New Ventures, Latin America/Caribbean with one of the world's largest oil companies, from which he is retiring before joining Petrolifera as an officer of the company.

Dr. Erlich has published extensively, with 23 major publications on stratigraphy, source rocks, seismic stratigraphy, carbonate sedimentology and basin evaluation. He has also made 18 technical presentations at important international meetings and is a member of numerous professional societies, including American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

Petrolifera is a Calgary-based crude oil and natural gas exploration, development and production company based in Calgary, Alberta, with current operations and exploration programs planned or underway in Argentina, Colombia and Peru. The company also anticipates examination of new opportunities in other Caribbean, Central American and South American jurisdictions with an acceptable risk-adjusted combination of stable and sound fiscal and policy regimes, identifiable opportunities and growth potential, while capitalizing on the in-house expertise of its expanding and experienced technical staff in a financially prudent manner. Petrolifera currently holds interests in over eight million acres of lands in the three countries where it is currently active, while relying on its strong balance sheet, current cash flow and continuing strong sponsorship to finance its growth plans and objectives.

Forward-Looking Information:

This press release contains "forward-looking information" including with respect to Petrolifera's plans to examine new opportunities in other jurisdictions. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", estimate", "may", "will", "could", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the risk that Petrolifera may not be able to identify suitable prospects or secure interests in identified prospects on terms acceptable to it. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties facing Petrolifera and its business and affairs, readers should refer to Petrolifera's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2007, which is available at www.sedar.com. Petrolifera undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's opinions should change, unless required by law. Due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Petrolifera Petroleum Limited

Richard A. Gusella, Executive Chairman, Petrolifera Petroleum Limited, Phone (403) 538-6201, Fax: (403) 538-6225, inquiries@petrolifera.ca, www.petrolifera.ca

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