28-Day Objection Period Closes, License EL 14/2009 Issuance to Follow Without Objection. 1st Round of Rights Issue Closes - Directors Take Up full Entitlements

LEAWOOD, Kan., April 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Empire Energy Corporation International (Empire) (OTC Bulletin Board: EEGC) with its wholly owned Australian subsidiary, Great South Land Minerals Ltd. (GSLM) announced on Wednesday, April 28th 2010 that the 28 day objection period for the issuance of GSLM's petroleum exploration license EL 14/2009 covering 785,800 acres of the onshore Tasmania Basin concluded on Wednesday April 14th 2010. The Company was advised by Mineral Resources Tasmania that three objections were lodged to the issuance of the license, however, all of these objections have now been resolved and withdrawn. This marks Empire's clearance of the last statutory hurdle in issuance of exploration license EL 14/2009. The Company therefore expects the license to be formally issued forthwith. While the Company will accept this license for the area issued, Empire and GSLM CEO Mr. Malcolm Bendall said, "We have formally submitted notice of our appeal to Mineral Resources Tasmania's (MRT) decision and asked for the department to expand the licensed area to include the full area (1.84 million acres, 7,450 square kilometers) for which exploration license EL 14/2009 was originally applied for and which contained most (over 80 percent) of our seismically defined prospective structures." Mr. Bendall also noted that the company has additionally submitted to MRT a new application replacing Empire/GSLM's previously withdrawn special exploration license SEL 13/2009, which covers much of eastern and offshore Tasmania.

The first round of Empire's Rights Offering to raise US$9.3 million concluded with a significant number of shareholders around the world exercising their right to take up additional shares in the company. All eligible Empire Directors took up their full share entitlements which included the conversion of US$1.2 million of debt to equity shares. Furthermore, all Directors have indicated they will be taking up additional shares in the second round. During the second round of the Rights Issue, "the oversubscription period," in excess of 27 eligible record shareholders, which does not include an untold number of street name holders through the Depository Trust Company (DTC), who fully subscribed during the 1st round are entitled to take up 116,199,727 additional unsubscribed shares until the termination date which has been set as 19 May 2010. The mailing of the Over Allotment Subscription documents will commence on April 27. Mr. Bendall further commented, "In addition to having exercised my entire share entitlement in the first round I am looking forward to a successful second round of the Rights Offering which will enable Empire and GSLM to fast track resuming our drilling program at both the Bellevue and Thunderbolt sites."

Issuance of exploration license 14/2009 will represent the first time that the Company will have both an exploration license covering seismically defined prospective structures and an economic valuation of those structures. (The economic valuation can be viewed at the company website at www.empireenergy.com) The Company's current market capitalization and share price is 200 times less than the current asset value of US$2.23 billion (AUD$2.48 billion) comparative market value. For those who can't participate in the Rights Offering, this is an excellent opportunity to purchase shares at below the current Rights Offering price in the market.

Upon formal issuance to GSLM of exploration license EL 14/2009 and the receipt of adequate financing, the Company plans to immediately resume its drilling program and complete its goal of commercializing oil and gas within the Tasmania Basin.

Empire Energy Corporation is an international oil and gas exploration company, focusing on developing assets in one of the world's last virgin basins and to become a leading low-cost finder of hydrocarbons. The Company is currently operating in Tasmania's central and northern basins.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on our current expectations about our company and our industry. You can identify these forward- looking statements when you see us using the words such as "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believes," "plans" and other similar expressions. These forward- looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of our ability to complete required financings and other preconditions to the completion of the transactions described herein and Empire's ability to successfully acquire reserves and produce its resources among other issues. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future. We caution you not to place undue reliance on those statements. For a more detailed discussion of risks and other factors related to Empire Energy Corporation International, please refer to 10-K and 10-Q reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Empire Energy Corporation International

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED