10 January 2006
Gran Tierra Expands Board of Directors
CALGARY, Alberta, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – Gran Tierra Energy, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GTRE.OB) today announced the election of Nadine C. Smith to the Board of Directors of the Company, expanding its current number of directors to six. Ms. Smith is a longstanding member of the Board of Directors of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. and American Retirement Corporation. Patterson-UTI Energy owns 403 land-based drilling rigs and is the second largest contract drilling company in North America with a current market capitalization of nearly $6 billion. American Retirement operates 76 senior living communities in nineteen states with a resident capacity of approximately 16,000 units and has a current equity capitalization approaching $1 billion. Ms. Smith serves on these companies’ audit, compensation and nominating and governance committees.
‘We are very pleased to announce the addition of Nadine Smith to our Board and feel fortunate to be adding her expertise to our experienced Board of Directors,’ said Dana Coffield, CEO of Gran Tierra. ‘Having joined the boards of both Patterson-UTI and American Retirement when they were of a size similar to Gran Tierra today, we believe she will contribute invaluable experience to our company as we execute our aggressive growth strategy. Nadine is also a significant shareholder of Gran Tierra which we take as a strong vote of confidence in our management team and business model, which will continue to focus on executing acquisitions, and both exploration and development drilling initiatives with the potential to create increasing value for our shareholders.’
Ms. Smith joins the current Board of Directors of Gran Tierra composed of Jeffrey Scott (Chairman of the Board, President of Postell Energy, Director Saxon Energy Services (TSX: SES)), Verne Johnson (President of KristErin Resources, Director of Harvest Energy Trust), Walter Dawson (CEO and Director of Saxon Energy Services), Dana Coffield (President and CEO of Gran Tierra Energy), and James Hart (Vice President and CFO of Gran Tierra Energy).
About Gran Tierra Energy, Inc.
Gran Tierra Energy, Inc. is an international oil and gas exploration and production company, headquartered in Calgary, Canada, incorporated and traded in the United States and operating in South America. The Company currently holds interests in producing and non-producing properties in Argentina and is pursuing a growth strategy that focuses on establishing a portfolio of producing properties, and development and exploration opportunities, by selective acquisitions, to provide a base for future growth. Additional information concerning Gran Tierra is available at http://www.grantierra.com . Investor inquiries may be directed to info@grantierra.com or 1-800-916-GTRE(4873).
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including without limitation those statements regarding the Company’s ability to exploit oil and gas exploration opportunities. These statements are expressed in good faith and based upon a reasonable basis when made, but there can be no assurance that these expectations will be achieved or accomplished. Although the forward-looking statements in this release reflect the good faith judgment of management, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those discussed in these forward-looking statements including, but no limited to, failing to discover reserves that may be extracted on a commercially viable basis, inaccurately estimating oil and gas reserves, intense competition, environmental risks and general economic conditions including the price of oil and gas. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this release, other than as may be required by applicable law or regulation. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in the our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those risks set forth in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 10, 2005, which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected. We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.