STRATEGIC INVESTOR TO PARTICIPATE WITH USD 50 MILLION INVESTMENT IN DEEPWATER DRILLER LTD.

Petrolia Invest AS - a 100% owned subsidiary of Petrolia Drilling ASA has on 24 March 2010 entered into an agreement together with the shareholders of Deepwater Driller Ltd. (“Deepwater Driller”) and Songa Offshore Se (“Songa Offshore”), whereby Songa Offshore will invest USD 50m in new equity into Deepwater Driller and thereby receive a 31.25% ownership in the company (the “Investment”). The Investment is expected to close on or about 16 April 2010, subject to inter alia satisfactory, confirmatory due diligence by Songa Offshore. As part of the agreement, Songa Offshore will assume building supervision and commercial management of the Rig. Petrolia Drilling is pleased with the entry of Songa Offshore as a shareholder and to have secured continued building supervision and commercial management for the Rig. Following the Investment, Petrolia Drilling’s ownership in the Rig will be 20.6%. For further information on the terms and conditions of the Investment, please refer to the press release issued by Songa Offshore on Wednesday 24 March 2010. For further information, please contact: Bernt Skeie, CEO: bernt.skeie@petrolia.no Bergen/Oslo, 24 March 2010 About Deepwater Driller Ltd. Deepwater Driller Ltd. (previously Larsen Rig 1) has a sixth generation Friede & Goldman ExD ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig under construction at Jurong. The Rig is designed to operate at a water depth of up to 10,000 ft and to drill up to 40,000 ft. Upon delivery, the Rig will be equipped to operate at a water depth of up to 7,500 ft. The Rig represents the latest technological advancements in offshore drilling based on a proven design and is the result of over 40 years of experience in semi-submersible rig design at Friede & Goldman Ltd. The Rig will be completed in Singapore under the joint supervision of Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd (“Jurong”) and Songa Offshore as construction manager. Remaining instalments to Jurong (incl. interest) until completion is approximately USD 490m. In addition, another USD 45m investment is projected for spare parts, crew training, drill string, etc. The delivery of the Rig by Jurong is expected to occur around April 2011. Jurong is a very experienced builder of semi-submersible rigs and has successfully completed the construction of PetroRig I, II and III. The rig will be the 9th rig of Friede & Goldman ExD Design constructed by Jurong.