Western Standard Energy Corp. Engages Mr. Kjell Finstad as President, International

Tuesday February 5, 9:30 am ET

WILLISTON, N.D.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Western Standard Energy Corp., (OTC BB: WSEG.OB), an oil and gas exploration company, today announced that, effective February 1st, 2008 it has entered into a consulting agreement with industry veteran Mr. Kjell G. Finstad, who will have the title of President, International.

Mr. Finstad brings to Western Standard Energy four decades of experience in international upstream oil and gas development, with his career starting as a Geologist at Amoco in 1968, then at Saga Petroleum (now StatOilHydro) for almost a decade. Through his role as a Petroleum Advisor at the United Nations in the 1980?s Mr. Finstad established long term relationships with many government officials from petroleum producing countries internationally. Over the past several years Mr. Finstad has held several senior executive roles at independent exploration and production companies in Europe and North America, including Chairman of TGS/Nopec, now one of the world?s leading Geophysical companies. Mr. Finstad was granted a Masters Degree in Geology from the University of Oslo, Norway in 1968. Mr. Finstad will focus his efforts on developing Western Standard?s current base of domestic US projects, as well as new acquisitions.

CEO of Western Standard Energy, Dan Bauer states, ?We are very pleased to add Kjell to our team, adding almost 40 years of leadership and innovation in oil and gas exploration. We look forward to working with Kjell as we continue to grow the company and expand to other regions.?

About Western Standard Energy Corp.

Western Standard Energy Corp. is a publicly traded independent oil and gas exploration company. Western Standard aims to secure and develop a portfolio of oil and gas properties throughout the Central and Western United States of America. Western Standard Energy Corp. is a publicly traded company and trades on the OTC BB under the ticker symbol: WSEG. Shareholders are invited to contact corporate communications toll free at (888) 956-7843 for further information.

Western Standard Energy Corp.

Dan Bauer,

President

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this news release include that Mr. Finstad will provide consulting services to Western Standard Energy Corp, (?Company?) and that the Company will be able to retain Mr. Finstad and/or other consultants and employees in the coming months; Mr. Finstad will focus his efforts on developing Western Standard?s base of domestic American prospects, as well as new acquisitions; and, that the Company will continue to grow and expand into other regions It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the uncertainty of the requirements demanded by environmental agencies, the Company's ability to raise financing for operations, breach by parties with whom we have contracted, inability to maintain qualified employees or consultants, competition for equipment, inability to obtain drilling permits, potential delays or obstacles in drilling operations and interpreting data, and the likelihood that no commercial quantities of gas are found or recoverable. Readers should also refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company?s quarterly reports on Form 10-QSB, annual reports on Form 10-KSB and the Company?s other disclosure documents filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission available at www.sec.gov.

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (?SEC?) permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions. We use certain terms?in this document that SEC?s guidelines may prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our annual report on Form 10-KSB and quarterly reports on Form 10-QSB available from us or the SEC.

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