NoreX Petroleum Ltd.

Wednesday February 12, 2003

Contact: Phil Murray

President, Norex

(403) 531-4500

On February 11th 2003 Anglo-American BP and Alfa Group/Access/Renova announced a deal to merge a number of oil and gas assets in Russia creating a 50/50 partnership holding company, which will control the Russian Tyumen Oil Company, Sidanco Oil company and various other oil and gas assets in Russia.

This new deal does not change the outstanding action before the New York Federal Court that Norex Petroleum Ltd. brought forward in its US $1.5 billion claims against TNK and the Alfa Group/Access/Renova in February of 2002.

The creation of the new holding company is the result of numerous corrupt, illegal, and predatory maneuvers over the past 5 years by the Alfa Group/Access/Renova, starting with the privatization of TNK in 1997 and 1999. Since then, Alfa/Access/Renova and TNK have grown as a result of massive fraud on the Russian state and other countries’ tax authorities. Clear evidence exists that proceeds from sales of oil by TNK through affiliated companies, including the Crown Trading Group (which is involved in the Prestige disaster) fraudulently escaped taxation in number of jurisdictions, including the UK, and were accumulated in various offshore countries like Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Bahamas, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein through sham contracts and money laundering. The assets of Russian TNK, Sidanco and other petroleum companies, including Yugraneft of which Norex owned 97%, were taken over by Alfa/Access/Renova and effectively transferred to TNK International of the British Virgin Islands. Now these assets are to be merged with those under control of BP in Russia.

The deal masterminded by Alfa/Access/Renova will hardly encourage “unprecedented investment in Russia” as the same risks exist for BP in dealing with Alfa today, as existed in 1999 when Prime Minister Blair wrote to then Prime Minister Putin and BP itself wrote to James Harmon, then president of the Export Import Bank, in regard to Alfa’s illegal conduct. Copies of these letters are attached. One can only wonder how BP can become a partner with the very people it accused of corrupting Russian legal proceedings and money laundering unless, of course, this is now a prerequisite to doing business in today’s Russia.