Dune Energy Appoints Six New Directors

HOUSTON, Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dune Energy, Inc. (OTCBB:DUNR) ("Dune") today announced that the individuals listed below have been appointed to serve on Dune's board of directors effective January 18, 2012.

Newly Appointed Directors

• Michael R. Keener, 52, has been the principal/owner since January of 2011 of KP Energy, a private company focused on providing Mezzanine Debt, Private Equity and Direct Asset ownership to North American Exploration and Production companies.  From October of 2009 until December of 2010, Mr. Keener served as Managing Director of Imperial Capital, LLC and from February 2003 until October 2009 he served as Principal and Managing Director of Petrobridge Investment, LLC.  Mr. Keener received a B.S. in Business Administration – Accounting from Bloomsburg University and an MBA from Loyola University.
• Stephen P. Kovacs, age 42, served as a Managing Director of Strategic Value Partners, LLC where he was employed from 2004 until April 2011.  From 2010 to February 2011 he served on the Board of Directors of NextMedia Group.  Mr. Kovacs received an undergraduate degree from Cornell University, Cum Laude and an MBA from Columbia University.
• Dr. Alexander A. Kulpecz, Jr., age 58, is currently managing EP Partner of Pulser Energy, LLP (London) an investment group focused on energy and CEO of Alexander Energy Limited (Houston).  He has served in these positions since 2006, and 2008 respectively.  From 1978 to 1998, Dr. Kulpecz had increasingly more responsible technical and management positions with the Royal Dutch Shell group concluding as Executive Director and Executive Vice President of Shell International Gas and Power.  From 1998 to 2000 he was President of Azurix International.  Dr. Kulpecz received a B.A. and MSC degree in Geology, an MBA from Henley (UK) and a PhD from Imperial College of Science and Medicine, University of London in subsurface petroleum engineering.
• Emanuel R. Pearlman, age 51, has served as Chairman and CEO of Liberation Investment Group, LLC, a New York based investment management and financial consulting firm, since 2003.  From 2009 to the present Mr. Pearlman served on the board of Fontainebleau Miami JV, LLC as Chairman of the Audit and Compensation Committee and from 2010 to the present served as Chairman of the Board of Empire Resorts, Inc. From 2006-2010, Mr. Pearlman served on the board of Multimedia Games, Inc. Mr. Pearlman received an A.B. in Economics from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business.
• Robert A. Schmitz, age 70, has served as Co-Founder of Quest Turnaround Advisors since 2000, an advisory firm serving debtors and creditors of distressed companies.  Mr. Schmitz was the Chief Restructuring Officer of Fontainebleau Miami JV, LLC in 2010 and of WorldSpace Inc. from 2008 to present.  From 2003-2007 he served as non-executive chairman of the board of Premium TV, Ltd.  From 2009-2011 he served on the Board of Sun Times Media Group which was sold to a private group of investors.  Mr. Schmitz received a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan and a SM from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Mr. Schmitz will serve as Chairman of the Board.
• Eric R. Stearns, age 54, is currently President, CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Puckett Land Company, a privately held Colorado energy company.  He has served in this position from July 2011 to present.  Mr. Stearns served from 1985-2009 in ever increasingly responsible technical and management positions with Petroleum Development Corporation concluding as Executive Vice President.  Mr. Stearns received a B.S. in Geology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

The new directors were appointed in connection with Dune's financial restructuring, which was consummated on December 22, 2011.  Dune's board of directors now consists of seven members, which include the newly appointed directors and James A. Watt, Dune's President and Chief Executive Officer. 

In addition, effective January 17, 2011, Steven Barrenchea, Richard M. Cohen, William E. Greenwood, Alan D. Bell and Steven M. Sisselman have resigned from Dune's board of directors.

Click here for more information:  http://www.duneenergy.com/news.html?b=1683&1=1

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This document includes forward-looking statements that are intended to be covered by "forward-looking statements" safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  All statements included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that Dune Energy expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning estimates of expected drilling and development wells and associated costs, statements relating to estimates of, and increases in, production, cash flows and values, statements relating to the continued advancement of Dune Energy, Inc.'s projects and other statements that are not historical facts. When used in this document, the words such as "could," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "potential," "should," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although Dune Energy, Inc. believes that its expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include the potential that the Company's projects will experience technological and mechanical problems, geological conditions in the reservoir may not result in commercial levels of oil and gas production, changes in product prices and other risks disclosed in Dune's Annual report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investor Contact:
Steven J. Craig
Sr. Vice President Investor Relations and Administration
713-229-6300

SOURCE Dune Energy, Inc.