Mainland Retains Schubarth Inc. to Design and Supervise Fracture Treatment of Its Burkley Phillips No. 1 Well, Mississippi

HOUSTON, Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Mainland Resources, Inc. (the "Company" or "Mainland") (OTCQB: MNLU, Frankfurt: 5MN) has retained the services of Stephen Schubarth, President of Schubarth, Inc., to design and supervise the fracture treatment ("frac") of its Burkley Phillips No. 1 Well in Jefferson County, Mississippi.

Mr. Schubarth has nearly 30 years of experience with companies including Halliburton Energy Services, Chevron U.S.A., Inc., and Arco Oil & Gas. His expertise includes Production and Reservoir Engineering, well completion design and production enhancement.

Notably, Mr. Schubarth consulted directly with Leor Energy on designing the fracture stimulation for its Amoruso Prospect, which was a very successful Bossier Sand play in East Texas. Leor had entered into leases in East Texas in early 2003, and eventually sold its Deep Bossier interests, including the Amoruso Prospect, to a subsidiary of Encana for total proceeds of $2.79 Billion.  

Amoruso has several similarities to Mainland's Mississippi Buena Vista Prospect. The gas-bearing reservoir in both areas is within the Late Jurassic period and has a thickness of 2000 to 3000 feet. The succession consists of stacked shales and tight sandstones trapped within a very high pressure, high temperature environment. Amoruso has also been developed using vertical wells with a fracture design and treatment expected to be similar to that needed at Buena Vista.

President and CEO, Mike Newport states, "We are very fortunate to get Steve Schubarth on board to design and manage our fracture treatment. Steve has a lot of experience with designing fracture stimulation for our type of shale formations. He has a track record of success with the design and supervision of fracture treatment in these types of environments, which are similar to our Buena Vista Project."

Mainland and its working interest partners control in excess of 17,800 net acres or 28 sections on the Buena Vista prospect area on which the Burkley Phillips No. 1 well was drilled. As announced on February 16, 2011, the initial shale gas analysis oDn the well demonstrated 331 billion cubic feet of gas in place (290 billion cubic feet free gas in place) per 640 acre section. Post merger, Mainland owns 92% of the 28 sections in the Buena Vista prospect.

About Mainland Resources, Inc.

Mainland Resources, Inc. is engaged in the exploration of oil and gas resources. The Company's current initiatives are focused on the acquisition and development of acreage in emerging and early developing oil and gas regions with the potential for material discoveries.

For information see: http://www.mainlandresources.com

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THE COMPANY AND AMERICAN EXPLORATION CORPORATION INTEND TO FILE CERTAIN MATERIALS WITH THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED MERGER TRANSACTION BETWEEN THE PARTIES ANNOUNCED ON MARCH 23, 2010, INCLUDING THE FILING BY THE COMPANY WITH THE SEC OF A REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-4, WHICH WILL INCLUDE A PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS AND RELATED MATERIALS TO REGISTER THE SECURITIES OF THE COMPANY TO BE ISSUED IN EXCHANGE FOR SECURITIES OF AMERICAN EXPLORATION. THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT WILL INCORPORATE A JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/ PROSPECTUS THAT THE COMPANY AND AMERICAN EXPLORATION PLAN TO FILE WITH THE SEC AND MAIL TO THEIR RESPECTIVE STOCKHOLDERS IN CONNECTION WITH OBTAINING STOCKHOLDER APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED MERGER. THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANY, AMERICAN EXPLORATION, THE MERGER AND RELATED MATTERS. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS CAREFULLY WHEN THEY ARE AVAILABLE. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS WILL BE ABLE TO OBTAIN FREE COPIES OF THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC BY THE COMPANY AND AMERICAN EXPLORATION, THROUGH THE WEB SITE MAINTAINED BY THE SEC AT WWW.SEC.GOV.  THE COMPANY'S SECURITY HOLDERS WILL ALSO RECEIVE INFORMATION AT AN APPROPRIATE TIME ON HOW TO OBTAIN THESE DOCUMENTS FREE OF CHARGE FROM THE COMPANY. IN ANY EVENT, DOCUMENTS FILED BY THE COMPANY WITH THE SEC MAY BE OBTAINED FREE OF CHARGE BY CONTACTING THE COMPANY AT: MAINLAND RESOURCES, INC.; ATTENTION: MR. WILLIAM THOMAS, CFO; 21 WATERWAY AVENUE, SUITE 300, THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS 77380; FACSIMILE: (713) 583-1162.

EACH OF THE COMPANY AND AMERICAN EXPLORATION, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, ALSO MAY BE DEEMED TO BE PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION OF PROXIES FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE STOCKHOLDERS IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION DESCRIBED HEREIN. INFORMATION REGARDING THE SPECIAL INTERESTS OF THESE DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS IN THE TRANSACTION DESCRIBED HEREIN WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS DESCRIBED ABOVE.

SOURCE Mainland Resources, Inc.