Western Standard Energy Corp. Comments on US Govt Report - Up to 4.3 Billion Barrels Undiscovered Oil in MT and ND, Announces Second Montana Drilling Permit

Business Wire, April 16, 2008

WILLISTON, N.D. -- Western Standard Energy Corp., (OTCBB:WSEG) (hereafter "Western Standard" or "the Company"), an oil and gas exploration company, is pleased to announce its second drilling permit from the Bureau of Land Management, a department of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The permit was granted to its operator partner, Coastal Petroleum, for a second well on the Starbuck East prospect in Valley County, Montana. The permit pertains to a well location at Federal 1-21, which is a step-out well from the exploration well at Federal 1-19 drilled to approximately 1,000 feet in October, 2007, and currently remains on hold for completion and testing due to Federal land restrictions on access and usage until July 1 based on environmental and wildlife obligations.

The timing of the permit came prior to the recent results of a US Geological Survey ("USGS") report that assessed the Undiscovered Oil Resources in the Williston Basin where Western Standard has a 50% interest in the Starbuck East Prospect, as well a 25% interest in a State Lease, both areas combined to approximately 100,000 acres in Valley County, Montana. This is in addition to the company's 8 Lodgepole Reef prospects within the Williston Basin, in North Dakota.

According to the report released on April 10 by the USGS, "North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation." This estimate shows a significant leap from an estimate made by the government agency during its last assessment of the area in 1995, which showed a potential recoverable 151 million barrels of oil.

"Upon successful completion of our exploration well at the Federal 1-19, we plan to drill a second well on the Starbuck East lease at Federal 1-21," stated Dan Bauer, President and CEO of Western Standard Energy. "With the recent assessment by the USGS on the potential for this area, we have plans for further land acquisitions and will continue to assess opportunities to exploit the production potential of our current prospects."

The results of the assessment can be downloaded from the US Geological Survey website at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3021/.> About Western Standard Energy Corp. (the "Company")

Western Standard Energy Corp. is an independent oil and gas exploration company. The Company aims to secure and develop a portfolio of oil and gas properties throughout the Central and Western United States of America. The Company 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 or to visit our website at www.western-standard.com.

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 the Company will complete Federal 1-19, that it will drill Federal 1-21, that the Company will complete further land acquisitions, and that there is up to 4.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the States of ND and MT as referenced in the recent USGS assessment. 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, such as "estimated technically recoverable oil" that the 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.