Petro-Canada Unveils Prestigious New Scholarships

Petro-Canada announced today a $1-million donation to create a prestigious scholarship program at the University of Calgary. The Petro-Canada Emerging Leaders Awards Program(TM) will support future leaders through financial support and work experience.

"We created this awards program to help Canada's educational institutions, like the University of Calgary, increase the number of talented people who will support Canada's many large growth projects over the next decade. Petro-Canada has a number of these projects, so we're looking to recruit bright young leaders of the future - specifically post-secondary students in the areas of engineering, science and business," said Petro-Canada President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Brenneman.

The award is given to students in their second year of study and, conditional on meeting annual requirements, will be given in subsequent years until graduation. This year, eight top University of Calgary students will receive scholarships each worth $4,000. Please see the attached backgrounder for student biographies: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/229pca.pdf .

"At the University of Calgary, we are building leaders in every faculty by providing a contemporary and progressive education that focuses on experiential learning," says Dr. Harvey Weingarten, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calgary. "Students learn first hand by applying their knowledge to real-world problems out in the community. These new scholarships recognize that much learning occurs outside the classroom and will give our students even more opportunity to work and learn alongside our community leaders."

Geophysics student Nathan Fester, one of the inaugural award recipients says financial support is critical to his success at university. "It's inspiring to be recognized as an emerging leader in my field," says Fester. "This scholarship will allow me to focus on school and my future goals without having to worry about how I will pay for my education."

The Petro-Canada Emerging Leaders Awards Program(TM) has also been established at four other post-secondary institutions in Canada: McGill University, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, the University of Alberta, and the University of Waterloo.

Petro-Canada is one of Canada's largest oil and gas companies, operating in both the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry in Canada and internationally. The Company creates value by responsibly developing energy resources and providing world class petroleum products and services. Petro-Canada is proud to be a National Partner to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Petro-Canada's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PCA and on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PCZ.

The University of Calgary is home to 36,000 full-time and part-time, graduate and undergraduate students, as well as more than 5,000 faculty and staff making it one of the four largest employers in Calgary. As one of the top ten teaching and research universities in the country, the U of C provides innovative opportunities for students through experiential learning, research and engagement with the community that enrich their education and shape their future.

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Contacts: University of Calgary Kelly Exner Executive Director, Development Communications (403) 210-9882 Petro-Canada Renee Kelly Media Relations Advisor (403) 296-6795