Ameriwest Energy updates the status as regards plans for the upcoming spud of the Ameriwest Fee #1 well to be drilled at the Company's Geary Prospect located in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming.

Ameriwest has submitted a $20,000 Certificate of Deposit as required by the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and has further submitted all required paperwork in order to receive the requisite Permit to Drill at the Ameriwest Fee #1 well location. The company expects to receive final approval and issuance of the permit within the next 7 days. Following the issuance of the Permit, Ameriwest intends on commencing site preparations as early as the third week in February in order to spud the Ameriwest Fee #1 well as previously announced on or near to March 16, 2009.

As noted in an earlier announcement, the proposed well is "on fee" (located on private lands) which has significantly expedited the permitting process. The Geary Prospect is located in a prolific portion of the Powder River basin that has historically produced many millions of barrels of oil from such well known nearby fields as Brooks Ranch, Big Muddy, South Glenrock, and South Cole Creek to name but a few. The target location is offset to 2 wells located in a well documented part of the Geary Dome field with considerable cumulative production to-date.

The main objective is structurally on trend with existing production within the Cretaceous Dakota sandstone formation with the possibility of production from other Cretaceous sands including the Upper and Lower Muddy, and Wall Creek (Frontier) sands. Initial estimates based on a full field program with 40 acre spacing across an estimated 18 wells indicate possible reserves of approximately 3 MMBO.

Company President Walter Merschat comments, "With this announcement, we are confidently on track towards getting our equipment into the field in short order. Site prep is the next step and with the delivery of the updated data we aim to receive from our independent geologic analysis due within a week, we look forward to getting out there and finalizing matters. Every week is getting us that much closer to watching the drill turn."

Tags: Ameriwest Energy Corp.