Credo Petroleum Corporation says that Marlis E. Smith, Jr. has been elected to the company's Board of Directors.

Mr. Smith, age 48, has been actively involved in the oil and gas drilling and production business throughout his business career, and he owns interests in hundreds of oil and gas wells. Beginning in 1985, he arranged drilling deals for Denver based Four-Ten Exploration. In 1987, he formed SmithCo Properties, Inc. and partnered with other operators in numerous oil and gas property acquisitions in the Rocky Mountain and Mid-Continent regions. Mr. Smith is also the managing partner of Smith/Drummond Holdings, LLP which primarily invests, as a non-operator, in domestic oil and gas drilling projects, including projects operated by many of the large U.S. independent oil and gas companies.

Mr. Smith holds a BA degree in Petroleum Land Management (with an emphasis in geology) from Rice University and an MBA degree in Energy Resource Management from the University of Denver.

Mr. Smith is a Credo shareholder. Over the past 10 years, through companies he owns and controls, Mr. Smith has participated as a working interest owner in many of Credo's drilling projects. He currently owns working interests in about 50 producing wells for which Credo is the operator.

James T. Huffman, Chairman, stated, "Marlis Smith is an authentic 'oil man' in every sense of the word. He is the son of a successful geologist, his college education focused on the oil and gas industry, and his entire 25-year career has been in the oil and gas business. As an owner of independent oil and gas companies, he has a good working knowledge of the major disciplines that drive the exploration and production industry, including geology, engineering, geophysics and land. That breadth of knowledge makes him exceptionally well qualified to serve as a director of an independent oil and gas company like Credo.

"Mr. Smith also has a long association with Credo, both as a shareholder and as a third party investor in the company's drilling projects. The knowledge he has gained from investing in our drilling deals provides a unique opportunity for us to add an outside director who knows our business from the inside out. We are very fortunate that Marlis has agreed to serve on our Board. I know that he is a strong advocate for our business and our shareholders."

Tags: CREDO Petroleum Corporation