Touchstone Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:TAB) ("Touchstone" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of the independent evaluation of the Company's reserves for the year ended September 30, 2011.

Highlights

Total proved reserves (net) increase of 319% to 4.03 million barrels (100% oil) from 2010 year-end levels;
Total proved plus probable reserves (net) increase of 292% to 7.57 million barrels (100% oil) from year-end levels;
Net present value of future net revenues before tax (10% discount) of Touchstone's total proved reserves was US$158.87 million as at September 30, 2011;
Net present value of future net revenues before tax (10% discount) of Touchstone's total proved plus probable reserves was US$299.89 million as at September 30, 2011;
On a per share basis, net present value of future net revenues before tax (10% discount) of Touchstone's total proved reserves was US$1.17 per share on a fully diluted basis (135,806,004 shares), an increase of 532% from 2010 year-end values; and
On a per share basis, net present value of future net revenues before tax (10% discount) of Touchstone's total proved plus probable reserves was US$2.21 per share on a fully diluted basis (135,806,004 shares), an increase of 474% from 2010 year-end values.

GLJ Report

In accordance with National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities ("NI 51-101"), GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd. ("GLJ") prepared an independent reserve evaluation (the "GLJ Report") with an effective date of September 30, 2011 and dated January 16, 2012 with respect to the Company's crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas reserves. The GLJ Report is Touchstone's first reserve evaluation following the Company's completion of the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Primera Oil and Gas Limited, Primera Oilfield Management Services Limited and Primera East Brighton Ltd. from C L Financial Limited in August, 2011 and represents the consolidation of three independent reserves evaluations - the newly acquired assets of the Primera entities and Touchstone's WD-8 Block were formerly evaluated by AJM Petroleum Consultants, while the Coora Block, acquired earlier in 2011, had previously been evaluated by GLJ. The GLJ Report does not include any reserve assignments to the Company for the Cory Moruga assets (on shore Trinidad) or the East Brighton blocks (off shore Trinidad).

The GLJ Report was prepared in accordance with definitions, standards and procedures contained in the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation Handbook ("COGEH") and NI 51-101. Touchstone's annual prescribed disclosure and reports relating to reserves data and other oil and gas information required pursuant to NI 51-101 for the year ended September 30, 2011, which will include complete disclosure of our oil and gas reserves and other oil and gas information in accordance with NI 51-101, will be filed on or before January 30, 2012 and copies of these documents may be obtained with other Touchstone disclosure documents through the Internet on the Canadian System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at [ www.sedar.com ].

Price Forecasts

The reserve evaluation was based on GLJ forecast pricing and foreign exchange rates at September 30, 2011 as outlined in the following table.

		Bank of Canada	Nymex WTI Near Month Futures Contract		ICE Brent Near Month Futures Contract
		Average	Crude Oil at		Crude Oil
		Noon	Cushing Oklahoma		FOB North Sea
		Exchange	Constant	Then	Then
	Inflation	Rate	2011 $	Current	Current
Year	%	$US/$Cdn	$US/bbl	$US/bbl	$US/bbl
2011 Q3 (e)	2.7	1.022	92.89	92.89	111.16
2011 Q4	2.0	0.980	85.00	85.00	105.00
2011 Full Year	2.7	1.012	93.64	93.64	109.64
2012	2.0	0.980	88.24	90.00	105.00
2013	2.0	0.980	91.31	95.00	105.00
2014	2.0	0.980	94.23	100.00	105.00
2015	2.0	0.980	92.38	100.00	100.00
2016	2.0	0.980	90.57	100.00	100.00
2017	2.0	0.980	90.00	101.36	101.36
2018	2.0	0.980	90.00	103.38	103.38
2019	2.0	0.980	90.00	105.45	105.45
2020	2.0	0.980	90.00	107.56	107.56
2021+	2.0	0.980	90.00	+2.0%/yr	+2.0%/yr

Reserves Summary

The following tables summarize certain information contained in the GLJ Report but represent only a portion of the disclosure required under NI 51-101, the full disclosure will be contained in the Company's annual NI 51-101 oil and gas disclosure which will be available on SEDAR. All reserves are located in Trinidad and Tobago. Numbers presented may not add due to rounding.

SUMMARY OF OIL AND GAS RESERVES
EFFECTIVE DATE - SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
		Light And Medium Oil		Heavy Oil		Natural Gas		Natural Gas Liquids		Total Oil Equivalent
		Company Share		Company Share		Company Share		Company Share		Company Share
Reserves Category		Gross Mbbl	Net Mbbl	Gross Mbbl	Net Mbbl	Gross MMcf	Net MMcf	Gross Mbbl	Net Mbbl	Gross Mboe	Net Mboe
Proved
	Producing	3,099.1	2,088.2	-	-	-	-	-	-	3,099.1	2,088.2
	Developed Nonproducing	906.2	552.9	-	-	-	-	-	-	906.2	552.9
	Undeveloped	1,844.8	1,386.5	-	-	-	-	-	-	1,844.8	1,386.5
Total Proved		5,850.1	4,027.6	-	-	-	-	-	-	5,850.1	4,027.6
Total Probable		5,028.7	3,537.5	-	-	-	-	-	-	5,028.7	3,537.5
Total Proved Plus Probable		10,878.8	7,565.1	-	-	-	-	-	-	10,878.8	7,565.1

⁽¹⁾ Mbbl = Thousand Barrels.

⁽²⁾Where applicable, natural gas has been converted to barrels of oil equivalent ("BOE") based on 6 Mcf:1 BOE. The BOE rate is based on an energy equivalent conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalent at the wellhead. Use of BOE in isolation may be misleading.

⁽³⁾ Mboe = One Thousand Barrels of Oil Equivalents (ie. one thousand BOE).

Reserves Values

Touchstone's crude oil reserves were evaluated using GLJ's product price forecasts effective September 30, 2011 prior to provision for interest, debt service charges and general and administrative expenses. It should not be assumed that the Net Present Value ("NPV") of future net revenues estimated by GLJ represents the fair market value of the reserves. NPVs on both a before and after tax basis are presented below.

NET PRESENT VALUE SUMMARY
BEFORE TAX - US DOLLARS
EFFECTIVE DATE - SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
		Net Present Values of Future Net Revenue					Unit Value Before Income Tax
		Before Income Taxes Discounted At (%/year)					Discounted at 10%/year
		0%	5%	10%	15%	20%
Reserves Category		M$	M$	M$	M$	M$	$/boe	$/Mcfe
Proved
	Producing	133,822	96,429	75,792	62,881	54,063	36.30	6.05
	Developed Nonproducing	35,304	25,456	19,302	15,201	12,324	34.91	5.82
	Undeveloped	93,981	76,329	63,775	54,403	47,160	46.00	7.67
Total Proved		263,107	198,214	158,869	132,485	113,547	39.45	6.57
Total Probable		275,256	186,882	141,030	113,047	94,175	39.87	6.64
Total Proved Plus Probable		538,363	385,096	299,899	245,532	207,722	39.64	6.61

⁽¹⁾ Based on NI-51-101 Net Interest reserves and GLJ September 30, 2011 Forecast Prices and Costs.

The following table provides an estimate of the NPV of future net revenues on an after tax basis incorporating the impact of taxes effective 2011.

NET PRESENT VALUE SUMMARY
AFTER TAX - US DOLLARS
EFFECTIVE DATE - SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
		Net Present Values of Future Net Revenue
		After Income Taxes Discounted At (%/year)
		0%	5%	10%	15%	20%
Reserves Category		M$	M$	M$	M$	M$
Proved
	Producing	45,592	36,735	30,633	26,320	23,150
	Developed Nonproducing	10,044	7,836	6,206	5,035	4,176
	Undeveloped	39,742	31,941	26,260	21,992	18,701
Total Proved		95,378	76,512	63,099	53,347	46,026
Total Probable		92,947	65,723	50,355	40,517	33,702
Total Proved Plus Probable		188,326	142,235	113,454	93,863	79,728

Note: Unit values are based on Company Net Reserves.

⁽¹⁾ Based on NI-51-101 Net Interest reserves and GLJ September 30, 2011 Forecast Prices and Costs.

All evaluations of future net cash flows are stated prior to any provisions for interest costs or general and administrative costs and after the deduction of estimated future capital expenditures for wells to which reserves have been assigned. There is no assurance that the forecast prices and costs assumptions will be attained and variances could be material. The recovery and reserve estimated of the Company's crude oil reserves provided herein are estimates only and there is no guarantee that the estimated reserves will be recovered. Actual crude oil reserves may be greater than or less than the estimates provided herein.

Annual Audited Consolidated Financial Statements & MD&A

Touchstone intends to file its audited consolidated financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis for the financial year ended September 30, 2011 on or around January 30, 2012. The estimated results used in this press release are subject to any final changes upon the completion of the annual audited consolidated financial statements.

This news release is not for distribution to United States newswire services, should not be disseminated in the United States and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States. The securities of Touchstone Exploration Inc. have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

The companies in which Touchstone Exploration Inc. directly and indirectly owns investments or assets are separate entities. In this news release "Touchstone" is sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Touchstone Exploration Inc. and its subsidiaries in general.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this news release that involves Touchstone's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Touchstone generally uses words such as "outlook", "will", "could", "would", "might", "remains", "to be", "plans", "believes", "may", "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "estimate", "future", "plan", "positioned", "potential", "target", "project", "remain", "scheduled", "set to", "subject to", "upcoming", and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based upon information available to Touchstone as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect.

These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Touchstone and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, whether requisite shareholder approvals and/or stock exchange and other regulatory approvals will be obtained in a timely fashion or at all; whether the Transaction will close as contemplated or at all, the impact of general economic conditions in Canada and Trinidad & Tobago; industry conditions including changes in laws and regulations including adoption of new environmental laws and regulations, and changes in how they are interpreted and enforced in Canada and Trinidad & Tobago; competition; actual and threatened litigation, lack of availability of qualified personnel; the results of exploration and development drilling and related activities; the timing and amount of estimated future production; costs of production; obtaining required approvals of regulatory authorities in Canada and Trinidad & Tobago; risks associated with negotiating with foreign governments as well as country risk associated with conducting international activities; volatility in market prices for oil; fluctuations in foreign exchange or interest rates; environmental risks; changes in income tax laws or changes in tax laws and incentive programs relating to the oil industry; ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; the risks that any estimate of potential net oil pay is not based upon an estimate prepared or audited by an independent reserves evaluator; that there is no certainty that any portion of the hydrocarbon resources will be discovered, or if discovered that it will be commercially viable to produce any portion thereof; and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Touchstone.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. For further information regarding specific risks and uncertainties applicable to Touchstone please see Touchstone's disclosure documents which may be viewed through the Internet on the Canadian System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at [ www.sedar.com ]. Touchstone does not undertake any obligation to publicly update forward-looking information except as required by applicable securities law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Contributing Sources

Market Wire

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Touchstone Announces Over 300% Increase to Total Proved Reserves

Touchstone Announces Over 300% Increase to Total Proved Reserves