CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - May 22, 2012) -

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Suroco Energy Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SRN) ("Suroco" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that the Cohembi-7 appraisal well has encountered 19 feet of very high quality oil pay, approximately one kilometer to the northeast of the closest producing well.

Mr. Alastair Hill, the Corporation's President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "The Cohembi-7 results provide encouraging support for extending the oil accumulation by confirming the presence of such high quality reservoir to the north of where we previously believed the main accumulation to be located. Cohembi-7 is also important in that an optimized drilling and completion program enabled the operations on this well to be several days ahead of schedule. This bodes well for our target of reducing the drilling costs which form the principal element of capital expenditure in this large project."

The Cohembi-7 well was spudded on April 28, 2012 and drilled directionally to the northeast from the Cohembi-3 surface pad, with a bottomhole location approximately one kilometer from the Cohembi-3 well. The well reached a total depth of 9,543 feet (8,652 feet true vertical depth) on May 15, 2012. Open hole logs indicate 19 feet of very high quality oil pay in the Villeta N sand (true vertical thickness). As expected, no oil-water contact was encountered within the reservoir sand. The Cohembi-7 well is expected to be completed, and placed on production within the next two weeks. Production testing of the well and reservoir modeling will help determine whether additional wells need to be drilled in this area in the future.

Following the completion of Cohembi-7, the drilling rig will move to a newly constructed multi-well surface pad to drill the Cohembi-4 well for appraisal of the western extent of the pool. The remainder of the 2012 program will then focus on delineating the southern extent of the field from the existing Cohembi-2 and planned Cohembi-6 multi-well surface pads.

Further details explaining the Corporation's activities and 2012 drilling program are contained in a presentation on the Corporation's website at [ www.suroco.com ].

The Corporation is a Calgary-based junior oil and gas company, which explores for, develops, produces and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas in Colombia. The Corporation's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SRN.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the operational and exploration activities for Suroco, the evaluation of certain prospects in which the Corporation holds an interest, estimated number of drilling locations, expected capital program (including its allocation) and drilling costs, production growth, and other statements that are not historical facts. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur, which may cause actual performance and results in future periods to differ materially from any estimates or projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular; fluctuations in oil prices; the results of exploration and development drilling, recompletions and related activities; changes in environmental and other regulations; risks associated with oil and gas operations and future exploration activities; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; product supply and demand; market competition; political and economic conditions in the country in which the Corporation operates; and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Corporation. You can find an additional discussion of those assumptions, risks and uncertainties in Suroco's Canadian securities filings.

Readers should also note that even if the 2012 drilling program as proposed by Suroco is successful, there are many factors that could result in production levels being less than anticipated or targeted, including without limitation, greater than anticipated declines in existing production due to poor reservoir performance, mechanical failures or inability to access production facilities, among other factors.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, Suroco disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, Suroco undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.

Contributing Sources

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