WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Austral Pacific Energy Ltd. (TSX-V: APX; NZSX: APX; Amex: AEN) Further to Austral Pacific Energy Ltd.'s news release of March 30, 2007, the Company confirms that it has now received all necessary regulatory approvals for the placement of 2.5 million common shares at $1.30 each and that it has now completed the placement. All these shares have a restricted period in Canada until September 16, 2007. Proceeds will be used in connection with the Cheal field development and for working capital purposes. Web site: http://www.austral-pacific.com/ Email: Phone: Thompson Jewell, CEO +64 (4) 495 0880 None of the Exchanges upon which Austral Pacific's securities trade have approved or disapproved the contents hereof. This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable legislation. Other than statements of historical fact, all statements in this release addressing future production, reserve potential, exploration and development activities and other contingencies are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, due to factors such as market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market, political or business conditions. See our public filings at http://www.sedar.com/ and http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm for further information. DATASOURCE: Austral Pacific Energy Ltd. CONTACT: Thompson Jewell, CEO of Austral Pacific Energy Ltd., +64 (4) 495 0880, Web site: http://www.austral-pacific.com/

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