CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/18/13 -- PetroBakken Energy Ltd. ("PetroBakken") (TSX:PBN) announces that we have acquired 4,786,700 common shares of TriOil Resources Ltd. ("TriOil") at an average price of $2.87 per share. These shares, which represent approximately 7.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of TriOil, were acquired through the facilities of the CNSX Pure Trading exchange. As a result of this acquisition, PetroBakken now owns 11,050,330 common shares of TriOil, representing approximately 17.3% of the total issued and outstanding common shares of TriOil as of the date hereof, on a non-diluted basis.

PetroBakken jointly owns lands, producing oil wells, and facilities with TriOil in the Lochend area of our Cardium business unit. We acquired the TriOil shares for investment purposes, and our holdings may be increased or decreased in the future, depending upon economic or market conditions or matters relating to TriOil.

An Early Warning Report detailing this ownership position will be filed on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Review ("SEDAR") and can be viewed at www.sedar.com.

PetroBakken Energy Ltd. is an oil and gas exploration and production company combining light oil Bakken and Cardium resource plays with conventional light oil assets, delivering industry leading operating netbacks, strong cash flows and production growth. PetroBakken is applying leading edge technology to a multi-year inventory of Bakken and Cardium light oil development locations, along with a significant inventory of opportunities in the Horn River and Montney gas resource plays in northeast BC. Our strategy is to deliver accretive production and reserves growth, along with an attractive dividend yield.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO OBTAIN A COPY OF THE EARLY WARNING REPORT REFERRED TO HEREIN, PLEASE CONTACT: