MENA Hydrocarbons Announces Operations Start in Lagia Oil Field and Creation of Joint Venture Company

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - March 22, 2012) - MENA Hydrocarbons Inc. ("MENA" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:MNH.V - News) is pleased to announce an operations update for Lagia oil field development in Egypt.

Creation of Joint Venture Company, PetroSinai

MENA announces that the joint venture company with the Egyptian Petroleum Company (EGPC), named PetroSinai, has been established to assume operations in Egypt for the Lagia oil field. MENA staff will continue to operate the Lagia oil field on behalf of PetroSinai until such time as arrangements for new premises and staffing for PetroSinai are completed which are expected during April, 2012.

Start of Operations in the Lagia field

Operations on the Lagia oil field development commenced March 16, 2012. Using Petroservices Drilling Overseas (PSDO) 750 HP rig Shams 1, the six well programme consists of working over two existing wells, the drilling of two development wells and drilling a further two appraisal wells.

Well Lagia 6, drilled in 2000, has now been successfully re-entered and re-perforated.

The existing Lagia 6 and 7 wells are expected to be completed with a subsurface pump whereafter two development wells and two appraisal wells are planned to be drilled to the top of the Thebes formation at around 1500 ft. The development wells will be completed with thermal casing in order to facilitate steam injection as part of a cyclic steam soak pilot project and fitted with a sucker rod pump. A contract for the rental of a 24 MM BTU steam plant is currently being finalised. The plant is expected to arrive by mid 2012. Installation of production facilities for the pilot phase is being finalised to be operational after completion of the workovers. The produced oil will be transported by road tanker to the production facilities of the General Petroleum Company (GPC) at Ras Gharib.

Lagia Oil Field

MENA is the sole participant in the joint venture company with EGPC, which operates the Lagia Development Lease covering a 32 square kilometre block of land located on the Sinai Peninsula, directly adjacent to the Gulf of Suez. Within the lease, four wells have been drilled between the years 1949 to 2000 that have identified the Lagia oil field. Three producing oil fields, Sudr, Matarma and Asl, are located as close as 26 km to the north of the Lagia oil field.

About MENA Hydrocarbons

MENA Hydrocarbons is an international oil and gas company focused on growing an asset base of production, development and high impact exploration in the Middle East and North Africa region. In Egypt, MENA owns and operates the development lease for the Lagia oil field, a 32 square kilometre onshore block located on the Sinai Peninsula, directly adjacent to the Gulf of Suez. In Syria, MENA owns a 30% participating interest in Block 9 in Syria, a 10,032 square kilometre onshore block prospective for crude oil, natural gas and condensate. In the United States, MENA owns 6,242 gross acres (with an 81.2% average working interest) in Northwestern Montana with light/medium oil reserves, and 36,201 gross acres (with a 99.5% average working interest) in East-Central Utah prospective for both commercial gas sand and coal bed methane. MENA's shares currently trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "MNH".

Further information

For more information, please see MENA's corporate presentation on www.menahydrocarbons.com.

Forward looking information

This news release contains forward-looking information relating to adding to planned development and exploration activities on the properties in which the Company has interests, and other statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking information is subject to important risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The results or events predicated in this forward-looking information may differ materially from actual results or events. As a result, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the impact of increasing competition; the general stability of the economic and political environments in which the Company operates or owns interests; the timely receipt of any required regulatory approvals; the ability of the Company to obtain qualified staff, equipment and services in a timely and cost efficient manner; drilling results; the ability of the operator of the projects which the Company has an interest in to operate the field in a safe, efficient and effective manner; the ability of the Company to obtain financing on acceptable terms; field production rates and decline rates; the ability to replace and expand oil and natural gas reserves through acquisition, development of exploration; the timing and costs of pipeline, storage and facility construction and expansion and the ability of the Company to secure adequate product transportation; future oil and natural gas prices; currency, exchange and interest rates; the regulatory framework regarding royalties, taxes and environmental matters in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates; and the ability of the Company to successfully market its oil and natural gas products, and other similar matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.

Forward looking-information is subject to certain factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is currently expected. These factors include risks associated with instability of the economic and political environments in which the Company operates or owns interests, oil and gas exploration, development, exploitation, production, marketing and transportation, loss of markets, volatility of commodity prices, currency fluctuations, imprecision of reserve estimates, environmental risks, competition from other producers, inability to retain drilling rigs and other services, incorrect assessment of the value of acquisitions, the inability to settle the definitive terms of the farmout arrangements, failure to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions, delays resulting from or inability to obtain required regulatory approvals and ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, reliance on key personnel, regulatory risks and delays, including risks relating to the acquisition of necessary licenses and permits, environmental risks and insurance risks.

You should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While the Company may elect to, the Company is under no obligation and does not undertake to update this information at any particular time, except as required by 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 release.

Contacts

Graham Lyon
MENA Hydrocarbons Inc.
President & Chief Executive Officer
+1 (403) 930-7500
+1 (403) 930-7599 (FAX)

Jason Bednar
MENA Hydrocarbons Inc.
Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
+1 (403) 930-7500
+1 (403) 930-7599 (FAX)
general_inquiries@menahydrocarbons.com
www.menahydrocarbons.com