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CARPINTERIA, CALIFORNIA--(Marketwire - May 14, 2010) - NiMin Energy Corp. (TSX:NNN)(OTCQX:NEYYF) ("NiMin" or the "Company") today announced the financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. Copies of the financial statements and related footnotes and the Management Discussion and Analysis may be obtained via SEDAR at [ www.sedar.com ].

Net income (loss) for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 was $(3,126,438) compared to $(1,875,205) for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. Earnings (loss) per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 was $(0.06) compared to $(0.05) for the same period a year earlier.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2010, the Company reported gross revenues of $4.59 million, up from $1.75 million reported in the same period of 2009. The change is comprised of a 32% increase in the volume of oil and natural gas produced due in part to the addition of the producing properties in Wyoming and a 93% increase in prices. Operating netback increased to $1.50 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 from $0.82 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. General and Administrative ("G&A") expenses increased from $1.46 million to $1.75 million at the quarter ended March 31, 2010. Deducting stock-based compensation costs, a non-cash accounting entry, the G&A expense for 2010 was $1.03 million, a 38% increase over the $0.75 million reported for the same period in 2009. Depreciation, depletion, amortization and accretion for the first quarter of 2010, decreased to $1.12 million from the $1.21 million reported for the same period in 2009. This decrease is primarily attributable to an increase in proven reserves associated with the acquisition of four fields in Wyoming in December 2009.

Highlights for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 include:

• NiMin successfully drilled its first well, the State #11, at the Ferguson Ranch field in Wyoming. The well was brought on-line on March 29, 2010, at an initial production rate of approximately 100 barrels of oil per day.
• NiMin reported an initial positive response from the Combined Miscible Drive ("CMD") project at Pleito Creek Field in Kern County, California. At the time of the announcement, the H-2 horizontal well that offsets the CMD injection well was producing 107 barrels of oil per day, approximately 44 barrels of oil per day above the natural decline rate of the well. The well has continued to show an increase in production since the time of the announcement. In addition, the gravity of the oil has been upgraded from 17 to 19.9 degrees API.
• The Company hedged the future sale of 7,500 barrels of NYMEX West Texas Intermediate crude oil per month at a fixed price of $85.10 per barrel effective January 1, 2010, for a period of twenty-four months. The hedged volumes represent less than 50% of the Company's production.

Management Comments

Mr. Clancy Cottman, Chairman and CEO said, "During our brief time as a public company, we have accomplished many of the short term goals that we have communicated to our investors. We've drilled our first new well in Wyoming, validating the upside potential we saw in the fields at the time of acquisition, we are experiencing a production increase in the Pleito Creek field as a result of our proprietary CMD process and we signed a term sheet that will convert the short term debt on our balance sheet to long term debt and provides additional capital should we need it. Finally, we successfully closed an $11.5 million equity offering which, when combined with the pending additional debt capacity, funds our capital spending program for this year."

Mr. Cottman continued, "The Company is well positioned to take full advantage of current market conditions. The near term growth offered by our Wyoming assets will allow us to take full advantage of the strong oil markets currently being experienced. This is balanced by the long term growth potential offered by our proprietary CMD process. The production increase we see in the Pleito Creek field is very encouraging because it seems to be a direct result of the oxygen injection that is the key element of the CMD process. All of this is supported by the revenue generated from our assets in Louisiana that produce free cash flow each year with little or no capital investment."

About NiMin Energy

NiMin is a California based independent oil and gas exploitation and production company with principal operations in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming, the San Joaquin Basin in California and South Louisiana onshore areas of the U.S. The Company has over 27 million barrels of proved and probable reserves, 97% of which are oil. The Company has current gross production of approximately 950 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Cautionary Statements

A boe conversion ratio of six thousand cubic feet per barrel (6mcf/bbl) of natural gas to barrels of oil equivalence is based upon an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency for the individual products at the wellhead. Such disclosure of boe's may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation.

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information ("forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including the drilling program to be commenced by NiMin on the acquired fields, production gains, the long-term upside potential of the CMD process and the increase in oil recovery resulting therefrom. Although NiMin believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements have been based upon currently available information to NiMin. Such statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could influence actual results or events and cause actual results or events to differ materially from those stated, anticipated or implied in forward-looking statements. Risks include, but are not limited to: the risks associated with the oil and gas industry (e.g., operational risks in development, exploration and production; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of reserve estimates; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses, and health, safety and environmental risks), commodity price, price and exchange rate fluctuation and uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures. The risks, uncertainties, material assumptions and other factors that could affect actual results are discussed in more detail in our Annual Information Form and other documents available at [ www.sedar.com ]. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release, and, except as required by applicable law, NiMin does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. NiMin undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of the NiMin, Legacy or their respective financial or operating results or, as applicable, their securities. The net present value of future net revenue attributable to NiMin's reserves do not represent fair market value.