HOUSTON, June 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Endeavour International Corporation (NYSE-Amex: END) has expanded its operations management team in the United States to oversee its growing asset base and activities in shale resource plays. The leadership group will be based in a newly established technical and commercial office located in Denver, Colorado.

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Chandler (Chip) A. Oakes has joined the company as vice president of geosciences; Eric Kolstad will serve as vice president of operations; and David K. Davenport has been named vice president of land. The three individuals will report to James J. Emme, executive vice president - North America, who assumed his position earlier this year.

We are excited about the caliber of talent that will be leading our initiative in unconventional hydrocarbon exploration and development, said William L. Transier, chairman, chief executive officer and president. This group collectively has vast technical and leadership experience in this new focus area that will accelerate our strategic move to onshore United States.

Endeavour is looking forward to being part of the Denver business community which is an industry center for activities related to shale resource play development, said Emme. Our new downtown location will serve as the hub for operations associated with our expansion into these highly prospective areas.

Oakes has 28 years of industry experience with Forest Oil Corporation, Oryx Energy Company and Sun Exploration and Production. Most recently, he served as managing director for new ventures for Forest Oil where he established a new operations group to facilitate entry into unconventional plays. He previously held a variety of international and domestic exploration management assignments with Oryx and Sun. He has a bachelor of arts in geology from Middlebury College and masters in geology from the University of Texas.

Kolstad has an extensive engineering background in all aspects of drilling, completions and production operations. He has specific expertise in both vertical and horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracture stimulation of unconventional reservoirs. Previously, he was vice president of western operations for New Tech Engineering LP where he was responsible for managing the company's Rocky Mountains business. He began his career with Texaco Exploration and Production as a field production engineer in the Green River Basin. He worked in a variety of technical and management roles at Union Pacific Resources, Anadarko Petroleum, Williams Production RMT Company and Newfield Exploration Company. He is a registered petroleum engineer with a bachelor of science from Colorado School of Mines.

Davenport has experience in acquiring large leasehold positions and negotiating significant joint ventures in major shale and resource plays across the U.S. Prior to joining Endeavour, he was vice president, land and business development for Exco Resources (PA), Inc. overseeing their Appalachian Marcellus play. He has performed similar duties in the Rocky Mountains with Orion Energy Partners, Elk Resources, Inc., Encana Oil Gas Inc. and Tom Brown, Inc. He began his career with Marathon Oil Company where he held various roles of increasing responsibility in land management. He holds a bachelor of science in business from the University of Colorado.

Emme spent 23 years with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation where he served as worldwide vice president of exploration and business development and headed the company's Canadian operations. He most recently served as senior vice president of exploration for Max Petroleum and was president and chief operating officer for Elk Resources.

Endeavour International Corporation is an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of energy reserves in the North Sea and the United States. For more information, visit http://www.endeavourcorp.com.

Certain statements in this news release should be regarded as forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities laws. These statements speak only as of the date made. Such statements are subject to assumptions, risk and uncertainty. Actual results or events may vary materially. The estimates of recoverable resources per well and completed well costs included herein are based upon other typical results in these shale plays and may not be indicative of actual results.

SOURCE: Endeavour International Corporation

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