Austral Pacific Announces Strategic Alternatives Review

Austral Pacific Announces Strategic Alternatives Review

Austral Pacific to Conduct Comprehensive Review of Business Options

Wellington, New Zealand - September 24, 2008 - Austral Pacific Energy Ltd. (TSX-V: APX; NZSX: APX)

Austral Pacific Energy Ltd. today announced that it has decided to initiate a strategic alternatives review of its business.

Austral CEO and President Thompson Jewell said, "In light of the low share price, Austral Pacific has initiated a strategic review to consider all options available to the company to maximise value for its shareholders".

In conjunction with the strategic review, Austral Pacific has appointed Australasian investment banking firm McDouall Stuart as the company's Financial Advisor.

The strategic review will be comprehensive, and will consider new capital investments as well as third-party approaches for asset sales and/or merger proposals.

No decision on any particular alternative has been reached at this time and there can be no assurance that the process will result in any change in the Company's current plans to seek additional capital in order to refinance its existing credit facility or that the Company will pursue any particular transaction.

Austral does not intend to make any further announcement regarding the process unless and until its board of directors has approved a specific transaction or other course of action or otherwise deems disclosure of developments is appropriate.

Austral Pacific is a listed independent oil and gas exploration and production company registered in Canada with corporate headquarters in Wellington, New Zealand. The Company has an interest in eight exploration and production permits totaling over 0.5 million acres in New Zealand. The Company's primary assets are the Cheal Field, Kahili Field and Cardiff Field located onshore in the highly prolific Taranaki Basin on the North Island of New Zealand.

Web site: www.austral-pacific.com
Email: ir@austral-pacific.com
Phone: Thom Jewell, CEO +64 (4) 495 0880 or Brad Holmes +1 (713) 304 6962

For McDouall Stuart:
Phone: Dugald Morrison +64 (21) 833-907 or apx.sr@mcdouallstuart.co.nz

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. Please see our public filings at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm for further information.