American International Asphalt, Inc. Secures $1.8 Million Credit Facility.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2002

American International Asphalt, Inc. ("AIA"), a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Petroleum Corporation (OTC BB: AIPN), reached an agreement with Fidelity Funding Business Credit, Ltd., Dallas, TX, for an aggregate $1.8 million credit facility.

Proceeds will be utilized to acquire asphalt feedstocks to support AIA's asphalt operations, including its contract backlog and working capital requirements.

The Company sold approximately 57,000 tons of asphalt in 2001, an approximate 50% increase over its total asphalt sales in the previous year, primarily to highway contractors in the states of Louisiana and Texas. Two-thirds of the 2001 sales consisted of high-margin polymerized asphalt. AIA anticipates expanding into the specialty asphalt market later this year and to also begin selling asphalt into other states as well. Currently, AIA has an asphalt contract backlog of approximately $7 million, of which approximately 70% is for polymerized asphalt.

AIA is engaged in the production and retail marketing of conventional and polymer-modified asphalt for highway paving in the United States, primarily in the Gulf Coast. AIA has been very successful in developing its niche market, customer base and reputation as a supplier of highly reliable "on-spec" asphalt. AIA's asphalt facilities, located in Lake Charles, LA include an aggregate asphalt storage tank capacity of approximately 342,000 barrels, or about 62,000 tons.

American International Petroleum Corporation is a diversified petroleum company which, through various wholly owned subsidiaries, is involved in oil and gas exploration and development in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and in processing crude oil, and in marketing and transporting a wide array of refined products in the United States.

Statements herein may be identified as forward-looking for purposes of safe harbor provisions under Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Commission Act of 1934. Such statements relating to AIA's business, including those specific to this press release, including ability to acquire asphalt feedstocks, fulfill its contract backlog, expand into specialty asphalt, and sell into new states; and all future business of the Company, are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those statements and other risks and factors, identified in American International Petroleum Corporation's SEC filings.