American International Petroleum Corp. reports financial results for 1995; Company's proved oil reserves increases by 44%.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 16, 1996--AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION (NASDAQ:AIPN), today reported financial results for the year ended December 31, 1995.

For the year ended December 31, 1995, revenues were $2,811,000, versus $3,508,000 for the year ended December 31, 1994. The net loss was $4,338,000, or $.20 per share on 21,746,719 weighted average shares outstanding, compared to a net loss of $10,967,000, or $.65 per share, on 16,790,865 weighted average shares then outstanding.

The reason for the decline in revenues in 1995 related primarily to a 44% reduction in throughput fees from the lessee of the Company s refinery in 1995. The reduced throughput related primarily to financing and purchasing problems encountered by the lessee in 1995, which problems were substantially reduced, resulting in the lessee obtaining a new $45 million contract from the government on April 1, 1996. The lessee should now be able to provide the Company with annual lease fees in excess of $2.5 million.

The Company also said it had met and exceeded the objectives of the cost reduction program it announced in April 1994. During the past two years, it reduced its aggregate general and administrative expenses, net of non-cash items, by approximately 14% in 1995 from 1994 levels and 11% in 1994 from 1993 levels and, although its annual total oil production increased by approximately 12% in 1995 from 1994 levels and 5% in 1994 from 1993 levels, its operating expenses in 1995 have declined by 32% from 1993. Since the end of 1994, the Company has also reduced its debt in place by 19% and successfully negotiated a settlement of certain drilling and seismic obligations in Colombia, which settlement saved the Company approximately $2.6 million.

In addition, although only a small portion of the 17 million barrels of recoverable oil reserves from the Company's new Chicoral oil discovery, as estimated by its independent reservoir engineers, are included in its 1995 year-end estimate of proved reserves, the Company said it increased its proved reserves by 44% in 1995 to 6 million barrels of oil equivalent from 4.2 barrels in 1994.

American International Petroleum Corporation is engaged in oil and natural gas exploration and production in Colombia, Peru, and Indonesia, and in refining in Louisiana. -0-

                     AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION
                                 Financial Summary

                                 Year Ended December 31,
                             1995                       1994

Revenues                $  2,811,000            $     3,508,000

Expenses                $  7,149,000            $   14,475,000(a)

Net loss                 $(4,338,000)           $   (10,967,000)(a)

Earnings per share       $      (.20)           $          (.65)(a)

Weighted average shares   21,746,719                 16,790,865

Note(a) Includes non-cash charge to the carrying value of its oil and gas
properties of $6.90 million, or $.41 per share in 1994.

Operating Statistics:

                                 Twelve Months Ended December 31,
                                    1995                  1994

Net Production (Barrels)           155,615               139,177

Realized Price Per Barrel        $    8.16             $    8.66(b)

Production Cost Per Barrel       $    2.78             $    4.64(b)

Proved Equivalent Oil Reserves
 (bbls.)                         6,003,000             4,162,000

Future Net Revenues Discounted
    at 10%                     $12,359,000           $10,071,000

Note(b) Includes transportation costs in first four months of 1994.
Without these costs the per barrel average price and production costs
during 1994 was $7.17 and $3.15, respectively.

CONTACT: American International Petroleum

Denis J. Fitzpatrick

Chief Financial Officer

(800) 298-AIPC