Barrington Shareholder Rights Protection Plan Update.

CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 1998--Barrington Petroleum Ltd. ("Barrington") (TSE: BPL) (ME: BPL) today provides securityholders with an update regarding Barrington's shareholder rights protection plan (the "Rights Plan").

The key purpose of the Rights Plan is to ensure that the Board would have adequate time to seek alternative transactions to maximize shareholder value. The Rights Plan provides that a permitted bid is a take-over bid which provides for a minimum deposit period of at least 40 days and which is made for all outstanding shares and to all shareholders (regardless of the jurisdiction in which the shareholder resides). A permitted bid must also satisfy certain other conditions, including that a minimum of 50 percent of the outstanding shares (exclusive of shares held by the offeror) must be tendered into the bid after which time the bid must then be extended for a further period of 10 business days. The Sunoma Energy Corp. bid, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, is not a permitted bid under the Rights Plan. The issuance of common shares under the Rights Plan is subject to approval of The Toronto Stock Exchange and the Montreal Exchange. The Toronto Stock Exchange and the Montreal Exchange have indicated that they will defer consideration of the Rights Plan until after the expiry of the Sunoma bid. The Board believes that the Rights Plan will provide adequate time to allow Nesbitt Burns Inc. to fully canvass alternative opportunities to maximize Barrington securityholders' value and will continue to vigorously defend the Rights Plan so long as it is serving this purpose.

As previously announced, the Board resolved to defer the Separation Time under the Rights Plan to 5:00 p.m. (Calgary time) on September 3, 1998.

Barrington is a Canadian intermediate natural gas and oil producer based in Calgary with operations in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Corporation's primary emphasis is natural gas and natural gas liquids exploration and production. Barrington's common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange and the Montreal Exchange (trading symbol "BPL").

CONTACT: Barrington Petroleum Ltd.

Brian H. Gore, 403/263-9464

403/266-5794 (fax)

[e-mail]

http://www.barrington.com

or

Nesbitt Burns Inc.

Robert B. Wonnacott, 403/515-1550