CanWest Petroleum Corporation: Progress Report.

CALGARY, Alberta -- CanWest Petroleum Corporation (OTCBB:CWPC) -

FIREBAG EAST ATHABASCA OILSANDS 2005 EXPLORATION PROGRAM READY

The 2005 exploration and drilling program on the 1.4 million acre (60 townships) Firebag East lands is ready to start. Oilsands Quest Inc. has secured a truck mounted coring rig as well as a 16 person mobile trailer camp. The exploration program which is expected to include a minimum of 20 exploration wells during 2005, will begin on the western portion of the Saskatchewan permits, closest to proven reserves on the Alberta side and close to two previously drilled wells with good bitumen shows. Depending on initial drill core results, the program may then continue in a north-south pattern to intersect east-west paleo channels containing bitumen. A subsequent pattern of wells will be drilled to the east to find the eastern extent of bitumen deposition. The 2005 work program is subject to Saskatchewan Government approval.

Oilsands Quest Inc., a subsidiary of the Company, will be featured in Oil Week during early April.

Christopher Hopkins, Oilsands Quest's CEO, was a founding officer of Synenco Energy Inc. and led the exploration program that ultimately identified a resource base of 1.5 billion barrels oil, with the potential of another billion barrels, all located within two townships and situated to the west of Firebag East. Over the course of five years Synenco raised $40 million Canadian in equity largely due to Mr. Hopkins efforts and became one of the lowest cost discoveries in the industry, at a cost of approximately 2 cents per barrel found. Its current resource base is capable of producing 100,000 barrels oil per day with a mine life of over 30 years.

SYLVAN LAKE INITIAL OIL WELL DRILLING 

Ensign Drilling has spudded the 5-3-38-3 W5M well and is currently drilling at 1,250 feet. Surface casing will be run to 930 feet. The rig is known as a telescopic double and is rated to drill to 10,000 feet in depth. Drilling operations are expected to be suspended for a few weeks as a result of restrictions on heavy vehicles using secondary highways and roads during spring breakup. This road ban is an annual event, which occurs in most of Central and Northern Canada when the frost, which may be several feet thick, melts allowing the ground to dry. Drilling operations for a large rig such as that on the Sylvan Lake well requires service by heavy vehicles such as mud, water, cement and vacuum trucks which may cause severe road damage.

The Sylvan Lake Prospect is a well defined 3-D seismic structural high within a preserved Pekisko remnant "island" that may have virgin reservoirs with similar production potential as the adjacent N Pool where 6 wells have produced 680,000 barrels oil since 1997. In the overall, the Sylvan Field has produced 40 million barrels oil from the Pekisko formation and 50 billion cubic feet gas from the Shunda formation.

Ensign Drilling will test a total of 30 feet from several zones in the Shunda formations at 7,155 feet which is prospective for natural gas and a 30-foot Pekisko oil formation at 7,320 feet. When drilling resumes, the hole is planned to reach a total depth of 7,570 feet, which may take some 10 days to then complete drilling and testing.

The Company has a 25% project working interest with the potential for 4 oil and 1-gas wells. On the basis of producing 150 barrels oil per day (which may be low) and oil priced at $44 per barrel, the Company has the potential to earn $440,000 CND per well per year, or therefore a total of $1,760,000 per year from four wells with no credit for gas. There is a gas gathering system in the immediate area and oil will be trucked 3 miles to a pipeline terminal.

BARRHEAD NATURAL GAS INITIAL WELL TO BE COMPLETED

The Company is pleased to report that production casing has been run to 1,840 feet on the initial well and on the basis of log interpretation the well may have the potential to produce approximately 250,000 cubic feet gas per day with potential reserves of approximately 0.5 billion cubic feet gas. A continuous flow production test will now be completed to determine actual production rates and reserves. There is an available gas gathering system in the immediate area. The Company has a 12.5% working interest with the potential for 6 gas wells.

ENERGY 51 NEW DRILLING PROJECTS

Energy 51, the operator of both the Barrhead and Sylvan Lake Plays, intends to propose additional development drilling projects in the next few months where the Company may elect to participate on paying 33% of the costs to earn a 25% working interest.

PASQUIA HILLS OIL SHALE PROJECT UPDATE

As part of the Nova Chemicals Corporation / CanWest Petroleum Corporation Joint Venture, further analysis including liquid characterization tests will be conducted and in addition, a laboratory scale steam assisted retort is being built, which will produce basic data needed for possible development of an advanced steam assisted retort.

As part of the Joint Venture, Refinery Science Corp in conjunction with the University of Texas El Paso campus, is preparing Pasquia Hills oil shale samples for characterization tests at the Stanford Synchrotron facility in California, which is funded by the US Department of Energy.

The Company may be required to drill further core holes at the Pasquia Hills mine site in the second quarter to retrieve additional oil shale samples for further testing.

Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors effecting the Company's operations, markets, products and prices and other factors discussed in the Company's various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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CanWest Petroleum Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board:CWPC)