Continental Southern Announces Commencement of Drilling Operations for Louisiana Shelf Partners, L.P.

Business Editors

BALA CYNWYD, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2003

Continental Southern Resources, Inc. (OTC:CSOR) (the "Company" or "Continental") announced today that Louisiana Shelf Partners., L.P. ("the Partnership"), in which Continental owns an approximate 25% interest, has signed a drilling contract with Parker Drilling, utilizing a jack-up rig, to commence drilling on the exploration project located in Cameron Parish in offshore Louisiana. The rig is being barged to the drilling location and the anticipated spud date for the well is August 4th. The well, S.L. 17743 No. 1, is permitted to a drill depth of 15,500 feet. The project operator, LS Gas, LLC., projects the drilling operation to take approximately 40 days to drill and log to total drill depth, with an anticipated additional 10 days for completion of the well.

Louisiana Shelf Partners, L.P. owns offshore leases in East Cameron Parish in portions of Block 4, 17,18 and 22. The Partnership's total acreage position is approximately 5,000 acres. The first well will be drilled on Block 18, with Blocks 4 and 18 anticipated to be explored after completion of exploration and development activity on Block 18.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected on the basis of such forward-looking statements. The words "estimate," "project,'' "intends,'' "expects,'' "believes" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results, events or financial position to differ materially from those included within the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the Company's properties producing oil and gas in commercial quantities, the absence of a track record of developing successful properties, the Company's ability to generate additional financing, as well those factors set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB and its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made and the Company undertakes no obligation to disclose any revision to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.