HOUSTON, December 14, 2009 – ERHC Energy Inc. (OTCBB: ERHE), a publicly traded American company with oil and gas assets in the highly prospective Gulf of Guinea off the coast of West Africa, today announced its results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended September 30, 2009. Access the full 10-K report here.

“This has been a year of numerous significant accomplishments, including the implementation of a coordinated exploratory drilling strategy across three of the Blocks in the Nigeria-São Tomé & Príncipe Joint Development Zone in which we have interests,” said Chief Operating Officer Peter Ntephe. “We anticipate that the pace of progress will continue to accelerate as the São Tomé & Principe Exclusive Economic Zone moves closer to its first licensing round.”

As of September 30, 2009, ERHC reported cash assets totaling $22,428,728. 

During the 2009 fiscal year, ERHC’s general and administrative expenses were $4,202,809, which reflects a decrease over the general and administrative expenses in the 2008 fiscal year.  The decrease arises from careful management of the Company’s operations and expenditures. The Company had a net loss of $7,689,137 during the 2009 fiscal year.

ERHC will hold its quarterly conference call on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. ERHC Chief Operating Officer Peter Ntephe will lead a discussion of the Company’s financial performance and operating highlights.

To participate, please dial 888-721-1403 (domestic) or 706-758-1074 (international) five to ten minutes before the call begins and reference the pass code 45263070.

A simultaneous live Webcast of the call will be available over the Internet and will be accessible by going to https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/erhcenergy/join and entering the Meeting ID: 4T4SBK and Entry Code: JSC?~5b.

A replay of the call will be available from Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time through December 22, 2009 by dialing 800-642-1687 (domestic) or 706-645-9291 (international) and reference the pass code 45263070. In addition, a replay of the Webcast will be available at www.erhc.com.

ERHC Energy has interests in six of the nine Blocks in the offshore Nigeria-São Tomé & Príncipe Joint Development Zone (JDZ). The Company has additional interests in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé & Príncipe.

About ERHC Energy
 
ERHC Energy Inc. is a Houston-based independent oil and gas company focused on growth through high impact exploration in the highly prospective Gulf of Guinea and the development of undeveloped and marginal oil and gas fields. ERHC is committed to creating and delivering significant value for its shareholders, investors and employees, and to sustainable and profitable growth through risk balanced smart exploration, cost efficient development and high margin production. For more information, visit www.erhc.com.

Cautionary Statement
 
This press release contains statements concerning ERHC Energy Inc.’s future operating milestones, future drilling operations, the planned exploration and appraisal program, future prospects, future investment opportunities and financing plans, future shareholders’ meetings, response to the Senate Subcommittee investigation, developments in the SEC investigation of the Company and related proceedings, as well as other matters that are not historical facts or information.  Such statements are inherently subject to a variety of risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, projected, expressed or implied.  A discussion of the risk factors that could impact these areas and the Company’s overall business and financial performance can be found in the Company’s reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors include, among others, those relating to the Company’s ability to exploit its commercial interests in the JDZ and the Exclusive Economic Zone of São Tomé and Príncipe, general economic and business conditions, changes in foreign and domestic oil and gas exploration and production activity, competition, changes in foreign, political, social and economic conditions, regulatory initiatives and compliance with governmental regulations and various other matters, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Given these concerns, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on these statements. Each of the above statements speaks only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any of the above statements is based.

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