Vast Exploration Appoints General (Retired) John P. Abizaid to Board of Directors

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Feb. 18, 2011) - Vast Exploration Inc. ("Vast" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:VST) is pleased to announce the appointment of General John P. Abizaid (Ret.) to its board of directors.

John P. Abizaid retired from the United States Army in May, 2007, after thirty-four years of active service where he rose to Four-Star General in the Army. During a distinguished career, he commanded units at every level, serving in the combat zones of Grenada, Lebanon, Kurdistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. He studied at the University of Jordan in Amman, holds a master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University, and is widely considered to be an expert in the field of Middle Eastern affairs. General Abizaid serves as the Distinguished Chair of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and serves as a Director of the George Olmsted Foundation. In addition, through his consulting company, JPA Partners LLC, General Abizaid advises small businesses as well as Fortune 500 companies nationally and internationally, and serves on the board of directors for both USAA, a private financial services company serving the U.S. military, and RPM, Inc., a NYSE traded public company.

Ahmed Said, President and C.E.O. of Vast commented: "We are thrilled to welcome General Abizaid to Vast's Board. The breadth and depth of John's international experience, particularly in the Middle East, will be of tremendous value to Vast's strategic objectives and its operations in Kurdistan."

Mr. Abizaid's appointment follows the resignation of Mr. Mark Brennan as a Director of the Company. Vast's Board of Directors would like to thank Mr. Brennan for his service and contribution to the Company.

Vast also announces that the Board of Directors has adopted a fixed stock option plan (the "Plan") pursuant to which the Company is authorized to issue options to purchase an aggregate of 20,086,849 common shares (being 10% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company as of the date of the Plan's adoption) to officers, directors, employees and consultants. As of the date of adoption, the Company currently has 16,672,500 options outstanding. The Plan remains subject to TSX Venture Exchange Approval.

In connection with his appointment, General Abizaid has been granted 200,000 stock options at a price of $0.58. The options shall vest immediately, subject to a four month regulatory hold. The options remain subject to regulatory approval and expire on February 18, 2016.

About Vast Exploration

Vast Exploration Inc. is an independent oil and gas company. Vast is focused on the exploration and development of its principal asset, the Qara Dagh Block, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The Qara Dagh Block lies on trend with existing discoveries and is located in the prolific Zagros Fold Belt of Northern Iraq, which contains several large fields including the super-giant Kirkuk field.

Regulatory Statements

This press release contains "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the impact of the appointment on the Company, the prospective nature of the Block, exploration and development plans and projected expenses and timetable and relationships with other companies who hold an interest in the Qara Dagh block. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking information. For a description of some of such risks, please see the Company's annual information form filed under the profile of the Company on SEDAR. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.