Ameriwest Energy Corp (fka AWEC)

[OntaREEo]

Last week's PR:

Date: Thursday, January 22, 2009

Trading Symbol: OTCBB:AWEC

Ameriwest Energy Announces Spud Date of Ameriwest Fee #1 Well

CASPER, WY -- Ameriwest Energy Corp. (OTCBB: AWEC) ("Ameriwest" or the "Company") is pleased to announce plans to commence drilling operations at its Geary Prospect location. The Company intends to spud the Ameriwest Fee #1 well on or near to March 16th, 2009, subject to certain conditions.

The proposed well is located in proximity to 2 wells located in the Geary Dome field with cumulative production to-date of 323,617 BO and 29,515 MCF gas. It is also located nearby to the Weststar Keenan Fee 14-34 well with cumulative production of 156,860 BO and also within 1/2 mile of the Weststar Keenan Fee 16-27 well with cumulative production figures of 166,757 BO to-date. The location is on fee (private lands) within the Area of Mutual Interest ("AMI") and as such, has significantly simplified the permitting process.

The Geary Prospect is located in the south-western portion of the highly productive Powder River Basin. The main objective is structurally well documented and on trend with existing production within the Cretaceous Dakota sandstone formation with the possibility of production from other Cretaceous sands including the Upper and Lower Muddy, and Wall Creek (Frontier) sands. Initial estimates based on a full field program with 40 acre spacing across an estimated 18 wells indicate possible reserves of approximately 3 MMBO.

Company President Walter Merschat comments, "We are extremely excited about drilling the Ameriwest Fee #1 well in such close proximity to known production. Upon a successful discovery, Ameriwest will immediately implement its proposed development plan which could include up to 17 additional wells."