FPL First Calgary

    First Calgary Petroleums Ltd. announces the nominations of Four New Directors
to the Board and Annual and Special Meeting Materials

    TSX:FCP AIM:FPL

    CALGARY, March 10 /CNW/ - First Calgary Petroleums Ltd. ("First Calgary"
or the "Company) is pleased to announce the nomination of four new Directors
for election to the Company's Board of Directors, in addition to the
appointment of a new Non-Executive Chairman, H. Garfield (Gar) Emerson Q.C.,
as per the Company's previous announcement. The new nominees include one
executive and three non-executive Directors. The new nominees offer an
extensive combination of financial, political, regional and industry
experience. This experience will prove to be invaluable to First Calgary and
its shareholders as the Company focuses on moving forward with its strategy of
developing its Algerian assets and looking for additional exploration
opportunities.
    The following appointments are subject to shareholder approval at the
Company's Annual and Special Meeting on Tuesday April 8, 2008.

    Nomination of Executive Director:

    David Savage

    Mr. David Savage, M.B.A., the Company's Chief Financial Officer, has been
proposed to move to an executive position on First Calgary's Board. This
reflects, among other aspects, the extremely valuable role he has played in
continuing the financing process since joining First Calgary, initially on an
interim basis in August of 2007 and then as CFO. Mr. Savage continues to be
particularly focused on working with Citibank, financial advisor to the
Company on arranging the project debt for the development of the MLE gas and
condensate field on Ledjmet Block 405b, Algeria.
    Mr. Savage has more than 30 years of international corporate and
investment banking experience with significant expertise in project finance
and other structured finance and advisory work, particularly in relation to
the oil and gas industry.
    Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Savage was Executive Vice President and
Global Head of Corporate Finance at Commerzbank AG for eight years, where he
was responsible for a number of product groups including: leveraged finance,
special industries/project finance, loan syndication, structured tax products,
equity capital markets, and private equity investing. While at Commerzbank,
Mr. Savage was also a member of the bank's principal risk management
committee.
    Before his position with Commerzbank, Mr. Savage served as a Director and
Deputy Head of Structured Finance at Deutsche Bank AG, where he spent more
than ten years. Prior to Deutsche Bank, he also held corporate finance
positions at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. After leaving Commerzbank, and
before joining the Company, Mr. Savage spent several years engaged in various
consulting roles providing corporate advice to young companies in regard to
strategy and finance.
    Mr. Savage has previously held non-executive, supervisory and advisory
board positions in a number of companies including a German industrial company
(GmbH), a leasing subsidiary of a major German bank (AG), a European
investment firm and Carlyle Europe Partners I (The Carlyle Group's first
European leveraged buyout fund).
    Mr. Savage holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Harvard
University.
    Mr. Savage will join Messrs. Richard Anderson, President and CEO, and
Shane O'Leary, COO, as executive Directors of the Company.

    Nomination of Non-Executive Directors:

    First Calgary is pleased to announce the proposed election of three new
non-executive Directors to the Company's Board: Mr. Kenneth Taylor, the Hon.
Roy MacLaren and Mr. Stuart McDowall. These nominations are in addition to the
appointment of Mr. Gar Emerson as non-executive Chairman of the Board, as per
First Calgary's earlier announcement.

    Kenneth Taylor

    Mr. Kenneth Taylor, will offer a unique advisory perspective on
governmental relationships and international business. He was previously
Canadian Ambassador to Iran during the U.S. hostage crisis in 1979. Upon
returning from Iran, Mr. Taylor was appointed Canadian Consul-General to New
York City.
    Mr. Taylor's service as a diplomat in the Canadian Foreign Service also
involved trade development responsibilities in Guatemala, Detroit and London,
foreign-aid-related matters in Pakistan, crisis management in Iran and the
enhancement of Canada's image in New York.
    Since resigning from the Foreign Service in 1984, Mr. Taylor has worked
extensively in the private sector including roles as a Senior Vice President
of both Nabisco Brands and RJR Nabisco. His primary worldwide responsibilities
involved the formation and implementation of policies to strengthen the
$18 billion corporation's international interests and relationships.
    He has served as a board member of a range of companies in Canada, the
United States and Mexico, including Rockwell Capital, Hydro One and Taylor Gas
Liquids Fund. In these roles, Mr. Taylor also provided advice and counseling
on issues of political risk, international marketing and strategic
accommodation with government.
    Mr. Taylor has honorary degrees from various universities in North
America and has been extended the keys to ten cities. He is an Officer of the
Order of Canada and was awarded the United States Congressional Gold Medal in
recognition of the Canadian Embassy's role in Iran assisting six United States
diplomats to escape during the takeover of the U.S. Embassy.
    He graduated with a B.A. from the University of Toronto and an M.B.A.
from the University of California, Berkley. Mr. Taylor returned in 1998 to
serve as Chancellor of Victoria University in the University of Toronto.

    The Honourable Roy MacLaren, PC

    The Honourable Roy MacLaren is a Canadian politician, diplomat,
businessman and author. He was a Member of Parliament from 1979 through 1984
and again from 1988 to 1996. He served as Minister of State, Finance; Minister
for National Revenue; and Minister for International Trade.
    During twelve years with the Canadian Foreign Service, Mr. MacLaren
served in Vietnam and Prague, at the United Nations in New York and Geneva and
with the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa. He left public service for
the private sector in 1969, becoming Director of Public Affairs, Massey
Ferguson Ltd.
    In 1974 he was named President of Ogilvy Mather Canada, and in 1977
assumed the position of President and Publisher with CB Media Ltd. Mr.
MacLaren returned to diplomatic life in 1996, serving as High Commissioner for
Canada to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland until the
year 2000.
    Mr. MacLaren is a current or former director of Standard Life,
Brookfield, Canadian Tire, Algoma Central, Patheon and Pacific Safety
Products. He has been an advisor to British Petroleum, Computing Devices of
Canada, the Bank of Nova Scotia and AMEC. He is the Chairman of the
Canada-Europe Business Round Table and the Canada-India Business Council and
the former Chairman of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs and the
Atlantic Council of Canada.
    Mr. MacLaren is a graduate of the Universities of British Columbia,
Cambridge and Toronto. He attended the Advanced Management Programme at the
Harvard Business School. He is the recipient of four honorary doctorates. He
is a Commissioner of the Trilateral Commission and former Honorary Colonel of
the 7th Toronto Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery.

    Stuart McDowall

    Mr. Stuart McDowall is a seasoned executive, with significant
international government and multicultural experience. He has served as
Canada's Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, and has extensive first hand
experience in assignments in the Middle East, Latin America and Europe, Africa
and U.S.A.
    Mr. McDowall is currently the principal of McDowall Developments, an
international consulting firm that specializes in the petroleum sector,
including export and financing, corporate governance and corporate social
responsibility.
    He is also a Director of Groundstar Resources Limited, an international
E&P company. He was Director General of Talisman Energy responsible for
investor, government and community relations in Sudan. He was a Senior
Associate of the Canadian Petroleum Institute, which provides international
training in the petroleum sector in countries such as Algeria and elsewhere in
the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
    Prior to establishing McDowall Developments, Mr. McDowall held the
position of CEO at Blue Mountain Energy Ltd, where he identified various
international oil and gas exploration and development opportunities in
developing regions, including Africa, South America and the Far East. He was
also the CEO of Fosters Resources Ltd. where he sourced financing for a
$30 million exploration and development petroleum project in Sudan.
    As Canadian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Mr. McDowall assisted
in nearly doubling Canadian exports to the UAE to approximately $275 million.
He also supported the Canadian service sector in obtaining several contracts,
including one in the medical health sector of approximately $1 billion, which
was the largest contract ever obtained by a Canadian company in the Middle
East. Furthermore, he established a Joint Economic Committee between Canada
and the UAE of high level government and business representatives.
    Mr. McDowall holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from
the University of Alberta, an Advanced Management certificate from the
University of Western Ontario and has been trained in various other areas
including team building, conflict resolution, client service and the Arabic
language. He is a member of APEGGA and EIC and is a past President of the
Engineering Institute of Canada - Calgary Chapter.

    Mr. Charles Pitman has informed the Board of his decision to step down
from the Board due to personal family reasons, effective March 12, 2008.
Messrs. Taylor, MacLaren and McDowall will join First Calgary's non-executive
Directors Gar Emerson, Darryl Raymaker and John van der Welle.

    The Notice of Meeting and Information Circular - Proxy Statement and
related materials for the Annual and Special Meeting scheduled for April 8,
2008 will be available from our website at www.fcpl.ca and also from Sedar at
www.sedar.com and will be mailed to First Calgary shareholders shortly.

    First Calgary Petroleums Ltd. is an oil and gas company actively engaged
in international exploration and development activities in Algeria. The
Company's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada (FCP)
and on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange in the UK (FPL).

    This news release includes statements about expected future events and
financial results that are forward looking in nature and subject to risks and
uncertainties. First Calgary Petroleums Ltd. cautions that actual performance
may be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond its control.
Future events and results may vary substantially from what First Calgary
Petroleums Ltd. currently foresees.


For further information: First Calgary Petroleums Ltd.: Jeffrey P. Angel,
Vice President Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Tel: (403)
264-6697; Other Contacts: James Henderson, Pelham Public Relations, Tel: +44
(0)20 7743 6673; Carina Corbett, 4C - Burvale Limited, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7559
6710; Mandy Dinning, Hill & Knowlton Canada, Tel: (403) 268-7858; Nominated
Advisers: Richard Swindells, David Nabarro, Nabarro Wells & Co. Limited, Tel:
+44 (0)20 7710 7400
(FPL)



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