NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

New Energy Partnership Gives First Nations Opportunity to Commercially Develop Own Resources

CALGARY, Alberta & SALT LAKE CITY - (BUSINESS WIRE) - IBC Energy Inc. - a company owned by all Alberta First Nations - has signed a partnership agreement with Native American Resource Partners (NARP) to identify, develop and fund natural resource development projects for First Nations in Western Canada.

IBC Energy is a subsidiary of the Alberta-based Indian Business Corporation (www.indianbc.ca) that has provided financial services and expertise to First Nation clients throughout Alberta since 1987.

"We recently established IBC Energy in order to partner with First Nations in the development of their natural resources and, importantly, to assist First Nation partners in building their business management capacity so that control of the assets can eventually be transferred over to the First Nation," said Blood Tribe member Bernard Fox, president of IBC and IBC Energy.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, NARP (www.narpllc.com) is a natural resource development company whose mission is to co-partner with Indian Tribes in the U.S. and with First Nations in Canada by providing both capital and expertise in the development of their natural resources.

NARP is a portfolio company of Quantum Energy Partners (www.quantumep.com), a group of private equity funds with US$5 billion of investment capital, of which US$3.1 billion is available for investment.

John P. Jurrius, NARP President and CEO, said: "This strategic alliance reflects the aligned and complementary missions of both IBC Energy and NARP to bring long-term socio-economic benefits to First Nation members."

According to President Fox, First Nations have traditionally relied on a passive lessor/lessee energy development relationship, in which others obtained the rights to develop native lands and resources in exchange for a royalty interest. "Our partnership with NARP now enables us to provide both the capital and expertise that have prevented First Nations in the past from forming their own joint venture oil and gas companies on their own lands," noted President Fox.

IBC Energy Director of Oil and Gas Development John Kingsbury added, "Our signed agreement with NARP enables IBC Energy to move forward on ten solid, already identified joint venture opportunities with First Nation partners and to develop many more."

IBC Energy, Inc.
Rob Rollingson, General Manager, 403-291-5825
rob@indianbc.ca
or
Native American Resource Partners
Mary Kay Lazarus, 801-209-3029
mkl@mklpr.com