Harvest Natural Resources Announces Filing of Shelf Registration Statement

HOUSTON, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: HNR) today announced that the Company has filed a universal shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The registration statement is subject to review by the SEC.

When declared effective by the SEC, the shelf registration will allow the Company the flexibility from time to time to offer and sell up to $300 million of equity, debt or other types of securities described in the registration statement, or any combination of such securities. The proceeds of the securities may be used for capital expenditures, repayment of debt the Company may incur in the future, working capital and other general corporate purposes. The terms of any future offering would be determined at the time of the offering and would be subject to market conditions and approval by the Company's Board of Directors. Any offering of securities covered by the shelf registration statement will be made only by means of a prospectus authorized by the Company. This filing, once effective, may allow the Company to offer and sell securities if market opportunities present themselves.

Harvest President and Chief Executive Officer, James A. Edmiston, said: "Although we have no specific plan to offer securities under the shelf registration at this point, it positions us to quickly arrange financing for business opportunities that support our growth strategy."

A registration statement has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. The securities registered may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Harvest Natural Resources
Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. headquartered in Houston, Texas, is an independent energy company with principal operations in Venezuela, exploration assets in the United States, Indonesia, West Africa, Oman and China and business development offices in Singapore and the United Kingdom. For more information visit the Company's website at http://www.harvestnr.com.

    CONTACT:
    Stephen C. Haynes
    Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
    (281) 899-5716

This press release may contain projections and other forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. They include estimates and timing of expected oil and gas production, oil and gas reserve projections of future oil pricing, future expenses, planned capital expenditures, anticipated cash flow and our business strategy. All statements other than statements of historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements. Although Harvest believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Actual results may differ materially from Harvest's expectations as a result of factors discussed in Harvest's 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other public filings.