PetroQuest Energy Appoints Senior Vice President and General Counsel LAFAYETTE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 2001--PetroQuest Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:PQUE - news) announced today the appointment of veteran oil and gas attorney Daniel G. Fournerat as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. His primary responsibilities will include active involvement in the Company's exploration and producing property acquisition and financing endeavors while serving as corporate counsel to the Company. Mr. Fournerat has served on the Board of Directors of the Company since September 1998 and has acted as the Company's primary outside legal counsel since its merger with American Explorer, L.L.C. Among numerous other oil and gas industry clients, public and private, Mr. Fournerat served as lead legal counsel and advisor for American Explorer, L.L.C. and its former operating company for over ten years. During his many years of private practice, Mr. Fournerat has acted as legal advisor on numerous oil and gas producing property acquisitions and divestitures in the Gulf Coast Region having a cumulative valuation of over $1.25 billion. His involvement in such complex transactions has included serving as primary closing counsel representing sellers and buyers advising with respect to Louisiana, Gulf Coast and Gulf of Mexico assets, as well as associated traditional secured bank, production payment and mezzanine financing. Mr. Fournerat joins the Company after practicing twenty-four years with the Lafayette, Louisiana, law firm of Onebane, Bernard, Torian, Diaz, McNamara & Abell, primarily engaged in representing oil and gas exploration and production companies, sophisticated mineral owners and service companies in various facets of their Gulf Coast oil and gas activities. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Fournerat served on the board of directors of The Onebane Law Firm. He serves on the board of directors of the Louisiana Independent Oil & Gas Association, the Regional Board of Trustees of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the Advisory Board of the Gulf Coast Prospect Expo. Mr. Fournerat graduated from the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1976 and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Mr. Fournerat has been a frequent lecturer on oil and gas legal and financing issues for the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and various oil and gas industry associations. PetroQuest Energy, Inc. is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company primarily focused on growing its reserves and shareholder value through a combination of drilling development locations and high-potential exploration prospects along the coast of and in the Gulf of Mexico. This press release contains ``forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Among those risks, trends and uncertainties are our estimate of the sufficiency of our existing capital sources, our ability to raise additional capital to fund cash requirements for future operations, the uncertainties involved in estimating quantities of proved oil and natural gas reserves and in projecting future rates of production, the timing of development expenditures and the operating hazards attendant to the oil and gas business. In particular, careful consideration should be given to cautionary statements made in the various reports PetroQuest has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. PetroQuest undertakes no duty to update or revise these forward-looking statements. Contact: PetroQuest Energy, Inc., Lafayette Robert R. Brooksher, 337/232-7028