Chaparral Resources announces new Chief Executive Officer and temporary suspension of drilling activity

WHITE PLAINS, NY, Jan. 24  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chaparral Resources, Inc. (OTCBB: CHAR) (the "Company") today announced that the Board of Directors of the Company has elected Boris S. Zilbermints, a current Director of the Company, as Chief Executive Officer of the Company to replace Simon Gill who resigned following the merger of the Company's former majority shareholder, Nelson Resources Limited ("Nelson"), with and into Caspian Investments Resources Ltd. ("Caspian"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of LUKOIL Overseas Holding Ltd. ("Lukoil"). Mr. Zilbermints is Lukoil's Regional Director for Kazakhstan.

The Company also announced today that its operating subsidiary in Kazakhstan, JSC Karakudukmunay ("KKM"), has temporarily suspended the drilling of new wells in the Karakuduk Field. This temporary suspension is the result of the unexpected decision by Oil and Gas Drilling and Exploration of Krakow ("OGEC") not to renew its current drilling contract with KKM which had expired on December 31, 2005. OGEC is now in the process of finishing demobilizing the rig from the Karakuduk Field. The Company is using its best efforts to secure another rig to replace the OGEC rig as quickly as possible and plans to resume its drilling program as soon as a new rig can be secured. However, it is uncertain at this time when the Company will be able to resume its 2006 drilling program. The drilling campaign delay could potentially lead to lower than anticipated 2006 production levels. In the meantime, the Company will continue with its current workover operations and other field development and production activities.

Mr. Zilbermints, the Company's CEO, stated that "The temporary suspension of drilling activities will permit KKM to conduct a detailed analysis of the geological data from its recently drilled wells and will also enable KKM's ongoing facilities development program to keep pace with current and future productive capacity."

Chaparral Resources, Inc. is an oil and gas development and production company. The Company's only operating asset is its participation in the development of the Karakuduk Field, in the Republic of Kazakhstan, through KKM, which is the operating company. The Company has directly and indirectly a 60% ownership interest in KKM with the other 40% ownership interest being held by Caspian which holds a majority interest in Chaparral and operates several other producing oil fields in Kazakhstan. More information is available on the Company's web site, http://www.chaparralresources.com/.

Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this News Release are forward- looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, volatility of oil prices, product demand, market competition, risks inherent in the Company's international operations, imprecision of reserve estimates and Chaparral's ability to replace and expand oil and gas reserves. These and other risks are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's reports and filings may be found on the SEC internet site http://www.sec.com/. 

DATASOURCE: Chaparral Resources, Inc.



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