HOUSTON, August 19, 2009 – ERHC Energy Inc. (OTCBB: ERHE), a publicly traded American company with oil and gas assets in the highly prospective Gulf of Guinea off the coast of West Africa,  today announced that its technical partner, Sinopec Corp., will take possession of the SEDCO 702 semi-submersible drilling rig this week. The rig will be used to drill the Bomu-1 Prospect in Block 2 of the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) in which Sinopec is the operator and ERHC has a 22 percent interest.

“The Bomu-1 prospect is one of several prospects in JDZ Block 2 identified from 3-D seismic analysis and interpretation,” said Peter Ntephe, chief operating officer with ERHC. “The work during the next 45 days or so will focus on a number of potential exploration targets at different depths and will considerably aid in understanding the geology and hydrocarbon potential of this and other prospects in the Block.”

Sinopec has announced it will spud the Bomu-1 well before the end of August. The water depth is approximately 5,400 feet. Sinopec will drill to a total depth of approximately 11,600 feet subsea.

ERHC Energy has interests in six of the nine Blocks in the offshore Nigeria-São Tomé and Príncipe Joint Development Zone. The Company has additional interests in the territorial waters of Democratic Republic of São Tomé & Príncipe known as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

About ERHC Energy

ERHC Energy Inc. is a Houston-based independent oil and gas company focused on growth through high impact exploration in the highly prospective Gulf of Guinea and the development of undeveloped and marginal oil and gas fields. ERHC is committed to creating and delivering significant value for its shareholders, investors and employees, and to sustainable and profitable growth through risk balanced smart exploration, cost efficient development and high margin production. For more information, visit www.erhc.com.

Cautionary Statement
This press release contains statements concerning ERHC Energy Inc.’s future operating milestones, future drilling operations, the planned exploration and appraisal program, future prospects, future investment opportunities and financing plans, future shareholders’ meetings, response to the Senate Subcommittee investigation, developments in the SEC investigation of the Company and related proceedings, as well as other matters that are not historical facts or information.  Such statements are inherently subject to a variety of risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, projected, expressed or implied.  A discussion of the risk factors that could impact these areas and the Company’s overall business and financial performance can be found in the Company’s reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors include, among others, those relating to the Company’s ability to exploit its commercial interests in the JDZ and the exclusive territorial waters of São Tomé and Príncipe, general economic and business conditions, changes in foreign and domestic oil and gas exploration and production activity, competition, changes in foreign, political, social and economic conditions, regulatory initiatives and compliance with governmental regulations and various other matters, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Given these concerns, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on these statements. Each of the above statements speaks only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any of the above statements is based.

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