TMX group

CALGARY, April 3, 2012 /CNW/ - Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. (TSX: ATH) (AOSC) is pleased to announce the addition of Mr. Ronald J. Eckhardt to the Board of Directors of Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. Mr. Eckhardt brings over 35 years of oil and gas industry experience, starting as a drilling engineer and working up through positions of increasing responsibility ultimately overseeing exploration, development and production operations in onshore Canada and the USA for Talisman Energy Inc. Mr. Eckhardt recently retired as Executive Vice-President, North American Operations with Talisman Energy Inc.

Athabasca is a dynamic, Canadian company focused on development of oil resource plays in Alberta, Canada. It has accumulated a large, high quality resource base suitable for extraction of extra heavy crude oil (bitumen) and light oil. The company is well financed and, with its excellent assets and talented people, Athabasca is poised to become a major Canadian oil producer. It is traded on the TSX under the symbol ATH.