VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire - Oct. 20, 2009) - Bayou Bend Petroleum Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:BBP) (“Bayou Bend” or the “Company”) reports that at the Company’s Annual General and Special Meeting held on October 16, 2009, shareholders approved a corporate name change to “ShaMaran Petroleum Corp.”. The Company will commence trading under a new symbol “SNM” at the market opening on October 21, 2009. The new website address will be www.shamaranpetroleum.com. The CUSIP number assigned to the Company’s common shares following the name change is 819320102 (ISIN: CA 8193201024).

In addition, the Company’s shareholders passed a resolution ratifying and approving certain production sharing contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government (the “Transaction Agreements”) which were previously announced by the Company on August 31, 2009. The TSX Venture Exchange has also approved the Transaction Agreements. As a result, all of the release conditions for the exercise of the Subscription Receipts that were issued on September 28, 2009 have now been met and the net proceeds of the previously announced $105 million private placement have been released from escrow to the Company. The net proceeds will be used to fund commitments related to the Company’s acquisition of working interests in three separate exploration and development blocks in the region of Kurdistan in Northern Iraq, as previously announced on August 31, 2009; ongoing exploration and development activity; and for general corporate purposes.

Each Subscription Receipt issued pursuant to the private placement has been converted into one common share without further payment or action on the part of the holder. The common shares issued are subject to a four month hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws expiring on January 29, 2009.

Cautionary Statements

This document contains statements about expected or anticipated future events and financial results that are forward-looking in nature and as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business conditions, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, competitive and general economic factors and conditions, the uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, the occurrence of unexpected events, and the Company’s capability to execute and implement its future plans. Actual results may differ materially from those projected by management. For such statements, we claim the safe harbour for forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Legislation Reform Act of 1995.

On behalf of the Board

Keith C. Hill, Chief Executive Officer