BALTIMORE, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Petroleum & Resources Corporation (NYSE:PEO) announces the Corporation's performance for 2009. 2009 INVESTMENT RETURNS For the twelve months ended December 31, 2009, the total return on Petroleum & Resources' net asset value, with dividends and capital gains reinvested, was 26.7%. The comparable figures for the Dow Jones U. S. Oil & Gas Index, the Dow Jones U. S. Basic Materials Index, and the S&P 500 Composite Stock Index were 17.3%, 65.5%, and 26.5%, respectively. The total return on Petroleum & Resources' market value was 30.3%. The annual distribution rate of dividends and capital gains paid to stockholders by the Corporation in 2009 was 6.6%, calculated by dividing the total dividends and capital gains distributed during the year by the average daily market price of the Corporation's Common Stock. NET ASSET VALUE ANNOUNCED The net asset value of Petroleum & Resources at the end of 2009 is compared with the prior year in the following table: 12/31/09 12/31/08 -------- -------- Net assets $650,718,323 $538,936,942 Shares outstanding 24,327,307 23,958,656 Net asset value per share $26.75 $22.49 During the year, the Corporation repurchased 215,835 shares of its common stock. SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER During the fourth quarter, the Corporation added four new names to its investment portfolio through the purchases of Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc., Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., Pioneer Natural Resources Co., and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. The Corporation increased its holdings in Anadarko Petroleum, Chevron, Forest Oil, Royal Dutch Shell ADR, Southwestern Energy, and Spectra Energy. One position was eliminated from the Corporation's list of holdings with the sale of DuPont. The Corporation reduced its holdings in Devon Energy, EOG Resources, EQT Corp., Noble Energy, and XTO Energy. OTHER SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION ----------------------------------- 12/31/09 12/31/08 -------- -------- Unrealized appreciation $253,661,346 $151,455,732 Net investment income $6,706,626 $9,651,706 Net realized gain $24,709,496 $57,867,203 Key Ratios ---------- Net investment income to average net assets 1.18%* 1.10% Expense ratio (to average net assets) 0.96%* 0.51% Portfolio turnover 14.35% 16.89% Net cash & short-term Investments to net assets 3.8% 12.2% * For 2009, net investment income and expenses to average net assets were 1.36% and 0.78%, respectively, after adjusting for non-recurring pension expenses. TEN LARGEST PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS (12/31/09) ----------------------------------------- % of Net Assets --------------- Chevron Corp. 11.1 Exxon Mobil Corp. 10.7 Occidental Petroleum Corp. 5.5 Noble Corp. 4.9 Transocean Inc. 3.9 XTO Energy Inc. 3.3 Halliburton Co. 3.2 ConocoPhillips 3.2 Apache Corp. 3.2 Royal Dutch Shell plc ADR 3.0 --- Total 52.0% SECTOR WEIGHTINGS (12/31/09) ---------------------------- % of Net Assets --------------- Integrated 32.3 Exploration & Production 21.7 Services 17.2 Utilities 16.6 Basic Materials and Other 8.4 Short-Term Investments 4.1 ANNUALIZED ONE, FIVE AND TEN YEAR COMPARATIVE RETURNS ----------------------------------------------------- Returns on net asset value (12/31/09) 1 Year 5 Year 10 Year ------ ------ ------- Petroleum & Resources 26.7% 8.8% 8.1% DJ U.S. Oil & Gas Index 17.3% 10.8% 10.4% DJ U.S. Basic Materials Index 65.5% 6.0% 4.9% Petroleum & Resources Corporation is a Baltimore-based closed-end investment company. Its stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PEO. For further information please contact: Lawrence L. Hooper, Jr., Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary 410-752-5900 or 800-638-2479 E-mail: Website: http://www.peteres.com/ For your convenience, all press releases are posted to our website. If you would like to receive future press releases by fax or e-mail, please contact us. DATASOURCE: Petroleum & Resources Corporation CONTACT: Lawrence L. Hooper, Jr., Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, +1-410-752-5900 or 1-800-638-2479, Web Site: http://www.peteres.com/

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