In March of 2008 Bankers Petroleum Ltd. announced it’s intent to spin off its United States based unconventional exploration and production company of which it had been a part of since 2005. The spin off was complete in July, 2008 where shareholders of Bankers received one share of BNK Petroleum Inc. for every ten shares they held on the record date.

BNK Petroleum Inc. was among the early companies to recognize that improvements in horizontal drilling and completion technologies would enable the industry to develop vast new supplies of natural gas from unconventional reservoirs such as shales and tight sandstones. In the early years, as a part of Bankers Petroleum Ltd., BNK Petroleum Inc.'s first project was in Palo Duro, Texas when it began leasing acreage in 2005. Soon after the Company commenced drilling science wells in Palo Duro, as well as making an additional strategic acquisition. In May, 2006 BNK Petroleum Inc. acquired all but one of Vintage Petroleum's unconventional assets from Occidental Petroleum for $30 million - $20 million in Bankers stock, and $10 million in cash.

With risk spread out into multiple projects. BNK Petroleum Inc., then still operating as part of Bankers Petroleum Ltd., began drilling wells in Oklahoma and New York. The Company drilled its first encouraging vertical well in late 2006 in Oklahoma and followed this by expanding its operations with four horizontal wells in the Carter/Johnson County project in 2007, now referred to as BNK's Tishomingo field. In 2008 the Company drilled and participated in a further 35 wells and exited the year with Proved and Probable reserves of 13.5 million barrels of oil equivalent. In July of 2008 the Company was spun out of Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and began trading on it’s own as BNK Petroleum Inc. under the ticker symbol BKX on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In 2008 BNK looked for a way to grow the company utilizing it’s shale gas expertise it had acquired. As Management and the Board believed that shale gas could not only exist in North America the Company decided to focus on Europe. In late 2008 the company applied for it’s first European shale gas concessions in Poland. Work continued in other Countries and basins throughout 2008 and into 2009. The first Polish concessions were granted to BNK in March of 2009. The Company also made concession applications in other basins and countries during 2009.

Also in 2009 the Company entered into a farmout agreement with RAG and Sorgenia whereby they pay most of BNK’s share of the first $25 million in gross expenses that will be incurred on it’s first Polish project. In 2009 with additional work executed in the Tishomingo Field the Company exited the year with Proved and Probable reserves of 37.9 million barrels of oil equivalent. In addition the company had leased 1.5 million acres for shale gas in Europe by the end of 2009.

With a strategically driven commitment to the balancing of production, development and exploration, BNK Petroleum Inc. now has approximately 3.9 million gross and 3.5 million net acres of concessions in Eastern and Western Europe with the potential for shale gas. It has looked at over 25 basins in 10 countries for shale gas potential and continues to both apply for and await decisions on previously submitted applications in Europe.