CALGARY, Sept. 3 /CNW/ - Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (NYSE Amex: GTE; TSX: GTE), a company focused on oil exploration and production in South America, today announced that it is opening an office in Rio de Janeiro, and appointing Julio Cesar Moreira as president of its Brazil business unit.

"Gran Tierra Energy's successful growth in South America has been driven by our ability to identify underdeveloped land in countries that provide a favorable environment for independent oil and gas exploration companies," said Dana Coffield, President and Chief Executive Officer. "While more than 20 proven petroleum basins exist in Brazil, many of the onshore and offshore shallow water regions remain relatively untested. We're entering this region to expand access to exploration opportunities, and to leverage our operating capabilities in a country in which our senior management already has experience, and which has a stable legal system and attractive fiscal terms."

Julio Cesar Moreira's appointment to the position of President of Gran Tierra Energy's Brazilian business unit will be effective September 8, 2009. Mr. Moreira has over 25 years of experience working for international companies in Brazil in senior business development positions. Most recently, he was Managing Director for IBV Petroleo Ltda, and Brazil Country Manager for EnCana Corporation where he was instrumental in capturing assets which were later sold for a combined value of over $500 million. Prior to that Mr. Moreira was New Ventures & Business Development Vice President of Unocal Corporation.

Mr. Moreira holds an Information Technology degree from Universidade Federal Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro, and a graduate degree in Marketing from Rio Catholic University. In addition, he has attended Executive Management programs in Oil and Gas at Thunderbird (USA) and the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario (Canada).

The Rio de Janeiro office will coordinate business development activities targeted at capturing high quality exploration and production opportunities in the onshore and shallow water offshore areas of Brazil. These opportunities may include new bid round acreage, production enhancement on acreage that may be acquired with pre-existing operations, farm in opportunities, and M&A transactions.

In addition to a small office staff in Rio de Janeiro, Gran Tierra Energy is establishing a Brazil technical team in Calgary that will work with Mr. Moreira to evaluate Brazil opportunities. This team and Mr. Moreira will report up through Mr. Shane O'Leary, Chief Operating Officer, who previously worked closely with Mr.