Chicago, Illinois--(Newsfile Corp. - April 6, 2026) - XCana Petroleum Corp. (OTCID: XCPT) is pleased to announce the appointment of Aarya Shahsavar, P.Eng., as President of the Company, strengthening XCana's executive leadership as it advances its strategy focused on developing domestically located critical mineral assets.

The appointment reflects the Company's continued commitment to strengthening its leadership team as XCana progresses toward advancing exploration and development initiatives across its project portfolio.

Strengthening Leadership to Accelerate Operational Milestones

Aarya Shahsavar, P.Eng., joins XCana Petroleum Corp. as President, bringing engineering and project development experience across the energy and resource sectors.

In his role as President, Mr. Shahsavar will work closely with the Company's leadership team to help advance operational planning, accelerate development milestones, and position the Company for its next stage of growth.

With this leadership addition, XCana intends to focus on:

• Advancing exploration initiatives across its critical mineral project portfolio
• Accelerating development milestones within its Nevada flagship asset
• Strengthening strategic partnerships and technical development pathways
• Continuing to build long-term shareholder value

"I am honored to join XCana Petroleum Corp. at such an exciting stage in the Company's development," said Aarya Shahsavar, P.Eng., President of XCana Petroleum Corp. "Domestic sources of critical minerals such as nickel are becoming increasingly important, and I look forward to working with the team to advance the Company's flagship Nevada project and unlock its long-term potential for our shareholders."

Strategic Importance of XCana's Nevada Nickel Project

XCana's flagship asset is its 100% owned Table Mountain Critical Minerals Project, located within the historic Cottonwood Canyon district of the northern Stillwater Range in Churchill County, Nevada. The project consists of approximately 118 lode mining claims covering roughly 2,430 acres, encompassing portions of the Table Mountain, Bolivia, Boyer, and Cottonwood Canyon mining districts, areas historically recognized for nickel-bearing mineralization.

Historical records from the district indicate that ore shipped from the area averaged approximately 12% nickel and 14% cobalt, with some shipments containing nickel grades as high as 26%, highlighting the historically high-grade nature of mineralization within the region.

The project is located within a historically documented mineral district and represents a strategically positioned domestic resource targeting nickel, cobalt, copper, and associated critical metals essential to modern energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, and national supply chains.

Nickel's Growing Importance to U.S. Critical Mineral Strategy

Nickel continues to gain increasing recognition as a strategic metal due to its critical role in:

• Electric vehicle battery production
• Energy storage systems
• Aerospace and defense technologies
• Stainless steel and high-strength alloys

Notably, nickel has recently been added to the United States' strategic critical minerals list, further highlighting the growing importance of securing reliable domestic sources of supply for materials essential to energy transition, advanced manufacturing, and national security.

Recent updates to critical mineral strategies have further highlighted nickel as a key supply chain metal, underscoring the importance of developing domestic sources of production within the United States.

Nevada is widely recognized as one of the premier mining jurisdictions in the United States, making the Company's flagship project strategically positioned within a state known for its strong mining infrastructure, regulatory framework, and history of mineral production.

XCana's Nevada project represents a historically producing district with the potential to contribute to this growing strategic need.

Positioning XCana for the Next Phase of Growth

With the strengthening of its leadership team, XCana believes it is well positioned to advance its operational roadmap.

Management intends to focus on:

• Further geological evaluation of the Table Mountain district
• Identifying additional exploration targets within the claim block
• Advancing development strategies to unlock the project's potential

The Company expects to provide additional operational updates in the coming months as exploration planning and technical evaluations progress.

About XCana Petroleum Corp.

XCana Petroleum Corp. (OTCID: XCPT) is a U.S.-based critical minerals exploration company focused on the development of strategically important mineral assets within the United States.

The Company's flagship asset is the Table Mountain Critical Minerals Project, located within the northern Stillwater Range in Churchill County, Nevada, encompassing portions of the Table Mountain, Bolivia, Boyer, and Cottonwood Canyon mining districts-areas historically recognized for the production of high-grade nickel-bearing ore.

XCana holds 100% ownership of approximately 118 lode mining claims covering roughly 2,430 acres, targeting nickel, cobalt, copper, and associated critical minerals essential to modern technology supply chains, energy storage, advanced manufacturing, and national defense.

Historical records from the district indicate that ore shipments from the area averaged approximately 12% nickel and 14% cobalt, with some shipments containing nickel grades as high as 26%, highlighting the historically high-grade nature of mineralization within the region.

XCana's strategy is centered on identifying and advancing domestic mineral resources that support the growing demand for secure U.S. supply chains of critical minerals, with the long-term goal of developing projects capable of contributing meaningful domestic production of these strategically important materials.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements relate to future events, including our ability to raise capital, or to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause materially different results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please see our filings with the OTC Markets Group Inc. Our public filings with the OTC Markets Group Inc are available from commercial document retrieval services and at the website maintained by the OTC Markets at: https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/XCPT/disclosure.

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