Baltimore, MD, December 8, 2005 -- The Board of Directors of Petroleum & Resources Corporation (NYSE: PEO) voted today to extend its share repurchase program and has authorized the repurchase of up to 5% of the outstanding shares of the Corporation's common stock over the next twelve months. Purchases will be made in the open market when the shares are trading at a discount of at least 6.5%. The Corporation's discount as of last night's market close was 7.2%. As of December 8, 2005, the Corporation has 21,207,556 outstanding shares, which means that the Corporation is authorized by the Board to repurchase up to 1,060,377 shares over the ensuing year.

The Board has decided to continue the share repurchase program with the expectation that it will enhance shareholder value by increasing the net asset value of the Corporation's stock, reducing the modest dilutive impact on those shareholders who choose not to take capital gain distributions in additional shares, and increasing the liquidity of the Corporation's shares in the marketplace. The repurchase program was initiated in November of 1999 and has been reauthorized by the Board each year since. Since the inception of the program, the Corporation has repurchased a total of 2,606,050 shares.

Petroleum & Resources Corporation is a Baltimore-based closed-end investment company. It is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and Pacific Exchange.

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