Tri-Valley Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Financial Results

Tri-Valley Corporation (NYSE Amex:TIV) today announced its financial
results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2010.

Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2010 increased $1.5 million over
total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2009 to $1.9 million, primarily
due to gains on the sale of assets. Oil and gas revenues increased 28%
to $388,000 in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared with $304,000 in the
fourth quarter of 2009, reflecting higher oil prices and increased oil
production. Net production in the recent fourth quarter totaled 5,109
barrels of oil compared with 3,609 barrels of oil in the same quarter of
2009, an increase of 42%. Net production costs increased 57% in the 2010
fourth quarter compared with the same quarter a year ago, as a result of
reactivation of the Company′s wells and production activities at its
Claflin property.

For the full year, total revenue was $4.9 million in 2010 compared with
$1.5 million in 2009. The increase was driven by gains on the sales of
assets, including two non-strategic properties in California and the
Admiral Calder calcium carbonate quarry in Alaska, as well as a
significant increase in revenues from oil and gas production. Oil and
gas revenues increased 70% in 2010 to $1.8 million compared with $1.0
million in 2009. The increase was the result of higher oil prices,
increased production at the Pleasant Valley oil sands project in Oxnard,
and new production at the Claflin project near Bakersfield, California.
Net production in 2010 totaled 25,796 barrels of oil compared with
21,092 in 2009. Production costs decreased in 2010 by 6% compared with
the prior year, largely due to reductions in contract services that were
made during the second half of 2010.

'Our financial results reflect successful execution on several key
initiatives that we set forth at the beginning of the year,? said Maston
Cunningham, Tri-Valley′s President and CEO. 'During 2010 we increased
oil production, reduced production costs, moved forward on our plans to
monetize our mineral properties in Alaska, and significantly
strengthened the balance sheet. We ended 2010 with stockholders′ equity
of $6.2 million and $600,000 in cash, much improved from the $1.5
million in stockholders′ equity and $300,000 in cash at the end of 2009.?

Specific achievements in 2010 included:

• 
  Completed company reorganization to focus on oil and gas production
  
• 
  Increased oil production through expansion of 30-day steam cycles at
  Pleasant Valley and reactivation of production on four wells at Claflin
  
• 
  Hired a senior operations engineer with experience in Steam Assisted
  Gravity Drainage (SAGD) from Canada and initiated pre-implementation
  activities at Pleasant Valley
  
• 
  Reduced G&A costs by over $1 million on an annual basis
  
• 
  Continued progress on monetizing the mineral assets in Alaska --
  completed an NI 43-101 report on the Shorty Creek prospect indicating
  a large porphyry copper, gold, and molybdenum system; opened a virtual
  data room for potential financial and operational partners interested
  in developing the Shorty Creek and Richardson prospects
  
• 
  Raised significant capital through registered direct financing of $5.0
  million, sale of non-strategic assets, issuance of 438,500 Series A
  preferred shares, and at-the- market sales of common stock under an
  existing shelf registration
  
• 
  Formed an OPUS Advisory Committee to review alternatives to better
  align its interests with those of Tri-Valley for the development of
  the Pleasant Valley oil sands project
  

'Looking ahead, we continue to focus our efforts in 2011 on oil and gas
production in California,? Mr. Cunningham continued. 'Our goal is to
increase daily gross production from 300 barrels of oil on average to
1,000 by year-end. We expect increased production at both Pleasant
Valley and Claflin. The first SAGD oil sands production in the U.S. will
be initiated at Pleasant Valley this year, and we are optimistic that we
will be able to recover significantly more oil from the site. We intend
to drill up to 22 new wells at Claflin. We also believe we can drive
production costs lower ? up to 20% per barrel at Pleasant Valley and up
to 50% per barrel at Claflin through increased volumes and other cost
reductions.?

'In Alaska, our goal is to secure an earn-in agreement with an
established industry partner to work with us on the exploration and
development of our mineral properties so that we can more quickly
extract value from these assets. In addition, we expect to reach an
agreement with the OPUS partnership that will allow it and Tri-Valley to
recognize value from the investment in Pleasant Valley. Finally, our
financial goal for the year is to achieve breakeven cash flow from
operations by the end of 2011. Accomplishing these initiatives is
important to enhancing valuation for our shareholders, and we are
committed to our success,? concluded Mr. Cunningham.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Highlights

The net loss in the recent fourth quarter was $1.5 million, or $0.04 per
share, compared with a net loss of $2.7 million, or $0.05 per share in
the fourth quarter of 2009.

For the full year 2010, the Company reported a net loss of $13.5
million, or $0.37 per share, compared with a net loss in 2009 of $10.7
million, or $0.33 per share. The higher loss was primarily driven by
non-cash warrant expense associated with the warrants issued in the $5.0
million registered direct financing completed in April 2010. Unexercised
warrants from the registered direct financing were exchanged and
cancelled during December 2010 and January 2011 for Company common
stock. G&A expense increased $0.5 million from 2009 to 2010, primarily
driven by higher legal expenses associated with litigation over the
Pleasant Valley leases.

Conference Call

The Company has scheduled a conference call to discuss its fourth
quarter and full year 2010 results and current business developments
today, March 22, 2011, at 4:30 p.m. EDT. To access the call, dial
877-941-8631. To access the live webcast of the call, visit Tri-Valley′s
website at www.tri-valleycorp.com.

An audio replay will be available for seven days following the call at
800-406-7325.  The password required to access the replay is 4425877#. An
archived webcast will also be available at www.tri-valleycorp.com.

About Tri-Valley

Tri-Valley Corporation explores for and produces oil and natural gas in
California and has two exploration-stage gold properties in Alaska.
Tri-Valley is incorporated in Delaware and is publicly traded on the
NYSE Amex exchange under the symbol 'TIV.' Our Company website, which
includes all SEC filings, is www.tri-valleycorp.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties. Actual results, events, and performance could
vary materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking
statements which include such words and phrases as exploratory, wildcat,
prospect, speculates, unproved, prospective, very large, expect,
potential, etc. Among the factors that could cause actual results,
events, and performance to differ materially are risks and uncertainties
discussed in 'Item 1A. Risk Factors' and 'Item 7. Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition' contained in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2010.

Tri-Valley Corporation

John Durbin, 661-864-0500

jdurbin@tri-valleycorp.com

or

Investor
Contacts:

EVC Group, Inc.

Doug Sherk/Jenifer Kirtland,
415-896-6820

dsherk@evcgroup.com

jkirtland@evcgroup.com

or

Media
Contact:

EVC Group, Inc.

Chris Gale, 646-201-5431

cgale@evcgroup.com