Houston – May 19, 2009: Cobalt International Energy, L.P. today named Rodney Gray as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, effective June 1, 2009.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome such a seasoned industry player as Rod Gray to the Cobalt executive team," said Joseph H. Bryant, Cobalt Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Rod brings to Cobalt extensive expertise and a vast breadth of experience in global capital markets and all areas of finance from a corporate, private equity and public perspective. Rod’s depth of financial accomplishments will serve Cobalt well as we execute our strategic plan for growth and value creation."

Prior to joining Cobalt, Mr. Gray held the position of Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Colonial Pipeline in Atlanta, where he has been since 2003. Prior to Colonial, Mr. Gray had a distinguished career with Transco Energy Company and its successor company Enron Corporation. Mr. Gray held numerous senior executive positions at Enron, including Senior Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, Chairman and CEO of Enron International, and Chairman and CEO of Enron Global Power and Pipelines. He was also Vice Chairman of Azurix.

Since its inception in 2005, Cobalt has established a highly prospective and substantial exploration portfolio in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and deepwater offshore Gabon and Angola. By February 2009, Cobalt had two significant discoveries (Heidelberg and Shenandoah) in the Gulf of Mexico. In March, Cobalt formed an alliance with TOTAL E&P USA, INC. covering both companies’ Gulf of Mexico exploratory acreage positions, whereby Cobalt will operate and generally hold a 60 percent working interest in the combined jointly owned acreage. This past April, Cobalt formed a partnership with Angola’s state oil company Sonangol EP, whereby Cobalt will operate and hold a 40 percent working interest in the consortium for Blocks 9 and 21 offshore Angola. Additionally, Sonangol will hold a 25 percent working interest in 11 leases operated by Cobalt in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Questions regarding Cobalt should be directed to Richard Smith: +1 713 579 9141

About Cobalt:

Cobalt International Energy, L.P. is a private oil and gas exploration and production company focusing on the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and offshore West Africa. The company was formed in 2005 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Cobalt currently holds a working interest in 225 leases in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, Blocks 9 and 21 offshore Angola, and in the Diaba License offshore Gabon. Cobalt’s financial sponsors include Goldman Sachs, Carlyle/Riverstone, First Reserve Corporation, KERN Partners, and Management.

For more information on Cobalt, please visit our website at www.cobaltintl.com.