Suite 1240, 789 West Pender Street

Vancouver, British Columbia

Phone: 604 683 3995 / Toll Free: 888 945 4770/ Fax 604 683 3988

Vertical Exploration Announces Closing of Second and Final Tranche of Private Placement

December 19, 2018, VANCOUVER, BC – Vertical Exploration Inc. (NEX: VERT) (the “Company“) announces that it has closed the second and final tranche of its non-brokered private placement offering of Flow Through Units and Non-Flow Through Units, per its previous news releases on September 7, October 22, 2018 and December 4, 2018.

For the second tranche, the Company issued 5,454,544 Flow Through Units at a price of $0.11 per Unit, for gross flow-through proceeds of $599,999.84, and 1,025,000 Non-Flow Through Units at a price of $0.10 per Unit, for gross hard dollar proceeds of $102,500 (for aggregate total gross proceeds of $702,499.84).  Proceeds from the private placement will be used for qualifying expenditures, the Company’s operating expenses and for general working capital.

For both tranches the Company issued 6,904,544 Flow Through Units and 2,520,000 Non-Flow Through Units for total gross proceeds of $1,011,499.84.

Each Flow Through Unit will be comprised of one “flow through” common share and one-half of a warrant.  Each NFT Unit will be comprised of one non-flow through common share and one whole warrant. Each whole warrant will be exercisable at $0.20 per share, for a period of 2 years from issuance, subject to acceleration if the trading price of the common shares is $0.25 or greater for a period of 10 consecutive trading days. In such event, the Company may, in its sole discretion, accelerate the expiry date to a date that is 30 days after the Company issues a news release announcing same.  All securities issued are subject to a hold period expiring on March 28, 2018.

Finder’s fees payable for the second tranche were $50,999.98 and 463,636 finder’s warrants exercisable at $0.11 for a period of 2 years.  In the second tranche, a director of the Company purchased 250,000 Non-Flow Through Units for a subscription price of $25,000.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

“Peter P. Swistak“

Peter P. Swistak, President

For further information, please contact:

Telephone: 604 683 3995

Toll Free: 1 888 945 4770

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.