North American Energy Partners Appoints Martin Ferron as Chief Executive Officer

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - May 28, 2012) - North American Energy Partners Inc. ("NAEP" or "the Company") (TSX:NOA) (NYSE:NOA) today announced that Martin Ferron will join the Company as President and Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Board effective at the close of business on June 7, 2012.

Ron McIntosh, Chairman of NAEP said, "Martin is an exceptional leader with a long track record of driving execution and achieving strong financial and operational performance for companies in the oil services and construction industries."

As Director, President and CEO of Helix Energy Solutions Inc. (Helix), an NYSE listed international energy services company, Mr. Ferron successfully refocused the company on improved project execution, asset utilization and profit performance. He also transformed Helix through a combination of measured organic growth, acquisitions and divestures, achieving a compound annual EBITDA growth rate of approximately 38% during his tenure with the company. Prior to joining Helix, Mr. Ferron worked in successively more senior management positions with oil services and construction companies including McDermott Marine Construction, Oceaneering International and Comex Group. He holds a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from City University, London, a M.Sc. in Marine Technology from Strathclyde University, Glasgow, and an MBA from Aberdeen University.

Mr. Ferron succeeds Rod Ruston who is retiring from the Company and the Board to return to his native Australia.

Ron McIntosh added, "On behalf of the Board, I thank Rod for his contributions to NAEP and welcome Martin to the Company. We are confident Martin is the right person to strengthen our operating performance and then grow our business as we take NAEP to the next level."

"I am very pleased to be joining the team at NAEP," said Martin Ferron. "NAEP has a great reputation, enthusiastic and dedicated personnel and exposure to dynamic markets and I am excited about the Company's potential."

About the Company

North American Energy Partners Inc. (www.naepi.ca) is one of the largest providers of heavy construction, mining, piling and pipeline services in Western Canada. For more than 50 years, NAEP has provided services to large oil, natural gas and resource companies, with a principal focus on the Canadian Oil Sands. The company maintains one of the largest independently owned equipment fleets in the region.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release contains non-GAAP financial measures. These measures do not have standardized meanings under Canadian GAAP or US GAAP and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. The non-GAAP financial measure disclosed by the Company in this release is EBITDA of Helix. Please refer to the disclosure documents of Helix which can be found on the SEC website at www.sec.gov for a description of EBITDA.

Forward Looking Statements

The information provided in this release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "may", "could", "would", "should", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "target", 'project", "intend", "continue", "further" or similar expressions. Important factors and risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include: success of business development efforts, changes in oil and gas prices, availability of a skilled labour force, internal controls, general economic conditions, terms of the Company's debt instruments, exchange rate fluctuations, weather conditions, performance of its customers, access to equipment, changes in laws and the ability to execute transactions. For additional risks and uncertainness related to forward-looking statements, please see our disclosure documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA).Undue reliance should not be placed upon forward-looking statements and NAEP undertakes no obligation, other than those required by applicable law, to update or revise those statements.

For more complete information about us you should read our disclosure documents that we have filed with the SEC and the CSA. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov or on the CSA website at www.sedar.com.