EXHIBIT 99.1


           Gastar Announces Australian CBM Drilling Program

    HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 2006--Gastar Exploration Ltd.
(AMEX:GST) (TSX:YGA) announced today that a ten well coal bed methane
drilling program has been commenced on its 1.0 million gross acre
Exploration License 4416 (EL 4416) in the Gippsland Basin located in
Victoria, Australia. Gastar has committed and funded approximately
$6.5 million for its 75% interest in the 10 CBM wells, which are being
operated by CBM Resources Pty, Ltd., a subsidiary of Geostar
Corporation. Gastar owns its interest in EL 4416 jointly with Geostar.
The 10 well program will include the establishment of two "5-spot"
pilots, one incorporating the two previous wells, and two wells
designed to test for the presence and production potential of the
coals at additional locations within the license area. The two
previously drilled wells are also scheduled to have larger capacity
pumps installed to facilitate de-watering operations.

    In a related matter, Gastar has sent a letter to Geostar
Corporation requesting arbitration to settle certain disputed issues
and interpretations under a Participation and Operating Agreement
(POA) with Geostar and its subsidiaries concerning Geostar's failure
to deliver certain documents, requests for cash calls that far exceed
the funds actually required for operations within a reasonable time
frame and requesting cash calls while simultaneously asserting that
certain provisions of the POA, including overhead reimbursement rates,
need to be renegotiated on terms that Gastar believes are not
reasonable and are not within industry standards.

    Commenting on the developments, Gastar's Chairman, Chief Executive
Officer and President, J. Russell Porter, said, "We are pleased to
begin a more active exploration and testing program on our Gippsland
Basin holdings. Gastar believes that EL 4416 contains significant CBM
resource potential. This property is strategically located near
existing infrastructure and the large gas markets in eastern
Australia. Our expectations are that this ten well program will help
us evaluate the CBM potential on EL 4416 and formulate additional
plans for assessing and quantifying optimal drilling and completion
techniques, the potential for commercial rates from individual wells
and the size of the potential resource. While we have continued
confidence in Geostar's ability to operate the proposed wells, we feel
the need to protect Gastar's interests and establish clarity in our
relationship with Geostar through this arbitration request. We hope
that these issues will be settled amicably between us before an
arbitration decision needs to be rendered."

    Gastar Exploration Ltd. is an exploration and production company
focused on finding and developing natural gas assets in North America
and Australia. The Company pursues a balanced strategy combining
select higher risk, deep natural gas exploration prospects with
low-risk CBM development. The Company owns and controls exploration
and development acreage in the Deep Bossier gas play of East Texas and
in the Appalachian Basin. Gastar's CBM activities are conducted within
the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and upon the approximate 3.0 million
gross acres controlled by Gastar and its Joint Development partners in
Australia's Gunnedah Basin (PEL 238) and Gippsland Basin (EL 4416)
located in New South Wales and Victoria, respectively.

    Safe Harbor Statement and Disclaimer:

    This Press Release includes "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section
21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement identified by the words
"expects", "projects", "plans", and certain of the other foregoing
statements may be deemed forward-looking statements. Although Gastar
believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, these statements involve risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual future activities and results to
be materially different from those suggested or described in this
press release. These include risks inherent in the drilling of natural
gas and oil wells, including risks of fire, explosion, blowout, pipe
failure, casing collapse, unusual or unexpected formation pressures,
environmental hazards, and other operating and production risks
inherent in natural gas and oil drilling and production activities,
which may temporarily or permanently reduce production or cause
initial production or test results to not be indicative of future well
performance or delay the timing of sales or completion of drilling
operations; risks with respect to oil and natural gas prices, a
material decline in which could cause the Company to delay or suspend
planned drilling operations or reduce production levels; and risks
relating to the availability of capital to fund drilling operations
that can be adversely affected by adverse drilling results, production
declines and declines in natural gas and oil prices and other risk
factors described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, as
filed on March 31, 2006 with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission at www.sec.gov and on the System for Electronic Document
Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com.

    The American Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange have not
reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy
of this release.

    CONTACT: Gastar Exploration, Ltd.
             J. Russell Porter, 713-739-1800
             Fax: 713-739-0458
             rporter@gastar.com
             www.gastar.com