EXHIBIT 99.1


                       AMERICAN NATURAL ENERGY CORPORATION
                           7030 South Yale, Suite 404
                              Tulsa, Oklahoma 74136
                       Tel: 918-481-1440 Fax: 918-481-1473

                  AMERICAN NATURAL ENERGY CORPORATION ANNOUNCES
          CLOSING OF ADDITIONAL CONVERTIBLE SECURED DEBENTURE FINANCING

TULSA, OKLAHOMA, OCTOBER 31, 2003. American Natural Energy Corporation ("ANEC")
(TSX Venture: ANR.U) announced it has completed an additional financing
consisting of US$305,000 in convertible secured debentures. This completes a
total financing of US$12.0 million in convertible secured debentures with ANEC
having closed an initial financing of US$11.7 million on October 21, 2003. The
debentures are repayable on September 30, 2005 with interest payable quarterly
commencing December 31, 2003 at 8% per annum. The outstanding principal of the
debentures is convertible into common shares of ANEC at any time prior to
maturity at a conversion price of US$0.45 per share, subject to antidilution
adjustment, and the debentures are redeemable by ANEC at any time after October
1, 2004 if the average weighted price per share on the TSX Venture Exchange for
a 20 consecutive trading day period prior to the date notice of redemption is
given has exceeded 1662/3% of the conversion price. A finder's fee in the amount
of US$9,150 was paid to Middlemarch Partners Limited of London, England in
connection with the additional financing. The additional funds are intended to
be utilized in the exploration and development of its Bayou Couba oil and gas
leases within its ExxonMobil Joint Development Project in St. Charles Parish,
Louisiana. The Debentures are collateralized by substantially all of ANEC's
assets.

The debentures and any common shares issued upon conversion of the debentures
will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months under applicable
Canadian securities legislation and stock exchange policies. The offer and sale
of the Debentures was not registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and the Debentures and the shares issuable on conversion may not be
offered and sold free of any restrictions on resale under the Act absent
registration under that Act or an applicable exemption from the registration
requirements.

ANEC is a Tulsa, Oklahoma based independent exploration and production company
with operations in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. For further information please
contact Michael Paulk, CEO at 918-481-1440 or Steven P. Ensz, CFO at
281-367-5588.

This Press Release may contain statements which constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and
current expectations of ANEC, its directors, or its officers with respect to the
future business, well drilling and operating activities and performance of ANEC.
Investors are


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cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of
various factors, including, among others, the levels of and fluctuations in the
prices for natural gas and oil, the demand for those commodities, and the
outcome of the ANEC's development, exploration and drilling activities.
Important additional factors that could cause such differences are described in
ANEC's periodic reports and other filings made with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and may be viewed at the Commission's Website at www.sec.gov.
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