CALGARY, Aug. 24 /CNW/ - Canadian Oil Sands ("COS") today announces the appointment of Marcel R. Coutu as its first Chief Executive Officer following the business combination with Athabasca Oil Sands Trust.

Mr. Coutu has over twenty years of experience in the energy sector. He graduated from the University of Waterloo with an H.B.Sc. in geology and also holds an M.B.A. from the University of Western Ontario. He has held several senior financial positions in the industry, and was most recently Chief Financial Officer of Gulf Canada Resources Limited, where his responsibilities included the oversight of Gulf's investment in Syncrude, and has been Gulf's representative on the Syncrude Management Committee for the past two years.

Chuck Shultz, Chairman, commented that "in the last two months four significant actions have been accomplished: the merger of Athabasca and Canadian Oil Sands into the largest royalty trust in Canada; the Syncrude owners approval of the Stage 3 expansion; financing for the Syncrude expansion; and, the appointment of Marcel Coutu as Chief Executive Officer. These combined actions will set our future course with an experienced executive at the helm of Canadian Oil Sands."

Canadian Oil Sands is a publicly held trust with 56.8 million units owned by investors in Canada and internationally. The units are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol COS.UN.

Canadian Oil Sands Investments Inc.
P.O. Box 2850
150 - 9 Avenue S.W.
Calgary, AB T2P 2S5
Canada
Units Listed - Symbol: COS.UN
The Toronto Stock Exchange

For further information: C.E. (Chuck) Shultz, Chairman of the Board,
(403) 269-2933 or Robert W. Fotheringham, Chief Financial Officer, (403)
290-3332, Website: www.canadianoilsandstrust.com;
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