Exhibit 31.1

Chief Executive Officer Certification (Section 302)

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002


I, Michael Ward, certify that:

     (1) I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-QSB of Tidelands Oil &
Gas Corporation, ("Registrant").
     (2) Based on my  knowledge,  this  quarterly  report  does not  contain any
untrue  statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact  necessary
to make the  statements  made,  in light of the  circumstances  under which such
statements  were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this
quarterly report;
     (3) Based on my knowledge,  the financial  statements  and other  financial
information  included in this quarterly  report,  fairly present in all material
respects the financial  condition,  results of operations  and cash flows of the
registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this quarterly report;
     (4) The registrant's  other  certifying  officers and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining  disclosure  controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and have:
         (a) designed  such  disclosure  controls and  procedures to ensure that
material  information  relating to the  registrant,  including its  consolidated
subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities,  particularly
during the period in which this quarterly report is being prepared;
         (b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
and  procedures  as of a date  within 90 days prior to the  filing  date of this
quarterly report (the "Evaluation Date"); and
         (c)  presented  in this  quarterly  report  our  conclusions  about the
effectiveness of the disclosure  controls and procedures based on our evaluation
as of the Evaluation Date;
     (5) The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed,  based
on our most  recent  evaluation,  to the  registrant's  auditors  and the  audit
committee  of  registrant's  board  of  directors  (or  persons  performing  the
equivalent functions):
         (a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal
controls  which  could  adversely  affect  the  registrant's  ability to record,
process,  summarize  and  report  financial  date  and have  identified  for the
registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in internal controls; and
         (b) any fraud,  whether or not material,  that  involves  management or
other  employees  who  have a  significant  role  in the  registrant's  internal
controls; and
     (6) The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in this
quarterly report whether there were significant  changes in internal controls or
in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls subsequent to
the date of our most recent  evaluation,  including any corrective  actions with
regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses;

Date: August 16, 2004

                                                      By: /s/ Michael Ward
                                                         -----------------------
                                                         Michael Ward
                                                         Chief Executive Officer