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 12, 2003


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