CERP.L Regulatory News (CERP)

For Immediate Release (7am GMT)

17 March 2011

LENI GAS AND OIL PLC

("LGO" or the "Company")

Operational Update

Leni Gas & Oil plc, the AIM listed international oil and gas production, development and exploration Company, today announces further details regarding its operations in Northern Spain and Trinidad.

Highlights

·; LGO's wholly owned Spanish subsidiary Compañía Petrolífera de Sedano, S.L. ("CPS") is ready to commence the planned workover of wells on the Ayoluengo and Hontomin Fields

·; All necessary equipment for the programme of well recompletion is under contract and field operations will commence imminently

·; Plans to test nitrogen to enhance oil recovery continue to be progressed with Praxair Inc, and start-up of field operations are now expected in the third-quarter 2011 after the planned well recompletion operations have been carried out 

·; The previously announced Unconventional Gas Venture with Sorgenia International BV ("Sorgenia") and Rohöl-Aufsuchungs Aktiengesellschaft ("RAG") has successfully completed the initial technical assessment phase

·; Additional exploration licences have been applied for to increase the Company's holdings in its core business area in Northern Spain

·; Following the planned workover programme in Spain production is expected to increase to at least 300 bopd and is hoped to reach in excess of 500 bopd

Workover Programme

Following a full re-evaluation of all available well data, plans have been finalised to workover a minimum of six oil wells in the Ayoluengo Field and the producing Hontomin Field well. Additionally, four further Ayoluengo wells have been planned as contingent targets should the core program wells be completed quickly, be judged inaccessible or show better than expected results.

A 60 tonne workover rig has been contracted for a minimum 90 day period to complement the existing Company owned service rig. Wireline logging and perforating equipment is on hire, along with the necessary cementing services. A minimum 144 metres of existing perforations are planned to be re-shot to ensure improved well bore connection with the reservoir and to remove accumulated scale. Additionally a further 85 metres of perforations targeting reservoir zones which have never previously been open for production will also be shot, of which 80 metres are in the priority wells at Ayoluengo (Ayo-4, 5, 32, 36, 37 and 46) and in Hontomin-2.

Operations to improve the reliability of the re-perforated wells will also be undertaken including the replacement of production tubing and pump rods. An Electrical Submersible Progressive Cavity Pump (PCP) is planned to be installed in well Ayo-37 which, due to its configuration, will benefit from this more advanced pumping technology.

The initial 90 day work programme has been budgeted at a capital cost of €1.2 million, funds which were raised as part of the placement in November 2010.

Field operations will be commenced immediately the final permit has been received from the relevant authorities relating to the use of the explosives that are required during the perforation phase, at which time all equipment and contract personnel will be mobilised to site.

Production and Other Operations

During 2011 production from LGO's Ayoluengo Field operations has averaged 122 bopd. It is anticipated that following the workover programme, which is located on the eastern flank of the field, production will be at least 300 bopd and it has been estimated that production of over 500 bopd is possible from the planned workovers.

Discussions with Praxair Inc (NYSE:PX) as previously announced in October 2010, are continuing concerning the pilot nitrogen enhanced oil recovery project. It is hoped that a definitive agreement will be signed in the second-quarter 2011 and field operations to test the effectiveness of nitrogen injection will commence in the third-quarter 2011, after the planned well recompletion operations have been carried out. The injection operations will be targeted in the western flank of the field where historic recovery rates have been extremely low (approximately 5%) and where conditions are believed to be suitable for piloting EOR techniques.

The Company has evaluated the potential to deepen at least one well to the unproduced Liassic reservoir which is known to be oil bearing and lies below the main Jurassic reservoirs of the Ayoluengo Field. A sidetrack of the Hontomin-2 well into a separate fault compartment observed on the new 3D seismic data is also under consideration. Options have been secured on a suitable drilling rig and a final decision will be taken during the second-quarter 2011 as to the viability of these projects.

In support of its long term aspirations to explore for additional satellite fields the Company has recently made a number of applications for exploration permits in the vicinity of its existing acreage. Most recently an application was made for the Urraca Licence which covers an area of 94,815 hectares north-east of the La Lora Licence, which contains the Ayoluengo Field. The Company has also extended its permit on the Basconcillos Licence area until June 2013 and has applied for the conversion of the Huermeces Licence, which contains the Hontomin Field, from an exploration to a production permit. Further permit applications for additional exploration areas are planned to be filed in March 2011.

Unconventional Gas Agreement

Further to the Company's announcement on the 5th November 2010 of an Unconventional Gas Venture in Spain with Sorgenia and RAG, the co-venture partners have now successfully completed their initial technical assessment. The parties have extended the term of the non-binding Commercial Terms Agreement and are continuing active discussions on a potential long-term agreement. 

Trinidad

Pending a final decision by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Primera Oil and Gas Limited ("Primera") on the sale of the 50% working interest in Icacos held by Primera the new 20 year operating licence has yet to be signed. Field operations have continued under the existing arrangements and only limited well intervention work has been undertaken. Gross field production during 2011 has averaged 34 bopd.

The Company is continuing to seek additional opportunities to participate in field development, reactivation and exploration projects onshore in Trinidad and has active discussions with several groups to acquire and operate several existing and new leases.

Neil Ritson, Chief Executive commented:

 "Although it has taken slightly longer than expected to prepare for this year's activity, LGO is now set for an active and productive period in Spain. I look forward to reporting further as our work programme proceeds. We are confident that the programme we have in place will achieve our target of increasing production to 500 bopd from our Spanish oilfields. Longer term expectations remain high given the presence of considerable untapped resources in the existing fields and surrounding areas and the Company sees 2011 as a turning point in its efforts to exploit that potential. Progress in Trinidad is also picking up and we hope to have additional news on this in the next few months."

Presentation Added to Company Website

Following a presentation of LGO's recent activities and plans, which is to be given at the London Oil Barrel Conference on the morning of the 17th March 2011, that presentation will be added to the Company's website: www.lenigasandoil.com

Competent Person's Statement:

The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Neil Ritson, Chief Executive Officer and Director for Leni Gas & Oil Plc who has 35 years of relevant experience in the oil industry. Mr. Ritson is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, an Active Member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London.

Enquiries:

Leni Gas & Oil plc

David Lenigas, Executive Chairman

Neil Ritson, Chief Executive Officer

Tel +44 (0) 20 7016 5103

Panmure Gordon plc

Katherine Roe / Hannah Woodley

Tel +44 (0)20 7459 5744

Beaumont Cornish Limited

Roland Cornish / Rosalind Hill Abrahams

Tel +44 (0) 20 7628 3396

Pelham Bell Pottinger

Mark Antelme / Henry Lerwill

Tel + 44 (0)20 7861 3232

NOTES TO EDITORS

Leni Gas & Oil Plc is an international oil and gas exploration, development and production company headquartered in London, trading on the London Stock Exchange's AIM index. LGO's strategy is to acquire projects and businesses within the oil and gas sector that contain a development premium which can be unlocked through a combination of financial, commercial, and technical expertise.

LGO operates a low risk portfolio of production expansion assets in the US Gulf of Mexico, Spain and Trinidad, and holds non-operated exploration acreage Malta. LGO's assets have significant play upside using strategies which leverage novel extraction technologies and proven production enhancement techniques. LGO specifically targets near term production with upside exploitation potential and manages its portfolio to ensure all assets have accelerated incremental reserves and production enhancement programmes.

GLOSSARY

bopd = barrels of oil per day

EOR = Enhanced Oil Recovery