Circle Oil Plc Regulatory News (COP)

8 Sep 2005 06:00

8 September 2005 Circle Oil Plc ("Circle Oil" or the "Company") CIRCLE OIL AWARDED BLOCK 52 IN OMANCircle Oil is pleased to announce that the Company has been awarded the licencefor Block 52 in the Arabian Seas off the southern coast of the Sultanate ofOman. The Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement was signed in Muscat byNasser bin Khamis Al Jashmi, Undersecretary at the Omani Oil and Gas Ministryand Mr. Shamil Daoud, Circle Oil's Business Director in the Middle East.The licence is for a nine year period divided into three 3 year explorationphases. During the first phase Circle Oil will carry out reprocessing andreinterpretation of all existing data as well as the acquisition of 6000kilometres of new reconnaissance 2D seismic data. More detailed surveying willbe carried out upon evaluation of this new data prior to any drilling campaign.Block 52 covers an area of over 100,000 sq. kms. It is an area that is adeepwater province and has had very little exploration carried out to date. Allprevious work focussed on the shallow, near shore waters where there were minorhydrocarbon shows in two wells drilled in 1979 and 1991.Circle Oil's exploration efforts will concentrate on the unexplored, deeperwater areas of the licence where the Company believes there is potential for anumber of new hydrocarbon plays.Commenting on the award of Block 52, Mr. Jack Keyes, Chief Operating Officersaid:"I am very pleased with this acquisition in Oman, a Middle Eastern country withsubstantial oil production. We are very excited by the potential of this largeunexplored area. Combined with our current holdings in Oman, Circle Oil is nowone of the largest licence holders by acreage in a country that is known to berich in hydrocarbons." -ends- For further information please contact:David Hough, Chief Executive Officer, Circle Oil plcat: +353-87-240 2200 or +353-61-354831Ben Simons, Chris Roberts, Hansard Communications plcat: +44-207-245-1100ENDCIRCLE OIL PLC