Circle Oil Plc Regulatory News (COP)

15 March 2011

Circle Oil Plc

("Circle" or the "Company")

Drilling Update Sebou Permit Morocco

Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP), the international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, is pleased to announce that following improvements in ground conditions in parts of the Rharb Basin the fifth and final well in the current drilling campaign has been spudded .

The well designated KSR-11 is targeting the Hoot formation at an estimated depth of 1,750 metres. The target is similar to those previously proven successful in KSR-8 and KSR-10.

It is presently anticipated that the drilling, logging, and if successful, testing of the well will take approximately 5-6 weeks to complete.

The Sebou permit lies to the north-east of Rabat in the Rharb Basin in Morocco. The Rharb Basin is a foredeep basin located in the external zone of the Rif Folded belt. The concession agreement, in which Circle has a 75% share and ONHYM, the Moroccan State oil company, has a 25% share, includes the right of conversion to a production licence of 25 years, plus extensions in the event of commercial discoveries.

In accordance with the guidelines of the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange, Professor Chris Green, Chief Executive Officer of Circle Oil Plc, an explorationist and geophysicist with over thirty years oil & gas industry experience, is a qualified person, as defined in the London Stock Exchange's Guidance Note for Mining and Oil and Gas companies, who has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.

For further information contact: 

Circle Oil Plc (+44 20 7638 9571)Professor Chris Green, CEO

Evolution Securities (+44 20 7071 4300)Rob CollinsChris SimNeil Elliot

Fox-Davies Capital (+44 20 3463 5010)Daniel Fox-Davies

Philip Davies

David Porter

Citigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571)Martin JacksonGeorge Cazenove

Murray Consultants (+353 1 498 0320)Joe MurrayJoe Heron

Notes to Editors

Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP) is an international oil & gas exploration, development and production Company with an expanding portfolio of assets in Morocco, Tunisia, Oman and Egypt, with a combination of producing, low-risk near-term production and acreage with significant upside exploration potential. The Company listed on AIM in October 2004.

Internationally, the Company has continued to expand its portfolio over the past 2 years and now has assets in the Rharb Basin, Morocco; the Ras Marmour Permit in southern Tunisia; the Mahdia Permit offshore Tunisia; the Grombalia Permit in northern Tunisia; and the Zeit Bay area of Egypt. Circle also has the largest licence holding of any Company in Oman. In addition to offshore Block 52, the Company also has an ongoing exploration program in Block 49 onshore.

The Company's strategy is to locate and secure additional licences in prospective hydrocarbon provinces and through targeted investment programmes, monetise the value in those assets for the benefit of shareholders. Circle may use its own expertise to appraise reserves and bring assets into production, generating sustained cash flow for further investment. In addition it may seek farm-outs to selected partners who would then invest in the exploration and continue through to the development of the assets for production.

Further information on Circle is available on its website at www.circleoil.net.