Circle Oil Plc Regulatory News (COP)

14 February 2013

CIRCLE OIL PLC

("Circle" or the "Company")

Operating Update Egypt

Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP), the international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, is pleased to announce the following update regarding the Al Amir SE field ("AASE") and the Geyad field.

AASE-14X ST 1 Well

Infill production well AASE -14X, located centrally in the field midway between AASE-1X ST1 and AASE-12X ST1 was spud on 26 November 2012. The well was planned as a Shagar and Rahmi sand producer and was sidetracked for geological reasons on 4 January 2013 as AASE-14X ST1. The well has encountered 20 ft MD of gross Shagar sand (9,610-9,630 ft MD) with 16 ft MD net pay, plus 15 ft MD of gross Rahmi sand (9,680-9,695 ft MD) with 13 ft MD net pay, with a total depth of 10,000 ft MD. The well is now planned to be completed as a producer and an update will issue once flow testing is completed.

Production

Production from the AASE and Geyad fields averaged 9,091 bopd (gross) through January 2013. Cumulative production from the NW Gemsa Concession has now exceeded 10.4 million barrels of 42 degree API Crude oil.

The 12 inch gas pipeline has now been tied in and gas production started up on 12 February 2013. The initial flow rate at start-up was 8 MMscf/d (1,456 boepd) and is currently 9 MMscf/d (1,638 boepd). The gas is rich in extractable liquids that will add significantly to the income stream for Circle. Gas processing is expected to provide an additional 140 - 150 bocd and 35 tonnes (c. 400 boepd) of LNG per day.

Work on finalising the development and day to day operations of the AASE and Geyad fields will continue through 2013. The 2013 work programme includes the drilling of 4 further wells (1 producer and 3 injectors) in the first half of the year.

The NW Gemsa Concession, containing the Al Amir and Geyad Development Leases, covering an area of over 260 square kilometres, lies about 300 kilometres southeast of Cairo in a partially unexplored area of the Gulf of Suez Basin.

The concession agreement includes the right of conversion to a production licence of 20 years, plus extensions, in the event of commercial discoveries. The NW Gemsa Concession partners include: Vegas Oil and Gas (50% interest and operator); Circle Oil Plc (40% interest) and Sea Dragon Energy (10% interest).

Prof Chris Green, CEO, said

"Circle is very pleased that the AASE-14X ST1 well has encountered pay intervals as prognosed in the Shagar and Rahmi sands and will be completed as a producer to complement the production levels from the AASE field.

The start up of gas flow through the 12" pipeline from our Geyad and AASE fields is another significant step forward as this production is expected to add approximately 2,000 boepd to the daily gross production."

Glossary

MD Measured depth

MMscf/d Millions of standard cubic feet of gas per day

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, and Dr Stuart Harker, VP Geology, also with over 30 years experience, are the qualified persons as defined in the London Stock Exchange's Guidance Note for Mining and Oil and Gas companies, who have reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement. Professor Green and Dr Harker have relied on primary information supplied by the operator in carrying out their review.

For further information contact: 

Circle Oil Plc (+44 20 7638 9571)

Professor Chris Green, CEO

Investec (+44 20 7597 5970)

Chris Sim

Neil Elliot

Liberum Capital Limited (+44 20 3100 2222)

Simon Atkinson

Citigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571)

Martin Jackson

Jack Rich

Murray Consultants (+353 1 498 0300)

Joe Murray

Joe 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 low-risk near-term production and significant exploration upside potential. The Company listed on AIM in October 2004.

Internationally, the Company has continued to expand its portfolio over the past two 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 its prospective Block 52 offshore, Circle also has an ongoing exploration programme in Block 49 onshore.

Circle'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. This could be achieved through farm-outs to selected partners who would then invest in and continue the development of the asset into production, or Circle may itself opt to use its own expertise to appraise reserves and bring assets into production, generating sustained cash flow for further investment.

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