Circle Oil Plc Regulatory News (COP)

23 May 2011

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 an update regarding the Geyad-3 appraisal/development well together with details on the future development of the NW Gemsa Concession.

Geyad-3C Update

Geyad-3, located to the south-east of the Geyad-1X ST well in the Geyad Development Lease, was drilled to 5,635 ft MD in the Upper Rudeis. The main objective for this well was to appraise and bring into production the oil bearing Shagar and Rahmi sandstones of the Kareem Formation. The Shagar sands were encountered from 5,333 to 5,347 ft MD with 14 ft of net oil pay.

Circle is delighted to announce that the Shagar interval was tested at a sustained rate of 1,316 bopd and 1.26 MMscf/d of gas on a 24/64" choke and the well will be completed for production. The underlying Rahmi sands were encountered but found to be of poor reservoir quality and were not tested. A secondary objective of the Belayim sands in Geyad-3 well was also encountered with 5 ft of calculated net pay, but it was decided not to test this interval at the present time.

The Geyad-3 well has proved up the South East extension of the field and added further confirmation of the field geometry. The next well proposed for the Geyad field is a westerly peripheral injector to be drilled later in 2011.

The well is currently rigging down and the rig is preparing to mobilise to drill the injector well Al Amir SE-8X, located on the South West flank of the Al Amir SE field.

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

"I am pleased to report another successful result as the partnership's plans in NW Gemsa remain on schedule. The rig now moves to start drilling the second injector well on Al Amir SE as part of the development plan to increase production rates for the medium and long term."

Glossary

MD Measured Depth

ft Feet

bopd Barrels of oil per day

MMscf/d Million standard cubic feet 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 has 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

Evolution Securities (+44 20 7071 4300)

Chris Sim

Neil Elliot

Fox-Davies Capital (+44 20 7936 5230)

Daniel Fox-Davies

Philip Davies

David Porter

Citigate Dewe Rogerson (+44 20 7638 9571)

Martin Jackson

George Cazenove

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 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 its prospective Block 52 offshore, Circle also has an ongoing exploration program in Block 49 onshore.

Circle's strategy is to locate and secure additional licenses 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.