Circle Oil Plc Regulatory News (COP)

Circle Oil plc 

28 October 2015

Operating Update Morocco

· CGD-13 exploration well discovers gas - 5.9m of net pay

· Stabilised test rates confirm gas flowed at 4.45MMcf/d through a 28/64" choke

· 2014 / 2015 Moroccan campaign ends with further success - CGD-13 is the sixth successful discovery well of campaign

· Drilling costs reduced by 30% per well over life of campaign

· Interpretation of 2014 / 15 campaign will help design of new Moroccan drilling campaign in 2016

CIRCLE OIL PLC

("Circle" or the "Company")

Circle Oil plc (AIM: COP), the North African focused oil and gas exploration, development and production company, is pleased to announce a discovery at the Caid El Gaddari-13 (CGD-13)  exploration well on the Sebou Permit, onshore Morocco.

The CGD-13 well spudded on 8 October and reached a TD of 871m on 17 October, significantly ahead of schedule. The target consisted of gas-bearing Miocene sandstones in a structurally elevated position east of the CGD-1 well and west of the CGD-9 well. The well has encountered approximately 5.9m of net pay and an interval of 4.7m was perforated between 791m and 812m.

Testing has been completed and the well has flowed at a rate of 4.45MMcf/d through a 28/64" choke.

The successful well is located 320m northwest of the closest tie-in point on the 75% Circle owned 55km pipeline to Kenitra. The well will be brought into production and produced through the pipeline to Circle customers in Kenitra.

A Successful Morocco Campaign

This discovery concludes the 2014/15 drilling campaign for Circle in Morocco. The successful campaign has seen ten wells drilled in total, seven wells in Sebou and three in Lalla Mimouna. In total the campaign recorded six new discoveries, five at the Sebou permit and one at the Lalla Mimouna permit. The campaign confirms our understanding of the Sebou permit and has proved the presence of gas at the Lalla Mimouna permit.

Improving operational efficiency has been a key goal for Circle over the last six months. Drilling costs have been reduced by 30% per well during the course of the campaign.

The Circle geological team will review and integrate the well data from this campaign when planning the next campaign in Morocco, initially scheduled for late 2016.

Circle continues to enjoy a strong position in Morocco and gas prices received are unaffected by the turmoil in global markets for oil and gas.

Circle Oil CEO, Mitch Flegg said

"We are delighted with the result of CGD-13. This is the latest success in what has been an excellent campaign. In addition to drilling six successful wells and discovering additional reserves of gas, we have significantly deepened our understanding of both our Moroccan permits. This will provide a strong foundation for the future development of our Moroccan business."

"We would like to thank our partner, ONHYM, for their continued support in the development of our Moroccan permits. Morocco remains at the core of Circle's business and we are looking forward to developing our next drilling campaign."

For further information contact:

Circle Oil plc (+44 20 7148 1799)

Mitch Flegg, Chief Executive Officer

Investec (+44 20 7597 4000)Chris SimGeorge Price

James Rudd

Murray Consultants (+353 1 498 0300)Joe Heron (+353 87 6909735)

Pat Walsh

In accordance with the guidelines of the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange the technical information contained in the announcement has been reviewed and approved by Mitch Flegg, Chief Executive Officer of Circle Oil plc. Mitch Flegg, who has over 34 years of experience, is the qualified person as defined in the London Stock Exchange's Guidance Note for Mining and Oil and Gas companies,

Mitch Flegg holds a BSc in Physics from Birmingham University and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB).

Notes to Editors

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

Internationally, the Company has assets in the Rharb Basin, Morocco; the Ras Marmour Permit in southern Tunisia; the Beni Khalled permit in northern Tunisia, the Mahdia Permit offshore Tunisia and the NW Gemsa permit in Zeit Bay area of Egypt.

Circle Oil'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 Oil may 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 Oil is available on its website at www.circleoil.net.