Circle Oil Plc Regulatory News (COP)

31 December 2012

Circle Oil Plc

("Circle" or the "Company")

Senior Management Changes, Egypt

Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP), the international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, is pleased to announce the following update regarding senior management changes in Egypt.

Circle is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Hassan Hataba as General Manager for Circle Oil Egypt Ltd, effective 1 January 2013. Hassan holds a BSc. in Geology from Cairo University and has 37 years of oil and gas experience including 25 years at a broad range of organisations including the Suez Gulf Petroleum Company ("Gupco"), a joint venture between Amoco, and later BP, and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation ("EGPC"). Hassan held a variety of positions at Gupco culminating in him being appointed Chief Geologist.

Following his career at Gupco, Hassan spent 9 years as Undersecretary for Exploration and later Exploration and Production affairs at Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum.

Hassan, who previously has been Circle Oil Egypt Business Development Manager since May 2012, will be based in Circle's offices in Cairo and will manage its Egyptian operations and liaise with its partners, Egyptian Government entities and EGPC. Along with other senior Circle staff and our country managers, he will contribute to identifying, evaluating and securing new business opportunities in Circle's geographic areas of interest with a particular focus on Egypt.

At the same time, Mr Tarek Elbarkatawy has resigned as General Manager for Circle Oil Egypt and has been appointed as First Undersecretary for Exploration and Agreements, Egypt, Ministry of Petroleum.

Circle, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Circle Oil Egypt Ltd., holds a 40% interest in the NW Gemsa Concession, with the remaining interests being held by Vegas Oil and Gas (Operator) 50% and Sea Dragon Energy 10%.

Prof Chris Green, CEO, said:

"We sincerely thank Tarek for his contribution over the last year and wish him every success in his new appointment in the Ministry of Petroleum. We in turn welcome Hassan to the Circle management teamas we continue our strategy to strengthen our management on the ground in the countries in which we operate. With his extensive experience and local knowledge of Egypt we look forward to Hassan's contribution to Circle's growth in Egypt and the MENA region. Hassan's existing role within Circle provides him with an excellent working knowledge of our Egyptian operations and will enable a seamless transition between him and Tarek."

Glossary

MENA Middle-East North Africa

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 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. 

This information is provided by RNS

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