DES.L Regulatory News (DES)

Desire Petroleum plc

("Desire" or the "Company")

Competent Person's Report Update

 14/15-4a Well Results

Desire Petroleum plc (AIM:DES), the exploration company wholly focused on the North Falkland Basin, is pleased to announce the findings of a recently completed independent update to the Competent Person's Report ("CPR") issued by Senergy (GB) Limited in October 2011.

This CPR update covers the results of the farm-in well 14/15-4a in licence PL004b within Tranche D, relating to the Sea Lion Extension, Casper, Casper South (Shona) and Beverley prospects, which were identified pre-drill and described in the initial October 2011 CPR. All of the prospects were found to be hydrocarbon bearing, with a gross reservoir column of 89 metres and a total net pay of 57 metres. Following the completion of this well Desire has a 40% interest in PL004b with Rockhopper Exploration plc having a 60% interest.

Highlights

·; Drilling has confirmed the pre-drill interpretation of multiple hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs in the mapped prospects

·; Reservoirs appear to be in pressure communication with common fluid contacts

·; Mean estimate contingent oil resources net to Desire of 85 MMstb

·; Mean estimate contingent gas resources net to Desire of 178 bcf

The recoverable oil and gas contingent resources net to Desire are reported in

 the tables below:

Notes to Tables:

*Note that totals were generated from probabilistic consolidation (not from summing the amounts in the individual reservoirs)

** The quoted Low (C1), Best (C2) and High (C3) values are based on the 90% probability (P90), Mean and 10% probability (P10) respectively derived from probabilistic estimates of the resource size distribution generated using a "Monte Carlo" statistical approach.  

The CPR update was prepared by Senergy (GB) Limited, a major independent consultancy specialising in reservoir engineering, geology, geophysics and petroleum economics. Senergy have used all available information and interpretations supplied by Desire and by the Operator. The evaluation of the recoverable hydrocarbons expected for each asset has been categorised in accordance with the 2007 Petroleum Resources Management System prepared by the Oil and Gas Reserves Committee of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and reviewed and jointly sponsored by the World Petroleum Council (WPC), the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE). Certain post-well technical studies remain to be completed and the results from these studies will be incorporated into a future revision.

The CPR update, including a glossary of key terms, can be downloaded from the Desire website: www.desireplc.co.uk 

A full CPR covering all of the Company's prospect inventory and discoveries will be issued later in 2012.

Commenting on the CPR update, Stephen Phipps, Chairman of Desire, said:

"We are delighted that we now have significant, contingent resources assigned to the Company for the first time. The well results were very close to our pre-drill expectations and this has been confirmed by the independent Senergy report. We continue to evaluate the remaining exploration potential in our licences and have now received the final, merged 3D seismic data over our operated licences and we are optimistic that further, exciting prospects will emerge from this data."

This statement has been approved by Mr Ken Black , Exploration Director of Desire Petroleum plc, who is a member of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain , with over 30 years experience in petroleum exploration and management. who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the guidance note for Mining, Oil & Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in respect of AIM Companies.

This statement has been approved by Senergy (GB) Limited.

For further information please contact: