Enquest Regulatory News (ENQ)

ENQUEST OFFERED FOUR NEW NORTH SEA LICENCES

27 October 2010

Oil production & development company, EnQuest PLC ("EnQuest") is pleased to announce that its subsidiary Lundin Heather (now EnQuest Heather), has been offered four licences in the 26th Oil and Gas Licensing Round of the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The licenses offered to EnQuest today include:

3/1b (Split) - Obligations to; obtain and reprocess 3D (firm), drill or drop (contingent)

21/27a (Part) & 28/2 (Part) - Obligations to; obtain 3D (firm), drill or drop (contingent)

30/24 (Split) - Obligations to; obtain 3D (firm), drill or drop (contingent)

30/24 (Split) & 30/25 (Split) - Obligations to be confirmed.

All of these licences are 'Traditional' and are offered to EnQuest as Operator and with a 100% interest.

EnQuest is also a partner in licence 3/17 offered today to Apache as Operator - Obligations to; obtain and reprocess 3D (firm), drill or drop (contingent).

Amjad Bseisu, EnQuest CEO said:

"We are pleased by the offer of these licences which complement and build on the strength of our existing portfolio in the North Sea. EnQuest participated in this 26th round shortly after our IPO in April this year. Today's success in every one of our 26th round applications provides us with new opportunities for growth."

Ends

For further information please contact:

EnQuest PLC Tel: +44 (0)20 7925 4900

Amjad Bseisu (Chief Executive Officer)

Jonathan Swinney (Chief Financial Officer)

Michael Waring (Head of Communications & Investor Relations)

Finsbury Tel: +44 (0)20 7251 3801

Andrew Mitchell

Conor McClafferty

Notes to editors

EnQuest Background

EnQuest PLC (www.enquest.com) is an independent oil and gas production and development company focused on the UK Continental Shelf ("UKCS"). Its assets include the Thistle, Deveron, Heather, Broom, West Don and Don Southwest fields. Gaffney, Cline & Associates ("GCA") certified that as at 1 January 2010, EnQuest's assets had total net proved plus probably oil and NGL reserves of 80.5MMBbl. As at 1 January 2010, GCA has also net certified oil and gas best estimate (2C) contingent resources for individual assets. The aggregate of the oil 2C contingent resources on an unrisked basis is 67.5MMBbl, and of the gas contingent resources is 30.6Bcf (See Note 1 below.)

On 6 April 2010, EnQuest was formed from the demerged UK North Sea assets of Petrofac Limited and Lundin Petroleum AB. EnQuest was admitted to trading on both the London Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. On listing, EnQuest PLC went into the FTSE 250 index and OMX Nordix Index. Its assets include the Thistle, Deveron, Heather, Broom, West Don and Don Southwest fields. It has interests in 16 production licences covering 26 blocks or part blocks in the UKCS, of which 15 licenses are operated by EnQuest.

EnQuest believes that the UKCS represents a significant hydrocarbon basin in a low-risk region, which continues to benefit from an extensive installed infrastructure base and skilled labour. EnQuest believes that its assets offer material organic growth opportunities, driven by exploitation of current infrastructure on the UKCS and the development of low-risk near field opportunities, rather than exploitation of high-risk exploration opportunities.

EnQuest intends to deliver sustainable growth in shareholder value by focusing on exploiting its existing reserves, commercialising and developing discoveries, converting its significant contingent resources into reserves and pursuing selective acquisitions. EnQuest is focused on increasing production from its existing assets in its core hub areas. It believes that it has excellent operational, execution, subsurface and integration skills and it seeks to become the development partner of choice in the UKCS.

EnQuest believes that it has the technical skills, the operational scale and the financial strength to achieve its objectives and to take advantage of the production and development opportunities in the UKCS.

Note (1) GCA warns that there may be a significant risk that accumulations containing contingent resources will not achieve commercial production and that it is inappropriate to aggregate contingent resources.