Hague and London Oil Regulatory News (HNL)

Embargoed until 0700 12 December 2013

WESSEX EXPLORATION PLC

("Wessex" or the "Company")

(AIM: WSX)

AGM Statement

At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Wessex Exploration PLC, the hydrocarbon exploration company, which is to be held at 11 a.m. today at the offices of Ashfords LLP, Accurist House, 44 Baker Street, London W1U 7AL, Chairman, Malcolm Butler, will provide the following statement to shareholders:

Strategy

The Company's strategy over the past two years has been to focus its financial and technical resources on the appraisal on the GM-ES-1 discovery and the evaluation of nearby prospects in the Guyane Maritime Permit. The limited resources available beyond Guyane Maritime have been concentrated on evaluating and maintaining the Company's existing assets and we have not been in a position to commit material funds to new ventures.

The disappointment of the Guyane Maritime drilling programme requires the Board now to examine a range of future strategies that will enable the Company to gain the best value for the assets held and secure value for shareholders in the future. Over the coming months, the Board will therefore be considering alternative strategies, as it awaits the results of the Guyane Maritime evaluation.

Guyane 

The results of GM-ES-5, the final well in the four well programme in French Guiana disappointed and the rig was released from contract on December 5 2013. The Board is working closely with Northern Petroleum Plc, the co-owner of Northpet Investments Limited and its 2.5% interest in Guyane Maritime, to determine the remaining potential of the Permit and how best to crystallize its value.

Over the next months and in cooperation with our partners, Shell, Tullow and Total, the Board will evaluate the data recorded from the four wells just drilled and interpret the 3D seismic data recorded in late 2012.

United Kingdom

In the South of England, the Board is awaiting the processed results of the 77kms of new 2D seismic data acquired in Bournemouth Bay in October this year. In the meantime, we continue to interpret the 2013 reprocessing of earlier offshore 2D and 3D seismic data in an effort to define drillable prospects that would attract a third party company to farm in. However, the current commitment deadline on P1928 is 1 February 2014 and PEDL238 and PEDL239 each expires on 1 July 2014. The operator, Norwest, is applying to the Department of Energy & Climate Change for an extension of the commitment date on P1928. In any event, we are showing the P1928 prospects at the PROSPEX exhibition, now in session in the Islington Business Centre.

The Board continues to study the potential for shale oil and gas in the Isle of Wight area and will consider applying for new acreage in the 14th Onshore Licensing Round, which is projected to take place in 2014.

Juan de Nova

The Board is hopeful that it will shortly get some indication, through Jupiter Petroleum (Juan de Nova) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Petroleum Limited (AIM: GBP, ASX: GBP), of the status of the application to renew the Juan de Nova Est Permit. A five year renewal application was filed in August 2013 and Wessex has the right to take a 50% interest in the Permit if the application is successful.

Western Sahara (SADR)

Although there is still no sign of a settlement of the dispute between Morocco and the Sahawari Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) over the Western Sahara area, we have now gained access to seismic and well data that will enable us to better define the potential of the areas held by Wessex under Assurance Agreements. The flurry of activity in Moroccan waters just to the north of our blocks has led to renewed industry interest in the area.

New Ventures

At the request of the French authorities, Wessex has recently resubmitted a licence application originally made in 2011 for a new permit covering the bulk of the shallow water of French Guiana, inshore from our existing Guyane Maritime Permit. This is a highly sought-after area, with the results of the application process expected to be announced in May 2014.

Financing

In the meantime the Board projects that the Company's existing resources will be sufficient to carry it through to at least the end of December 2014, taking into account the actions we recently announced to reduce our exposure to costs in the deep water Guyane Maritime Permit. Cash at the end of November 2013 stood at £2.46m.