MTA.L Regulatory News (MTA)

10 May 2007 07:01

Matra Petroleum PLC10 May 2007 PRESS RELEASE For immediate release: 10 May 2007 Matra Petroleum plc ("Matra" or the "Company") Matra Subsidiary Signs Drilling Rig Contract Matra's wholly owned subsidiary "OOO" Arkhangelovskoe has signed a contract withlocally based drilling contractor "OOO" OBK (Orenburg Drilling Company) for itsrig 3D to drill the Sokolovskaya prospect on its exploration license. Site construction and preparation works are due to begin shortly and the well isscheduled to spud in late July. The well is estimated to cost approximatelyUS$4.5 million and will be drilled to a depth of 3900 meters. Although fulldrilling, evaluation and testing of the well may take up to 120 days the firstprospective zones should be encountered within 60 days of spud. As this is the first well to be drilled on the license, extensive coring,testing and logging is planned, requiring a longer schedule than is expected forsubsequent wells. OBK is an experienced drilling contractor and currently operates 23 rigs and hasworked for both Russian and international Operators. Peter Hind, Matra's Managing Director said: "We have made excellent progress inthe preparations to drill our first well in Russia and are pleased to be workingwith OBK who are a very experienced drilling contractor and have drilled wellsnearby. We have now established an operating office in Orenburg where our staffhas been working hard to prepare for the well. For further information, please contact: Matra Petroleum www.matrapetroleum.comPeter Hind, Managing Director +44 (0) 7990 807 855 Aquila Financial Limited www.aquila-financial.comPeter Reilly +44 (0) 20 7202 2601Yvonne Fraser +44 (0) 20 7202 2609 Matra's nominated Advisor is RFC Corporate Finance Ltd -Contact: Steve Allen +61894802500 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange