PPC.L Regulatory News (PPC)

Wednesday 31 March 2010 

PRESIDENT PETROLEUM COMPANY PLC

("President Petroleum" or "the Company")

Drilling Update

East White Lake A-52 well exceeds expectations

President Petroleum (AIM : PPC), the oil and gas exploration and production company with producing assets in the USA and exploration licences in Australia, announces an update on its drilling programme at the East White Lake field in Louisiana, USA, in which President Petroleum acquired a working interest in January 2010.

Highlights

·; Estimated reserves from A-52 well increased by 80%

·; A-52 completed and producing at an initial rate of 100 bbls of oil per day

·; A-41 well shows 25 feet of hydrocarbon pay in the F-4 sand

·; Db-3 sand in A-41 tighter than anticipated

·; A-29 work-over still underway

A-52 Well (President Petroleum Net Revenue Interest (NRI) 21.875%)

The A-52 well was completed on schedule and within budget. As expected, two productive sands were encountered, with the pay-zone in the shallower R sands being substantially thicker than forecast.

Net oil and gas reserves to President Petroleum from the A-52 well are now anticipated to be around 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) compared to an original forecast of 55,000 boe. This increases total net proved reserves at East White Lake by 9%.

Initial production is from the lower sands with current rates of 100 bbls of oil per day and 70-100 mcfd of natural gas (gross). The more prolific R sands are likely to be brought on-stream next year with forecast gross flow rates of 250 bbls/day of oil and 200-250 mcfd of gas.

A-41 Well (President Petroleum NRI 21.875%)

The A-41 sidetrack well is a deeper well than A-52 with multiple target sands and work on finalising and completing the well is still underway.

Whilst the deeper Db-3 target sand was tighter than expected and unlikely to be productive, the well encountered 25 feet of hydrocarbon pay in the shallower F-4 sand. This is being further assessed prior to being brought into production.

Stephen Gutteridge, Chairman of President Petroleum, said:

"We are delighted with the results of the A-52 well, our first well at East White Lake since the acquisition in January. We have increased our proved developed reserves by more than expected, which will not only boost 2010 production but also provide substantial additional cash-flow in 2011. Both our Louisiana fields offer good opportunities to drive growth in our proven reserves and our short-term production, and we will continue to invest in the drilling and work-over of further wells in these fields."

For further information contact:

Ed Childers, the Company's Chief Operating Officer, and Dr Michael Cochran, the Company's Exploration Director, who meet the criteria of qualified persons under the AIM guidance note for mining and oil and gas companies, have reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.

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