Ruspetro Regulatory News (RPO)

Ruspetro plc ("Ruspetro" or the "Company")

Mineral Extraction Tax ("MET") Relief for Tight Oil Becomes Law; Significant Positive Impact on Ruspetro's EBITDA; Production Update

London, 26 July 2013: Ruspetro plc (LSE: RPO) announces that a substantial reduction in the Russian Mineral Extraction Tax applicable to tight oil has been passed into law this week and will be applied to production from the Company's qualifying reserves from 1 September 2013.

80% MET relief:

Due to the characteristics of our reservoirs, the Company estimates that 80% MET relief is applicable for production from approximately 74% of the Company's Jurassic reserves. The 80% MET relief is estimated to be applicable to approximately 97% of the Company's current crude oil production.

The 80% reduction in the MET rate will increase well head revenue per barrel for Ruspetro's crude oil production from approximately US$22.40 to approximately US$39.10 at a gross price of US$100 per barrel. The increased well head revenue flows straight through to EBITDA and therefore has a much larger effect at this level.

To illustrate the benefit of this relief to the Company, this year's first quarter EBITDA per barrel of production was US$3.61; if an 80% reduction in MET for crude oil had been applicable during this period the EBITDA per barrel of production would have been US$17.15, an almost 400% increase.

The law states that the relief will remain in place for 15 years.

Production Update:

For this first half of 2013 production has averaged 5,455 bopd (81% crude oil, 19% condensate), a 38% increase on H1 2012 production of 3,956 bopd.

Production for the second quarter of 2013 has averaged 5,002 bopd (85% crude oil, 15% condensate).

Tom Reed, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"This is a very positive development for the Company which puts the business on a much more cash generative footing and creates a significant value opportunity for shareholders. The Company continues to make progress with its strategic review and will provide further updates in due course."

ENDS

Enquiries

Investors / analyst enquiries

Dominic Manley, Ruspetro

+44 207 318 1265 / +44 7540 460 872

Twitter: @ruspetroplc

Media

Ben Brewerton, Natalia Erikssen - FTI Consulting

+44 207 831 3113

About Mineral Extraction Tax ("MET"):

Mineral Extraction Taxes are applied to all hydrocarbon production in the Russian Federation. It is a production volume based tax and is paid monthly.

For crude oil, MET is calculated by multiplying the extracted quantity of dewatered, desalted and stabilized oil by the base rate per ton of crude oil produced and by the adjustment ratio that reflects changes in the RUB/US$ exchange rate according to the following formula:

RUB 470 X (P-15) X K/261

where:

• RUB 470 is the base rate that has been increased from RUB 446 per ton of crude oil as of January 1, 2013;

• P is the average price for Urals crude on international oil markets (Mediterranean and Rotterdam

oil markets) in US$ per barrel during the prior month;

• K is the average Ruble per U.S. dollar exchange rate established by the Central Bank of Russia

during the prior month;

The formula for calculation of the MET rate provides for a cut-off price of Urals blend crude oil at or below which the tax rate amounts to zero. Since January 1, 2009, the cut-off price has been US$15.00 per barrel.

For example:

About Ruspetro:

Ruspetro plc is an independent oil & gas development and production company, listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange (LSE: RPO). The Company's operations are located on three contiguous licence blocks in the middle of the Krasnoleninsk Arch in Western Siberia. Ruspetro assets include proved and probable (2P) reserves of over 1.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent.