Drilling Update

25 Jul 2005 08:34

Immediate Release: Monday 25 July 2005 Northern Petroleum Plc ("Northern") Drilling Update Northern Petroleum Plc ("Northern") announces that it has been advised byBritish Drilling and Freezing Limited that it has commenced to rig-down its rigno. 28 preparatory to mobilisation of that rig to the Sandhills-2 well-site onthe Isle of Wight.The Sandhills-2 appraisal well is being drilled at a location on licence PEDL098 about 1km. to the south of the Sandhills-1 well drilled in 1982 by BritishGas which logged an oil column in the Great Oolite and from the sidewall corestaken at the time in that formation Northern recovered oil.Following the drilling of Sandhills-2 the rig will be moved to the BouldnorCopse-1 well site near Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight to drill a deeper andpotentially larger exploration prospect in the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone onlicence PEDL 089.PEDL 098 partners areNorthern Petroleum (GB) Ltd 57.5% Black Rock Resources (UK) Ltd 5.0% Magellan Petroleum (N.T) Pty Ltd 22.5% Oil Quest Resources Plc 7.5% Oil and Gas Investments Ltd 2.5% Monrtrose Industries 5.0%PEDL 089(A) partners areNorthern Petroleum (GB) Limited 70% Wessex Exploration Limited 20% Oil Quest Resources Plc 10%-Ends-For further information contact:Derek MusgroveNorthern PetroleumTel. 020 7743 6080Chris RobertsHansard CommunicationTel. 020 7245 1100ENDNORTHERN PETROLEUM PLC