Licensing Update

17 May 2005 06:00

0700hrs 17 May 2005 Northern Petroleum Plc ("Northern" or "the Company") Final Decree of Two Italian licences Northern is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, NorthernPetroleum (UK) Limited ("NPUK"), has been advised that two Italian licences, ofwhich it is operator, have been granted by decrees following acceptance of therequired environmental impact studies. Northern holds a 69.3% beneficialinterest in these licences through its holdings in NPUK and ATI Oil Plc("ATI"), its 50% partner in Italy.The licences confirmed are Nibbia, located onshore in the western Po Basin, andthe re-designated G.R17.NP (formerly d18GR.-NP), located offshore close to theTunisian boundary, in the west of the productive Sicilian oil province.In the Nibbia licence, Northern is targeting both shallow Tertiary channel gasplays and deep oil potential, similar to others being actively explored by BGGroup Plc ("BG") and ENI SpA ("ENI") in their adjacent joint licensed areas. Itis believed that BG and ENI are proposing to drill their first well on aprospect identified as a result of a 2003 3-D seismic survey and just to thesouth of the Nibbia licence.This strategic move to license G.R17.NP and the adjacent area covers 2850 sq kmof the Apennine-Maghreb thrust belt offshore in Italian waters, believed tohold the potential for finding very large fields. To the east, this thrust beltcontains the giant Val d'Agri oil field in the southern Appenines and the morethan 1tcf Gagliano gas and condensate field in central Sicily. To the west inAlgeria is the Tellian fold belt, where it is known as the Atlas thrust belt,containing oil fields.Managing Director, Derek Musgrove, commented:"Northern is delighted to have received the final decrees of these two keylicences. More detailed work will now be undertaken, with the desired aim ofbringing a number of our Po Basin shallow gas prospects, including Nibbia, todrill readiness as quickly as possible, so as to allow us to consider a multiwell drilling programme during 2006.A seismic survey was undertaken by PGS over the same area in the adjacentTunisian waters earlier this year. Our work on reprocessing existing seismicdata will continue whilst we await further licence decrees in the offshore westof Sicily over the coming months."Further enquiries:Northern Petroleum PlcDerek MusgroveGraham HeardTel: 020 7743 6080Hansard CommunicationsChris Roberts/Ben SimonsTel: 020 7245 1100Further information on Northern Petroleum Plc is available via our website,www.northpet.comENDNORTHERN PETROLEUM PLC