Operator Licence

2 Aug 2005 07:00

Desire Petroleum PLC02 August 2005 Desire Petroleum plc ("Desire Petroleum" or "the Company") Acquisition of Operator Licence - Tranche F The Board of Desire Petroleum is pleased to announce that, as of 1 August 2005,the Company has acquired a 100% interest in Tranche F in the North FalklandBasin and has become the Operator of the tranche. Tranche F covers 534 km(2) andlies immediately to the south of Tranches C and D, which are already operated byDesire. Interpretation of the 2D seismic coverage of Tranche F has identified twosignificant prospects, which have been named Helen and Jayne, both of which havethe potential to contain several hundred million barrels of recoverable oil andadd substantially to Desire Petroleum's exploration portfolio. All commitmentsfor the first stage of exploration on Tranche F have been fulfilled and, as of25 November 2005, the licence enters the second exploratory period, of sevenyears, during which there is a commitment to drill a well. Enquiries: Dr Ian Duncan, CEO: 01684 892242Mr Stephen Phipps, Non-executive Director: 020 7409 2138 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange