Circle Oil Plc : - Operating Update

11 January 2012

Circle Oil Plc

("Circle" or the "Company")

Successful Completion of Moroccan Seismic Surveys

Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP), the international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, is today pleased to announce the successful completion of the  2D and 3D seismic acquisition programme in  the Lalla Mimouna and Sebou permits in the Rharb Basin, Morocco.

A total of 154 square kilometres of 3D seismic data with a 12.5 metre bin size were acquired. In addition, 22 line kilometres of 2D seismic data were acquired in the Sebou block. The data was acquired by Prospectuini SA.

Acquisition parameters and shooting techniques were similar to those which were employed very effectively in the previous 2D/3D survey, completed in the Sebou permit in 2007/2008, which generated the targetsfor the highly successful drilling programs undertaken in 2008/09 and 2010/11, during which 10 successful wells were drilled.

Processing of the acquired data has now commenced and preliminary results indicate the presence of both expected and a number of additional potential targets for drilling, subject to further interpretation, in the forthcoming drilling campaigns in the Rharb permits. The interpretation of the data is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2012.

Circle, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Circle Oil Maroc Ltd. holds a 75% interest in the Sebou and Lalla Mimouna Permit Concessions with the remaining 25% held by Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM).

Prof C D Green, CEO, said:

'The successful completion of the Lalla Mimouna and Sebou seismic survey acquisition, together with the recent completion of the construction of new infrastructure maintains our momentum in the Rharb Basin. We will make further announcements on the prospects once the data has been fully processed and interpreted.'

For further information contact: 

Circle Oil Plc ([phone])

Professor Chris Green, CEO

Evolution Securities ([phone])

Chris Sim

Neil Elliot

Fox-Davies Capital ([phone])

Daniel Fox-Davies

Richard Hail

Citigate Dewe Rogerson ([phone])

Martin Jackson

Kate Lehane

Murray Consultants ([phone])

Joe Murray

Joe Heron

Notes to Editors

Circle Oil Plc (AIM: COP) is an international oil & gas exploration, development and production Company with an expanding portfolio of assets in Morocco, Tunisia, Oman and Egypt with a combination of low-risk near-term production and significant exploration upside potential.The Company listed on AIM in October 2004.

Internationally, the Company has continued to expand its portfolio over the past two years and now has assets in the Rharb Basin, Morocco; the Ras Marmour Permit in southern Tunisia; the Mahdia Permit offshore Tunisia; the Grombalia Permit in northern Tunisia and the Zeit Bay area of Egypt. Circle also has the largest licence holding of any company in Oman. In addition to its prospective Block 52 offshore, Circle also has an ongoing exploration programme in Block 49 onshore.

Circle's strategy is to locate and secure additional licences in prospective hydrocarbon provinces and through targeted investment programmes, monetise the value in those assets for the benefit of shareholders. This could be achieved through farm-outs to selected partners who would then invest in and continue the development of the asset into production, or Circle may itself opt to use its own expertise to appraise reserves and bring assets into production, generating sustained cash flow for further investment.