Afren

AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Limited ("AMNI") and Afren plc ("Afren" or "the Company") announce the successful completion of appraisal drilling on the Okoro field offshore Nigeria

Amni and Afren are pleased to announce the successful completion of appraisal drilling on the Okoro field in Nigeria.

Okoro-3 was the first well to be drilled by Afren/Amni on OML 112 in the shallow water Niger Delta. The well was drilled as a vertical well and reached total depth of 6,500ft in the Miocene Agbada Formation. The well confirmed the eastern extension of the field and also the hydrocarbon contacts seen in both sand formations in the initial discovery. A full suite of modern log and pressure data was acquired and the well was successfully tested.

Following completion of testing operations, a second appraisal well was drilled on the Okoro Field. The well was drilled as a deviated sidetrack from the Okoro-3 wellbore and was designed to further evaluate both reservoirs and provide greater control for planning future horizontal production wells. The Okoro-3 side track was drilled at a maximum inclination of 55 degrees to the west of Okoro-3 and reached a total depth of 6,870ft. A full suite of pressure and log data was acquired and, as planned, the well was not tested. A total of 70ft (True Vertical Depth) of net oil pay was encountered, which was greater than expected at this location. Evaluation of the well results are on-going and preparation and submission of a Field Development Plan for the Okoro and Setu Field development to the Government of Nigeria is scheduled for January 2007.

The two well drilling programme - Afren's first as technical operator - was an excellent operational success and was completed on budget and on schedule.

A nine month development drilling programme on both the Okoro and Setu Fields is scheduled to commence in Q3 2007 using the Global Santa Fe Adriatic VI drilling unit and the Company remains on schedule to achieve first oil in early 2008.

Brian O'Cathain, Chief Executive of Afren commented:
"We are delighted to have successfully completed Afren's first operated appraisal drilling programme on the Okoro Field on budget and on schedule.

This additional penetration of the Okoro field will assist us in planning the horizontal wells which will be required to develop the field. As a result of the two well appraisal drilling programme, Afren has enhanced the proved and probable reserves cases on the Okoro-Setu development.

The Field Development Plan is on schedule to be submitted to the Government of Nigeria in January to commence a fast-track development programme in Q3 2007. Afren and our co-venturers AMNI remain on track for production of 15-20,000 bopd by early 2008"

For further information, please contact:

Afren plc

Brian O'Cathain
boc@afren.com
+44 (0) 20 7182 1800

Osman Shahenshah
os@afren.com
+44 (0) 20 7182 1800

Pelham Public Relations

James Henderson
james.henderson@pelhampr.com
+44 (0) 20 7743 6673

Alisdair Haythornthwaite
alisdair.haythornthwaite@pelhampr.com
+44 (0) 20 7743 6676

Background Information

Afren (www.afren.com) was founded in December 2004 by a management team including Dr Rilwanu Lukman with the vision to become the leading pan African independent Exploration and Production company. Since the Initial Public Offering in March 2005, Afren has rapidly expanded its African portfolio across four countries; Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Gabon and Congo. The Group is expecting to produce 15 to 20,000 barrels per day by 2008 from its current portfolio.

Afren will continue to add to its diversified portfolio of near term developments and high impact exploration licences with the overall objective of creating substantial shareholder value.

Note

In accordance with the AIM Rules, the drilling update information in this report has been reviewed and signed off by Dr Nick Johnson, who is Head of Exploration and Production at Afren Plc and has over 25 years relevant experience within the sector. He consents to the information in the form and context in which it appears. The Company estimates its reserves in accordance with the guidelines and definitions of the Society of Petroleum Engineers/World Petroleum Congress ("SPE/WPC") reserves classification (March 1997) using accepted engineering principles.