Afren

London, 23 November 2006 - AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Limited ("AMNI") and Afren plc ("Afren" or "the Company") announce the successful results of the Okoro-3 well offshore Nigeria.

Amni and Afren are pleased to announce the successful completion of operations on the Okoro-3 well in Nigeria.

Okoro-3 is the first well to be drilled by Afren/Amni on OML 112 in the shallow water Niger Delta. Okoro-3 is a vertical appraisal well on the Okoro Field which was discovered by the Okoro-1 well in 1973. Okoro-1 found oil in two separate Agbada Formation sands between 4,900 and 5,550 feet. The Okoro-3 well was designed to evaluate the eastern extent of the field and acquire the full data suite, in particular fluid samples, which are essential for development planning.

The well commenced on 14th October and was drilled to 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 30ft interval in the Upper sand was tested and oil samples were taken that have confirmed the well productivity potential and other key reservoir properties.

Flowing tubing head pressures and other Petroleum Engineering data recorded during the test, indicate that estimated production capacity for a completed production well would be in excess of 4,000 barrels of oil per day.

Following completion of testing operations, a second appraisal well will be drilled on the Okoro Field. The well will be drilled as a deviated sidetrack from the Okoro-3 wellbore and is designed to further evaluate both reservoirs and provide greater control for planning future horizontal production wells. The sidetrack programme is expected to take approximately 15 days.

The pre-drill range of reserves for the Okoro-Setu development project were 20 mmbbls Proven (P1) and 35 mmbbls Probable (P2) reserves. Initial post well analysis of Okoro-3 results indicates that the revised range of reserves for the Okoro-Setu project is now 35 mmbbls Proven (P1), an increase of 75%, and 40 mmbbls Probable (P2).

Development drilling on both the Okoro and Setu Fields is scheduled to commence in Q3 2007 with the Global Santa Fe Adriatic VI drilling unit and field development planning is currently on schedule for first oil in early 2008.

Conference Call

Afren will be holding a conference call regarding today's announcement and to provide an operational and corporate update at 14.30 today. To access the conference call:

Europe please dial + 44 208 515 2309
US please dial + 1 866 384 2826

The conference call will be available on replay for one week, by calling + 44 207 190 5901 (pass code 134554 #).

Brian O'Cathain, Chief Executive of Afren commented:

"We are very pleased with the results of this appraisal well on the Okoro Field, which significantly enhances the proved reserves case on the Okoro-Setu development. The successful delineation of Okoro within only six months of Afren reaching agreement with Amni to enter this project demonstrates Afren's technical capability to deliver a challenging programme in a compressed time frame. We look forward to working with Amni to deliver production from the Okoro-Setu development in early 2008.

I am delighted with our recent progress, entry into Congo and Angola and together with the successful appraisal results, we remain on track for 15-20,000 bpd by early 2008."

Enquiries:

Afren plc
+44 (0) 20 7182 1800
Brian O'Cathain   
Osman Shahenshah  

Pelham Public Relations
+44 (0) 20 7743 6673
James Henderson
Alisdair Haythornthwaite

Background information

Okoro-3 well test on Seadrill-7, OML 112, offshore Nigeria

Afren

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 five countries; Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Congo and Angola. 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.