Afren

London, 18 October, 2006 - AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Limited ("AMNI") and Afren plc ("Afren" or "the Company") announce that drilling of the Okoro-3 appraisal well on OML 112, offshore Nigeria, has commenced.

An appraisal well was spudded on 14 October 2006 by the Seadrill 7 jack-up rig on the Okoro Field in OML 112. The well is being drilled 1.5km east of the Okoro-1 discovery well, which penetrated two oil bearing sands between 4,900 and 5,500 feet. Drilling is expected to take 30 to 45 days.

Following drilling of the Okoro-3 well, the Seadrill 7 jack-up rig will be used to drill a further appraisal well in the Okoro Setu development area. The results of these wells will be used to plan the development of the Okoro Setu fields which is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2007. A drilling rig has been secured to start the development drilling in August 2007, with first oil expected in early 2008 with flow rates of between 15,000 to 20,000 bopd.

Brian O'Cathain, Chief Executive of Afren commented:

"We are delighted to have spudded our first well in Nigerian waters. This marks asignificant step towards achieving our stated target of production of 15,000 to 20,000 bopd by early 2008."

Enquiries:

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

Pelham Public Relations
James Henderson
+44 (0) 20 7743 6672
Alisdair Haythornthwaite
+44 (0) 20 7743 6676

Background Information

OML 112

In June 2006, Afren announced the signature of a Financing and Production Sharing and Technical Services Agreement with Amni International Petroleum Development Company Limited for the participation in the development of the Okoro and Setu fields, offshore Nigeria.

Under the terms of the Agreement, Afren will finance the development and appraisal programme. On production, Afren will recover these costs, from over 90 percent of the barrels produced net of operating costs and royalties. Following cost recovery Afren and Amni will share the production.

Two wells were drilled on Okoro in the 1970s. The first well discovered oil in two sands and the follow-up appraisal well confirmed the presence of both reservoir sands. The field is covered by good quality 3D seismic data which was acquired by Mobil Corporation.

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 its listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, Afren has rapidly expanded its portfolio and the management team has delivered assets in the Joint Development Zone of Nigeria Sao Tome and Principe, Nigeria, Gabon and Congo.

Afren will continue to add to its diversified portfolio of production, near term development and high impact exploration 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.