Dragon Oil announces Dzheitune well on production and Rig 40 spuds its first well

Dr Abdul Jaleel Al Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"I am pleased to announce the successful completion and initial testing of the Dzheitune (Lam) L21/132 development well. Although we did not reach our intended target intervals due to some abnormally high pressures, we were still able to complete this well in our secondary intervals, with the intent to deepen this well in the future to reach the main targets."

Drilling Details:

Drilling of the Dzheitune (Lam) L21/132 well was stopped at 3,001 metres when it encountered pressures that were higher than expected. As a result, the well did not penetrate the main intended deeper intervals. The well was completed as a single completion over the secondary interval. It is envisaged that in the future the well will be deepened to penetrate the main target intervals. Initial testing of the secondary interval resulted in production rates of 916 bopd. Further testing and optimisation is scheduled to take place over the next few weeks.

Dragon Oil's own Rig 40 began drilling its first well, Dzheitune (Lam) L13/133, on 11 January 2009 on the Dzheitune (Lam) 13 platform.

The Iran Khazar rig is now undergoing planned maintenance, which is expected to be completed by the end of February 2009. At that time, the rig will relocate back to the Dzheitune (Lam) A platform to drill two additional wells.

The CIS 1 Rig completed the Dzheitune (Lam) L22/130 well in November 2008 and it is now currently being mobilised to Dzheitune (Lam) Platform 28.

A detailed update on Dragon Oil's performance will be given in its Trading Statement scheduled to be released on 20 January 2009 at 7:00am GMT.