Afghanistan Update

4 December 2012

DRAGON OIL PLC

(the "Company" or together with its subsidiaries "Dragon Oil" or the "Group")

Dragon Oil Participates in Afghanistan's 2012 Afghan-Tajik Tender

Dragon Oil plc (Ticker: DGO), an international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, today confirms that the consortium of companies comprising Dragon Oil, Kuwait Energy, Turkiye Petrolleri A.O. (TPAO) and the Ghazanfar Group, has been selected as the winning bidder for two blocks, Sanduqli and Mzar-i-Sharif, of the Afghan-Tajik Phase 1 Oil & Gas Tender and the members of the consortium have been invited to enter into negotiations with the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines for the exploration, development and production activities in the two blocks. The Ministry of Mines of Afghanistan received the consortium's bid in November 2012.

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About Dragon Oil

Dragon Oil plc is an international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, quoted on the London and Irish Stock exchanges (Ticker symbol: DGO). Its principal producing asset is in the Cheleken Contract Area, in the eastern section of the Caspian Sea, offshore Turkmenistan.

Dragon Oil (Turkmenistan) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Dragon Oil plc, holds 100% interest in and is the operator of the Production Sharing Agreement for the Cheleken Contract Area. The operational focus is on the re-development of two oil-producing fields, Dzheitune (Lam) and Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov).

www.dragonoil.com

The Ghazanfar Group

The Ghazanfar Group of Companies is a well-established local Afghan family conglomerate, based in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, where the blocks are located. They are active in a number of businesses, including supply and distribution of petroleum products, logistics, construction and banking. They have recently constructed a refinery, which will commence operations at the end of this month.

TPAO

Turkiye Petrolleri A.O. (TPAO) is the national oil and gas company of the Republic of Turkey having activities ranging from exploration, development, production, transportation, storage to gas stations. TPAO, in addition to its activities in Turkey, has assets in Azerbaijan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, and Northern Cyprus. TPAO also is a shareholder in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) and the South Caspian Pipeline (SCP) projects.

Kuwait Energy

Kuwait Energy is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company operating in the Middle East. The Company has been profitable since inception in 2005 and currently operates in Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Oman, Ukraine, Latvia and Russia. Kuwait Energy's working interest proven and probable reserves at year end 2011 were 235.3 million barrels of oil equivalent and its current production has reached approximately 17,970 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Disclaimer

This news release may contain forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition and results of operations of Dragon Oil. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. No assurances can be given as to future results, levels of activity and achievements and actual results, levels of activity and achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this report. Dragon Oil does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information.