Approval of New Work Stage at Mauku

For Immediate Release 15 October 2014

Kea Petroleum plc

("Kea" or the "Company")

Approval of New Committed Stage of Work Programme

and Part Relinquishment of Area

Kea Petroleum plc (AIM: KEA), the oil and gas company focused on New Zealand, is pleased to announce that on 10 October 2014, New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals (NZP&M), the government oil and gas regulatory agency, approved a new committed stage of the work programme in respect of Petroleum Exploration Permit 381204. The permit is located part on shore and part off shore in north Taranaki.

Kea drilled Mauku-1 on PEP381204 during Q2 2013. Mauku-1 intersected good quality Mangahewa "C" sands (161m net thickness) in a sub-thrust target. The sands were water wet.

Remapping of the seismic data, and 123 km of new pre-stack depth migration post Mauku-1, shows the well was drilled significantly down dip of a 20 km2 structural closure at Mangahewa level, and shows a larger closure at mid-Cretaceous Taniwha formation level.

The new work programme comprising 15 km of 2D land based seismic reflection data will extend the data coverage over the 20 km2 structural closure at Mangahewa level. This will help to define a better well location. Kea is in discussion with potential industry partners to farm-out the Mauku prospect.

PEP51153

On 13 October 2014 NZP&M accepted Kea's notice of surrender of Area A of Petroleum Exploration Permit 51153. Kea, with JV partner MEO New Zealand Pty Limited, determined that prospectivity in the 19.787 km2 area was insufficient to justify further exploration expenditure. The larger Area B (84.673 km2) around the Puka production site has been retained.

Ian Gowrie-Smith, Chairman of Kea, commented: "We are pleased to have come to an agreement with NZP&M that eliminates the need to commit to and finance the drilling of Mauku-2 during the coming 12 months and replaces it with a relatively inexpensive seismic programme. Since the drilling of Mauku, Kea and Methanex have carried out a substantial PSDM programme and remapped a very exciting structure to the North East of Mauku-1. The seismic programme should help clarify this prospect further and give the Company additional time and ammunition to find a farm-in partner. Kea always envisaged that Mauku-1 would need to be drilled to enable the structure to be accurately defined." 

This release has been approved by non-executive director Peter Mikkelsen FGS, AAPG, who has consented to the inclusion of the technical information in this release in the form and context in which it appears.

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Notes to Editors

Kea Petroleum is an AIM listed oil and gas exploration company with interests in three petroleum exploration permits in the Taranaki Basin of New Zealand. Kea listed on the London AIM market in February 2010.