Award of a contract for jack-up rigs

3 October 2013

DRAGON OIL PLC

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

Award of a contract for additional jack-up drilling capacity

Dragon Oil plc (Ticker: DGO), an international independent oil and gas exploration, development and production company, today announces that it has awarded a contract to BKE Shelf Ltd for the lease and management of two LeTourneau S116E jack-up rigs, Neptune and Mercury, in the Cheleken Contract Area, Turkmenistan.

The contract is for a total period of three years. The Neptune drilling rig is expected to be available in early 4Q 2013 and will be used for nine months following which the Mercury drilling rig is anticipated to be available in 4Q 2014 and will be used for the remainder of the three-year term.

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

"I am delighted to announce the award of the contract for the Neptune and Mercury rigs, allowing Dragon Oil to secure jack-up drilling capacity for a period of three years. These rigs will be a good addition to our drilling fleet and will complement our drilling capacity in 2014 and beyond."

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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 and gas producing fields, Dzheitune (Lam) and Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov).

The Group has exploration blocks in Tunisia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Dragon Oil's diversification strategy is to add exploration and production assets within Africa, parts of Asia and the Middle East in order to create a diversified and balanced portfolio of assets for the Group.

www.dragonoil.com

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.