Board appointments

Ophir Energy plc

Board appointments

London, 19th February 2013: Ophir Energy Plc today announces two changes to its Board effective immediately:

Bill Schrader has been appointed as Non-Executive Director to the Board. Mr Schrader has over 25 years' experience at BP, including as country head of Indonesia and Angola. Mr Schrader was also President of BP's joint venture in Azerbaijan for five years and Chief Operating Officer of TNK-BP in Russia. Mr Schrader holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from the University of Houston.

Dennis McShane will become Director of Corporate Strategy, an Executive Director role. Mr McShane has previously served as a Non-Executive Director of Ophir since October 2007 and has 25 years' experience in the resources sector having been an investment banker with JPMorgan Chase, including many years working across Africa. He is a founding principal of Midas Resource Partners and, prior to joining Ophir, was the Executive Director of Finance and Business Strategy at the Ferrexpo Group. Mr McShane attended Harvard Business School and New York State University.

Following these appointments, Ron Blakely who is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director will become Senior Independent Non-Executive Director. Nicholas Smith will assume Mr McShane's role as Chairman of the Nominations Committee. After these appointments, the Company's board will comprise eight Directors: the Chairman, three Executive Directors and four independent Non-Executive Directors. Mr Lyn Powell will also be appointed to the Nominations Committee.

Nicholas Smith, Chairman of Ophir Energy said:

"We are very pleased to welcome Bill Schrader to Ophir's Board. His oil and gas operational experience in complex emerging markets will be invaluable to us. We are also delighted that Dennis McShane has agreed to move into an Executive role. Dennis has been involved with the company's growth for over five years and brings his natural resources and strategic expertise to the team".

The Company confirms there is no information to disclose pursuant to paragraph 9.6.13R of the FSA's Listing Rules.

Ends

For Further Enquiries please contact:

Ophir Energy plc +44 (0)20 7290 5800

Nick Cooper, CEO

Stephanie Prior, Senior Commercial Manager

Brunswick Group +44 (0)20 7404 5959

Patrick Handley

Elizabeth Adams

Notes to Editors

Ophir Energy (OPHR.LN) is an African focussed, upstream oil and gas resource company which is a member of the FTSE 250. The Group's headquarters are located in London (England), with operational offices in Perth (Australia), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), Dar es Salaam and Mtwara (Tanzania), Port Gentil (Gabon) and Nairobi (Kenya).

Ophir is the 5th largest deepwater acreage holder in Africa, present in four key emerging sub-Saharan exploration themes, and the largest net acreage holder in offshore East Africa.

For further information on Ophir, please refer to www.ophir-energy.com