Commencement of drilling

21 March 2011

Jubilant Energy N.V.

("Jubilant" or the "Company")

First Exploratory well spud in block AA-ONN-2003/1 (Golaghat Block)

Jubilant is pleased to announce that the exploration well Prospect-16 (P-16-1), located approximately 46km south from Golaghat town in the AA-ONN-2003/1 block of Assam, was spudded on March 20, 2011 by the Quippo rig #4 .

This is the first exploration well to be drilled by Jubilant in this 81 km2 block. The vertical well will be drilled to a total depth of 1,660 meters into the basement with the objective of discovering oil bearing sands in the Kopili, Sylhet, Tura and lower Gondwana reservoirs. The well is expected to take approximately 25 days to drill.

This well is part of the minimum work program commitment by the consortium. The joint venture is committed to drill 6 additional wells as part of the Phase-1 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) commitment. The execution of the remaining work program will be finalised on obtaining forestry land approval for its remaining locations.

Previously, three wells were drilled by Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) on this block; one of which had shows of oil and gas from multiple reservoirs. The prospect is a fault bounded closure of about 2 km2 and is located approximately 12km north-west from the recent ONGC discovery, Kasomarigaon-2, that tested at 604 bopd and around 400 Mscfd from the Bokabil formation.

The Best Estimate of gross prospective resource, as certified by Gaffney, Cline & Associates (Consultants) Pte. Ltd, in the CPR dated 22nd November 2010, is 6.6 mmbls with a geological chance of success estimated by the consortium of 14%.

Jubilant through its subsidiary, Jubilant Oil and Gas Pvt Limited, holds a 10% participating interest in this block and is the Operator. Jubilant Securities Private Limited (JSPL), a company in the wider Jubilant Bhartia Group, also holds 35% participating interest in this block. Jubilant, through its subsidiary, Jubilant Energy (Nelp-V) Pvt Limited, has entered into a business transfer agreement dated 1 April 2007 with JSPL for acquiring its entire stake in the block. This transfer is subject to, inter alia, the parties obtaining consents from various third parties, including the management committee under the relevant Production Sharing Contract and the Government of India.

The other partners in the acreage are Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Limited with 20% and GAIL India Limited with 35% Participating Interest.

A copy of this announcement, including a map of the area and the well location, shall shortly be made available on the Company's website, www.jubilantenergy.com.

For further information please contact: 

Qualified Person:

Max Birley, BSc in Geological Geophysics, the Company's Chief Operating Officer, has 29 years' experience in the international exploration and production industry. He has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement pursuant to the AIM guidance note for mining and oil and gas companies.

About Jubilant

Jubilant Energy N.V. is a holding company for a group of companies engaged in the upstream oil and gas exploration and production sector with a portfolio of interests in exploration, development and production assets. The group holds interests in nine blocks in India, one of which is a producing field, one of which is under appraisal and development and the rest of the blocks are in various stages of appraisal and exploration. The group has sole operator responsibilities in six of these blocks.

Jubilant's principal strategy is to create sustainable shareholder value by building and exploiting its diverse portfolio of exploration, development and producing oil and gas assets focusing primarily on India. In particular, Jubilant will seek to monetise the value of its reserves and convert its resources to reserves through focused and economical appraisal and development. The Company intends to seek to maintain a balanced portfolio of production, development and exploration assets, with diversity across fields and basins, hydrocarbon-type, as well as a diverse set of risk/reward profiles.

The Company listed on AIM on 24th November 2010 and is part of the Jubilant Bhartia Group, a prominent diversified Indian business group founded by Shyam Bhartia and Hari Bhartia with a presence in over 65 countries and revenues of around US$1 billion for FY 2010