Commencement of Drilling on Platanillo Field

23 June 2016

Amerisur Resources plc ("Amerisur" or the "Company")

Commencement of Drilling on Platanillo Field

Amerisur, the oil and gas producer and explorer focused on South America is pleased to announce that it has commenced drilling operations on well Platanillo 8 on Pad 5 in the Platanillo field in the Putumayo basin of Colombia. Platanillo 8 is being drilled using the Serinco D-10 rig and is the first of a minimum of two infill wells to be drilled this year and will take approximately 30 days to drill and test.

The well is planned to penetrate the N, U and T sands and if successful, production can be brought on stream swiftly into existing treatment facilities and will also be able to use the OBA pipeline which is currently under construction. As a reminder, opex and transport costs per barrel are expected to reduce from $27 to $15 using the OBA pipeline. The drilling and testing of each infill well is expected to cost approximately $4m. 

John Wardle, CEO of Amerisur said:

"I am delighted we have been able to mobilise the rig to drill this well so quickly and that the additional funds raised in March are already being deployed through the drill bit. Platanillo 8 is the first well to be drilled on the field for over a year. I look forward to updating shareholders as to progress in the weeks ahead."

In accordance with the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies - June 2009, the technical information in this announcement has been reviewed by John Wardle Ph.D., the Company's Chief Executive. John Wardle has 31 years' experience in the industry, having worked for BP, Britoil, Emerald Energy and Pebercan, and is a trained drilling engineer.

ENDS

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Notes to editors

Amerisur Resources is an independent full-cycle oil and gas company focused on South America, with assets in Colombia and Paraguay and production from the Platanillo field in southern Colombia. Amerisur's strategy is to acquire, explore and develop large acreage positions in major under explored basins located in South America. The Company's distinctive approach has been to own 100% of its assets at early stages in order to have full control over the fields' development. That requirement is now being relaxed as a sound production baseline has been established and in response to the widening opportunity set to which the Company has access.

In Colombia, the Company is operator and has a 100% working interest in the Platanillo block which includes the Platanillo field, which produced an average of 4,437 BOPD during 2015. The 11,341 hectare block is located in the Putumayo Basin. The Company has a 60% working interest and operatorship in block Put-12, a 55,000 hectare block which is adjacent to Platanillo and shares its geology and a 50% working interest in Put-30 a 38,514 hectare block, approximately 55 kilometres to the north of the Company's 100% owned Platanillo field. In addition, the Company has a 30% working interest in the CPO-5 contract, located in the Llanos basin and a 49.5% working interest in the Tacacho contract, located in the Caguan-Putumayo basin. The Company has recently acquired 50% working interest in the PUT-8 Block adjacent to the west of Platanillo, a 100% working interest and operatorship in the Coati Evaluation Area (Temblon Field) within the Coati Block (Amerisur 60% and operator) located in the South West of the Putumayo basin and a 100% working interest and operatorship in the Andaquies Block located in the north east of the Putumayo basin.

In Paraguay, Amerisur is the largest acreage holder in the country, with approximately 4.8 million hectares covering four 100% owned oil and gas permits in the Paraguayan part of the Chaco and Parana Basins.

John Wardle is CEO of Amerisur, having worked in Colombia since 1994, first for BP Exploration and subsequently for Emerald Energy. The Company is chaired by Giles Clarke and is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange.

www.amerisurresources.com