Commencement of Ghanaian Drilling Programme

Ophir Energy plc

COMMENCEMENT OF GHANAIAN DRILLING PROGRAMME: STARFISH-1 WELL

London 19 June 2013: Ophir Energy plc (Ophir) announces the spud of the Starfish-1 well in the Ophir operated Offshore Accra PSC. The Starfish-1 well is Ophir's first well in Ghana and will be drilled by the Stena DrillMax drillship.

The Starfish-1 well is located in water depths of 1,500m and has a target depth of 3,850m. The well is designed as a play-opener to test a stratigraphic onlap trap. Ophir's Management estimates mean prospective resources of 292 MMBOE with a 20% chance of success for the Starfish prospect. The well is expected to require approximately 40-days to complete. Ophir operates the Offshore Accra PSC with a 20% equity position.

Nick Cooper, CEO of Ophir said 'The Starfish-1 well is a playfinder exploration well designed to test a potential eastwards extension of the transform margin play. The well kicks off an acceleration of Ophir's drilling operations into a broader gas and oil exploration programme, with four new oil plays being targeted in the next 12 months in addition to the ongoing gas exploration in Tanzania'.

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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

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 a material, strategic deep-water offshore acreage holder in West and East Africa.

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