Jolly Ranch Q1 2011 Production & Operations Update

NIGHTHAWK ENERGY PLC

("Nighthawk" or "the Company")

Jolly Ranch Q1 2011 Production and Operations Update

Nighthawk, the US focused oil development and production company (AIM: HAWK and OTCQX: NHEGY) gives its second quarterly production update covering the quarter ended 31 March 2011 and provides an update on the ongoing recompletion and completion activity.

Highlights

·; Number of wells now on test production following the completions/recompletions undertaken since January increased by 5 to 12

·; Production anticipated to be higher in Q2 2011

·; Focus remains on finishing the current series of completions and recompletions in line with the previously announced programme

Update on Production

In the Q4 2010 production update we stated that Q1 production was expected to be broadly in line with the Q4 figures. However, Q1 2011 production totalled 2,062 barrels of oil net to Nighthawk, a reduction on Q4 due to well decline and worse than average winter weather which curtailed production operations.

The production figures below are presented net of applicable Colorado State Taxes and Royalty payments to the landowners. The figures for the quarter ended 31 December 2010 are presented for comparison.

These figures should not be used to calculate a bopd figure as the wells, which are predominantly on test, are intermittently taken offline for routine maintenance, modifications to pumping equipment, weather related conditions, workovers, recompletions or completion in new zones. As the number of wells increases, the effect of individual wells being taken offline will have less effect on the overall production figures.

As reported on 8 March, the Craig 16-32 was on pump and, after maintenance, had come back on at a rate of around 85 bopd. The production from this well continues to vary considerably on a day-to-day basis and is currently averaging approximately 30 bopd, with up to 60 bopd on certain days.

Production in Q2 is currently anticipated to be higher as a number of wells come on stream following the completion and recompletion exercises.

Drilling Programme

As announced on 8 March, it was expected that the drilling of four development wells in the core area around the Craig Ranch field, all focusing on the Pennsylvanian Atoka and Cherokee shales, and up to a further three wells in the Middle Mist area, to test the 'J' sands and the Cretaceous-aged Niobrara shale formation, were to be drilled in Q2. Due to tight rig availability, in particular extension options being taken up by other operators in the area, the commencement of this programme has been delayed.

The Company will update the market when the programme is expected to commence. In the interim, the programme of recompletion and completion will continue.

Update on Completion Operations

The previously announced completion and recompletion work continues with the ongoing initial six well programme. This programme has now been expanded and a number of other wells are now connected to the water disposal wells and further well sites are being electrified, enabling more efficient pumping and water disposal.

Jolly Ranch 2-1

The 2-1 has been added to the current programme and has been completed in the Cherokee A. Early swab testing of this zone resulted in 50% oil cut from 40 barrels of fluid recovered in a 12-hour interval. The well has been placed on pump to increase the fluid recovery rates.

Jolly Ranch 16-1

Electric and water disposal lines have been commissioned at the 16-1, which has been recompleted and production is being comingled from Cherokee and Atoka formations.

Craig 8-1

As announced on 8 March, the well had been placed on pump and was producing in a range between 10-30 bopd gross. The well experienced mechanical problems in early April but has subsequently been placed back on pump and is currently producing 15-35 bopd.

Williams 10-27

The Williams 10-27 was recently completed in the Atoka. The well has been placed on pump and is currently seeing an increased oil cut around 5% as the well continues to flow back fraccing fluid. The overall fluid level produced is decreasing, but the oil cut is expected to improve.

Further activities intended to enhance production from the following wells are now planned and being undertaken.

Jolly Ranch Well Status

The current status of the wells on Jolly Ranch is as follows

Tim Heeley B.Eng (Hons) a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Fellow of the Geological Society of London and a Chartered Energy Engineer, who is CEO of Nighthawk and has over 15 years of experience in the hydrocarbons industry, has approved the technical information contained in this announcement.

Enquiries:

Notes to editors

Nighthawk is a focused oil and gas production and development business with assets onshore USA.

The Company holds a 50% working interest in a shale oil project in Colorado called the Jolly Ranch Group project ("Jolly Ranch"). Running Foxes Petroleum Inc. ("Running Foxes"), holds the remaining working interest and is the operator of the project; comprising the Jolly Ranch, Middle Mist and Mustang Creek areas, covering approximately 410,000 gross acres of Lincoln, Elbert and Washington Counties, Colorado.

Jolly Ranch lies within the southeast flank of the Denver-Julesburg Basin, a major mid-continent hydrocarbon producing basin. The source of the produced hydrocarbons is the black organic shales that are interbedded with siliclastic and carbonate rocks. The shales at Jolly Ranch are within the oil generation window and there is reasonable certainty of reservoir and source rock continuity throughout the project area.

To date, 19 wells of 7,500-8,000 feet have been drilled on a core 50,000 acre area by Nighthawk and Running Foxes, all of which have encountered multiple pay horizons.

The current work programme involves various testing and fraccing procedures on numerous shale target formations to determine the optimum production plan and also gain a greater understanding of this non-conventional play. In addition to testing, Nighthawk's main efforts have been focused on proving up the extent of the asset to help establish the wider project value.

In January 2011 Schlumberger Data & Consulting Services ("Schlumberger"), completed an independent reservoir simualtion model of the core Craig Ranch area. The model consisted of detailed areas of the Craig Ranch project area, totalling approximately 3,200 gross surface acres, and assessed the likely long-term production behaviour of the Marmaton, Cherokee and Atoka horizons. The simulation concluded that there were approximately 30,000 barrels of oil in place per acre in the Cherokee and Atoka shale horizons and the average model area recovery rate was 7.5% on 40-acre spacings with vertical wells. Schlumberger has previously stated that the regional continuity of the formations is such that the resources in place are likely to be laterally continuous across the total acreage.

Gaffney Cline and Associates reported on reserves in April 2011 and whislt stating that there was not enough of a production track record to fully develop a type curve which could be applied with good statistical confidence across the wider project area, the 2P reserves associated with the wells that have each cumulatively produced 20,000 bbls or more, for the best well to date on a Estimated Ultimate Recovery basis is 64,000 bbls gross on a 40 acre drainage basis.