Mauku Drilling and Puka Testing Update

Kea Petroleum plc

("Kea" or the "Group")

Recommencement of Mauku Drilling and Puka Testing Update

Kea Petroleum plc (AIM: KEA), the oil and gas company focused on New Zealand, is pleased to announce drilling at Mauku and the completion of drilling prior to testing at Puka.

Mauku Drilling

The Icelandic Drilling Odinn rig has commenced drilling operations at Mauku. Mauku 1 was spudded in January 2013 using Drillforce rig 6 to drill surface hole to a depth of 507m prior to running 13 3/8" surface casing and suspending the well. Odinn has been moved onto the site and rigged up over the past three weeks and has re-entered the well in preparation to drilling ahead.

Mauku is being drilled to a planned total depth of 3,400m and drilling is expected to be completed in April. Half of the cost of the well is being funded by Methanex as part of the Alliance Agreement between Kea and Methanex.

Kea has been involved in extensive farm-out discussions with numerous parties. Although two of these parties have elected not to farm-in, talks are still continuing with multiple parties who have expressed an interest in participating in the well. However given the advanced status of the well, it will be difficult to conclude the negotiations within the project time constraints.

Puka 2 Testing

Drilling operations have concluded at Puka with the completion string installed and the well perforated in preparation for testing. Now that the drilling rig has been demobilised from the Puka location preparatory earthworks and the assembly of surface test equipment, tanks and oil transfer equipment can commence.

Testing of Puka 2 is expected to begin in mid-March and will run for between 30 and 45 days.

Ian Gowrie-Smith, Chairman of Kea Petroleum, commented:"It is with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that we look forward to the drilling of Mauku. In the event of success, the impact of owning 100% of Mauku would be transformational for Kea given that the Board estimates the upside potential prospective resource (P10) to be 1,031 billion cubic feet of gas and 61 million barrels of condensate (oil).

 "Using the cash flow we expect from the Puka field, the Company will continue to develop some of the large prospective deposits in our extensive acreage within the Alliance Partnership with Methanex."

This release has been approved by non-executive director Peter Mikkelsen FGS, AAPG, who has consented to the inclusion of the technical information in this release in the form and context in which it appears.

P10 indicates at least a 10% probability that the quantities recovered will equal or exceed the estimate. This is a measure of uncertainty not geological or commercial risk

To learn more about Kea Petroleum, visit: www.keapetroleum.com or contact:

Notes to Editors:

Kea Petroleum is an AIM listed oil and gas exploration company with interests in four petroleum exploration permits in the Taranaki Basin of New Zealand. Kea listed on the London AIM market in February 2010.