Notification of Board Changes

OPHIR ENERGY PLC

("Ophir" or the "Company")

BOARD CHANGES

London, 26 April 2013: Ophir announces the following changes to its Board:

Jonathan Taylor, Jonathan Taylor, a co-founder of Ophir, Executive Director and former Technical Director has informed the Board of his intention to retire from the Board and his role as an Executive Director with effect from the Company's 2013 Annual General Meeting and as such it has been agreed that he will not stand for re-election as a Director. 

Lisa Mitchell, Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed as Executive Director to the Board, effective immediately.

Lisa was appointed CFO in January 2012 and started with Ophir as Group Financial Controller. Lisa's previous roles included CFO at Pan Pacific Petroleum NL (an ASX and NZX listed oil and gas exploration and production company) and CFO at GCM Resources plc (an AIM listed mining company). Lisa began her career with Mobil Oil Australia.

Lisa is a Certified Practising Accountant with the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants, has a Graduate Diploma in Applied Corporate Governance from the Chartered Secretaries Australia and a Bachelor of Economics (major in Accounting) from La Trobe University, Melbourne.

Alan Booth has been appointed as Non-Executive Director to the Board, effective immediately. Mr Booth has 30 years' experience in oil and gas exploration, at Amerada Hess, Oryx Energy, and Encana. More recently, Mr Booth was Founder and CEO of EnCore Oil plc; and is now the Founder and Director of EnCounter Oil Ltd.

Mr Booth holds a BSc in Geology from the University of Nottingham and an MSc. DIC. in Petroleum Geology from the Royal School Mines, Imperial College. He is a former president of the UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA) and currently a director of the Oil and Gas Independents Association (OGIA).

Nicholas Smith, Chairman of Ophir Energy said:

"Jon has been involved with Ophir since 2004 as a co-founder and served initially as its Technical Director before becoming Executive Director. On behalf of the Board and Management, I would like to thank him for his tremendous contribution to the success of the Company. His dedication and drive have been major factors in bringing Ophir to where it is today.

We are delighted to welcome Lisa Mitchell to the Board. Lisa has been a key member of the Executive Team and an instrumental part of Ophir's evolution since the IPO. At the same time we are pleased to welcome Alan Booth, who brings deep upstream and exploration experience to the Board. His technical and commercial pedigree will be a considerable asset to Ophir".

The Company confirms there is no information to disclose pursuant to paragraph 9.6.13R of the FSA's Listing Rules

Ends

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

Elizabeth Adams

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), Accra (Ghana), Dar es Salaam and Mtwara (Tanzania), Port Gentil (Gabon) and Nairobi (Kenya).

Ophir is the sixth largest deepwater acreage holder offshore Africa, present in four key emerging sub-Saharan exploration themes, and the largest net acreage holder in offshore East Africa.

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