Operational Update

Trap Oil Group plc

("Trapoil" or the "Company")

Operational Update

Romeo Well and Athena Acquisition

Trapoil (AIM: TRAP), the independent oil and gas exploration and appraisal company focused on the UK Continental Shelf ("UKCS") region of the North Sea, is pleased to provide an operational update with regard to the Romeo well and the Athena acquisition.

Romeo Well

Operations are continuing on the Romeo (Licence P.1666, Block 30/11c) exploration prospect ("Romeo") (Trapoil 12.5 per cent. carried interest). Romeo is a four-way dip closure mapped at Base Cretaceous Unconformity with Fulmar sands as the reservoir objective, and with best estimate gross prospective resources for the entire prospect of approximately 44 million barrels of oil equivalent ("mmboe") (3.3mmboe net to Trapoil unaudited estimate by Trapoil's management). The well is being drilled by the Awilco WilHunter rig and has suffered operational and weather related delays. As a consequence, the well is currently some 16 days behind schedule. The well is still drilling to an estimated total depth of 15,180 feet Measured Depth Below Rotary Table ("MDBRT") or 15,095 feet True Vertical Depth Sub Sea ("TVDSS").  

The partners in Licence P.1666 are Suncor Energy UK Limited (50.625 per cent., operator), Norwegian Energy Company UK Limited (21.875 per cent.), First Oil and Gas Limited (15.0 per cent.) and Trapoil (12.5 per cent.). Trapoil's 12.5 per cent is a fully carried interest in the P.1666 Licence and as such Trapoil is fully carried in the Romeo well.

The well is being drilled as a joint well with Licence P.1816 (Block 29/15a) operated by Total E&P UK Limited (100 per cent.).

Athena Acquisition

Trapoil is pleased to have completed the acquisition of a 15 per cent working interest in the Athena Field on 21 December 2012 after securing an effective £6m reduction in the amount payable to Dyas UK Limited, calculated as a £2.7m reduction in the base consideration and a reduction of £3.3m to the capex payable by Trapoil. Trapoil's management estimate remains that the most likely unaudited gross recoverable reserves attributable to Athena are in the low to mid 'teens of million barrels with the ultimate number being dependent upon the recovery factor as a function of the sweep efficiency. It is not possible to narrow the estimate range until there has been a reasonable level of water production.

The Athena Field is currently achieving a steady production rate of approximately 11,000 bopd gross with no water production. At current production levels, associated costs and oil prices Trapoil's monthly income from the Athena Field will be approximately £2 million and, as such, the Company expects payback on its investment in little more than a year, assuming no significant decline in production and a steady oil price.

Martin David, Technical Director of the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained within this announcement in his capacity as a qualified person under the AIM Rules. Mr David holds a BSc degree in Geology from the University of London and has over 37 years' experience in the oil industry. Paul Collins, Chief Operating Officer of the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained within this announcement in his capacity as a qualified person, as required under the AIM rules. Mr Collins holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Fuel & Energy Engineering from Leeds University and a post-graduate diploma in Offshore Mechanical Engineering from Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology and has over 28 years' experience in the oil and gas industry.

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**ENDS**

Notes to editors:

·; The Trapoil group was created in 2008 by a team of experienced industry executives with a broad range of oil and gas technical, operational and financial expertise and professional skills.

·; Trapoil has developed long term relationships with key oil industry partners and major suppliers and consultants including CGGVeritas Services (UK) Limited ("CGGVeritas"), Applied Drilling Technology International and Exploration Geosciences Limited.

·; The Company utilises a research-led, knowledge-based approach to identify and deliver promising exploration and appraisal opportunities, and to this end has secured extensive long term access to CGGVeritas' state of the art 3D seismic database over the majority of the Central North Sea area on negotiated terms. CGGVeritas is a leading pure-play geophysical services and equipment provider. Access to such 3D seismic data serves to strengthen the group's ability to create opportunities on both open and held acreage in the UKCS.