Supreme Court of Kazakhstan Tax Case Ruling

Max Petroleum Plc

("Max Petroleum" or the "Company")

Supreme Court of Kazakhstan Tax Case Ruling

6 October 2011

Max Petroleum Plc, an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Kazakhstan, has received written notice from the Supervisory Panel of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan (the "Notice") rejecting the Company's final legal appeal to review the tax claim previously brought against the Company (the "Tax Claim"). As previously announced, the Company had fully settled the Tax Claim in June 2011 and the Notice has no impact on the Company's financial condition or ability to fund its exploration, appraisal and development drilling programme.

As the Tax Claim involved the timing of the Company's cost recovery of certain capitalised expenditures, the Company expects to recover the majority of the economic value of the Tax Claim through subsequent depreciation deductions that will offset future taxable income. The details of the Tax Claim were previously announced by the Company on 2 June 2010 and are detailed in the Company's 2011 Annual Report.

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