Tanzania: Mlinzi drilling operations commence

Ophir Energy plc

Tanzania: Mlinzi drilling operations commence

London, 27 November 2013: Ophir Energy plc ("Ophir" or "the Company") announces that drilling operations have now commenced on the Mlinzi Mbali-1 well in Block 7*, Tanzania. Ophir has an 80% net interest.The well is located c.210km east of Dar es Salaam and is being drilled by the Deepsea Metro I drillship.

Mlinzi Mbali-1 is the first well on Block 7 and is targeting a structural crest within a Lower Cretaceous channel complex, with secondary targets in the Upper Cretaceous and the Jurassic. Pre-drill estimates show that the two primary channel reservoirs in the Lower Cretaceous have the potential to contain Pmean prospective resources of c.10 TCF. Success would significantly derisk the total resource potential within the overall Mlinzi Channel complex, which is estimated at >20 TCF, as well as in other structures within the Block.

The well is located in a water depth of approximately 2,600m and has a planned Total Depth of 5,650m True Vertical Depth Sub Sea. Operations are expected to take approximately 50 days.

Nick Cooper, CEO, commented:

"Mlinzi Mbali-1 is a playfinder well designed as the first test of the Cretaceous and Jurassic plays in the Northern Tanzanian Coastal Basin, and is the first of several high-impact wells that Ophir will be drilling over the next 12 months. The Mlinzi Mbali prospect is one of the largest prospects (on pre drill estimates) to be drilled to date offshore East Africa. It is a high-risk frontier well, but in the success case this could unlock a significant new gas resource to support a second LNG project for Tanzania, following on from the deepwater discoveries already made in Blocks 1-4 to the south."

*Block 7 PSA is held and operated by Dominion Tanzania Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ophir Energy plc.

Ends

For Further Enquiries please contact:

Ophir Energy plc +44 (0)20 7290 5800

Nick Cooper, CEO

Richard Rose, Corporate Communications and Strategy

Brunswick Group +44 (0)20 7404 5959

Patrick Handley

Elizabeth Adams

Notes to Editors

Ophir Energy (OPHR.LN) is an African focused, upstream oil and gas exploration company which is listed on the London Stock Exchange (FTSE 250). Ophir has an extensive deepwater acreage position in West and East Africa acquired since its foundation in 2004.

The Group's headquarters are located in London (England), with operational offices in Perth (Australia), Dar es Salaam and Mtwara (Tanzania), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), Libreville (Gabon), Nairobi (Kenya) and Accra (Ghana).

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