Update on Dutch Acquisitions

LEPCO plc 28 January 2000 Update on Dutch Acquisitions LEPCO plc, the oil production and exploration company, today announces an update on developments with its proposed acquisitions in the Netherlands. The Company has been pursuing two separate opportunities to acquire interests in producing gas fields in the Netherlands North Sea. The principal and larger of these transactions concerned an agreement for the Company to acquire a package of Netherlands North Sea producing gas field interests, together with associated exploration opportunities, from Total Oil and Gas Nederland B.V., the Dutch exploration and production subsidiary of TotalFina ('TotalFina'). Details of the interests are given below. The transaction was subject to separate partner pre-emption rights over the assets and the Company has been informed that one of the partners has exercised its rights of pre-emption over all but one of the licences in the package. The Company has decided to withdraw from the remainder of the transaction, as the project economics do not satisfy LEPCO's criteria. In a separate transaction, the Company agreed terms to acquire a further interest in a producing gas field offshore the Netherlands. Progress on this separate acquisition was slowed both by a reassessment of the field's reserve base and LEPCO's wish to know the outcome of the agreed larger transaction. Following the pre-emption of the acquisition from TotalFina, the Company has now withdrawn from this other transaction. Peter Bassett, LEPCO Chairman, commented: 'It is the core LEPCO strategy to acquire producing assets and the transaction with TotalFina would have strengthened significantly our position in the Netherlands. We are, however, in active negotiations on a number of other potential deals and continue to progress activity on our LEPCO-operated UK Southern Gas Basin licence.' For further information contact: Peter Wilde Managing Director, LEPCO plc 0171 233 5245 Chris Callaway Beeson Gregory 0171 488 4040 28 January 2000 Note: Assets involved in the pre-empted transaction agreed with Total Oil and Gas Nederland B.V.: Field % K10a 1.632 K10b/c 1.580 K13 4.080 L8a 4.080 P14 4.995 P2a 7.355