Grant of options

Ascent Resources PLC 23 September 2005 Ascent Resources plc / Epic: AST / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil and Gas 23rd September 2005 Ascent Resources plc ('Ascent' or 'the Company') 'Issue of Shares and Options' Ascent Resources plc, the AIM listed oil and gas exploration and production company, has granted the following options to subscribe for new ordinary shares in the Company. The named Directors, JV partners and consultants have been granted the following options to subscribe at 15p per share for new ordinary shares in the Company, exercisable from 23rd March 2006 until 23rd September 2008. Jeremy Eng 2,500,000 Malcolm Groom 1,000,000 Jonathon Legg 1,000,000 JV partners and consultants 950,000 The named Directors have also been granted the following options to subscribe at 40p per share for new ordinary shares in the Company, exercisable from 23rd September 2006 until 23rd September 2009. Jeremy Eng 2,500,000 Malcolm Groom 1,000,000 Jonathon Legg 1,000,000 Additionally, 319,447 new ordinary shares have been issued in satisfaction of fees totalling £35,139.17 for work associated with the acquisition of projects in Italy. Application will be made today for the new shares to trade on AIM and it is expected that dealings in these shares will commence on 29th September 2005. The new ordinary shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing shares in issue. * * ENDS * * Issued on behalf of Ascent Resources plc by St Brides Media & Finance Ltd, 46, Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4LR. Contacts: Jeremy Eng Ascent Resources plc Tel: 020 7251 4905 Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477 Notes: Ascent Resources plc is an AIM quoted oil and gas company with a primary focus in Europe. Since being founded in November 2004, Ascent has assembled a portfolio of exploration assets that include majority interests in eight exploration permits. Applications for a further two are in progress. Ascent considers the full spectrum of projects covering exploration, early stage development and production. The Company has an experienced technical team with strong industry contacts and a proven track record. They have implemented a structured two phase development strategy: Phase 1 is to develop the core of European projects; while Phase 2 is to acquire a lesser number of larger scale projects across a wider geographical range. The Company now has a 90% interests in projects in Hungary (gas), Switzerland (gas & oil), and Holland (gas), a 100% interest in an Italian gas exploration project and a 70% interest in Italian oil exploration as well as the royalty and working interests in Gabon. The balance of oil and gas assets and the geographical spread of projects mainly in net energy importing countries are designed to mitigate the risk in commodity price fluctuation and changes in global energy politics. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange