Offer Update

Sterling Energy PLC
19 December 2003


19 December 2003

Not for release, publication or distribution in, into or from the United States,
Canada, Australia or Japan.

                              Sterling Energy plc

  Offer for Fusion Oil & Gas plc by Evolution Beeson Gregory Limited on behalf
                             of Sterling Energy plc

                          Unconditional Offer extended
        Expiry of Partial Cash Alternative and Additional Cash Election

On 4 December 2003 the board of Sterling announced that the Partial Cash
Alternative under which Fusion Shareholders could elect to receive 2.5 Sterling
Shares and 10p in cash and the Additional Cash Election would remain open until
3.00 p.m. on 18 December 2003. The Partial Cash Alternative and Additional Cash
Election have therefore now closed.

As at 3.00 p.m. on 18 December 2003 Sterling owned 20,000,211 Fusion Shares and
had received valid acceptances for the Offer from holders of 71,006,150 Fusion
Shares, in total representing approximately 88.7 per cent. of Fusion's issued
ordinary share capital.

Of the valid acceptances received, valid elections for cash under the Partial
Cash Alternative had been made in respect of 7,714,916 Fusion Shares
representing approximately 7.5 per cent. of Fusion's issued ordinary share
capital and valid elections for further cash under the Additional Cash Election
had been made in respect of 27,389,237 Fusion Shares representing approximately
26.7 per cent. of Fusion's issued ordinary share capital. An announcement will
be made in due course of the Sterling Shares to be issued and of the cash
payments to be made to those Fusion Shareholders who had made elections under
the Partial Cash Alternative and the Additional Cash Election. Holders of
35,901,997 Fusion Shares, representing approximately 35 per cent. of Fusion's
issued ordinary share capital, had accepted the offer of 3.5 Sterling Shares for
each Fusion Share.

The Offer will remain open until further notice.

Forms of Acceptance not yet returned should be completed and returned in
accordance with the instructions set out in the Offer Document and the Form of
Acceptance as soon as possible. Additional Forms of Acceptance may be obtained
from Capita IRG, telephone [phone], or if calling from outside the UK +44
20 8639 2157.

Notes:
Words and expressions defined in the offer document from Sterling to Fusion
Shareholders dated 1 October 2003 and the circulars from Sterling to Fusion
Shareholders dated 18 October 2003 and 21 November 2003 respectively shall have
the same meaning in this announcement.

Prior to the announcement of the Offer Sterling owned 20,000,211 Fusion Shares
now representing approximately 19.5 per cent. of the issued ordinary share
capital of Fusion.

These acceptances include valid acceptances for the Offer in respect of
9,400,000 Fusion Shares by Invesco Asset Management Limited for which Sterling
had received an irrevocable undertaking to accept the Offer and 11,376,500
Fusion Shares for which Sterling had received letters of intent to accept the
Offer, representing approximately 9.2 per cent. and 11.1 per cent. respectively
of Fusion's current issued ordinary share capital.

Evolution Beeson Gregory, which is regulated in the United Kingdom by the
Financial Services Authority, is acting exclusively for Sterling and no one else
in connection with the Offer and other matters described herein will not be
responsible to anyone other than Sterling for providing the protections afforded
to customers of Evolution Beeson Gregory or for giving advice in relation to the
Offer or any other matter described in this announcement.




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