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Company has now withdrawn from this other transaction.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