Placing

Ascent Resources PLC 19 March 2007 Ascent Resources plc / Epic: AST / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil and Gas Ascent Resources plc ('Ascent' or the 'Company') Placing Ascent Resources plc, the oil and gas exploration and production company, is raising £3.5 million (approximately £3.3 million net of expenses) through the issue of 25,000,000 new ordinary shares of 0.1p each ('Placing Shares') at 14p per share. The Company intends to use the proceeds primarily to cover the additional costs resulting from the recent Anagni-1 oil discovery in the Frosinone Exploration Permit in Italy's Latina Valley and to increase its interest in the Frosinone Exploration permit by 10% to 80%. Other additional expenditure is planned for accelerating the development of the PEN-104 gas discovery in Hungary as well as preliminary engineering design associated with the Company's Tight Gas initiative in south west Hungary and Slovenia. Ascent's Managing Director Jeremy Eng said, 'We have had a high level of success in the development of our portfolio during the last six months having made two discoveries from our on-going drilling campaign. The funds raised will, in the most part, be used to advance the Italian oil discovery made in the Latina Valley earlier this year and the Hungarian gas discovery made at the end of last year.' Ascent has entered into a placing agreement with Cenkos Securities plc, pursuant to which Cenkos Securities plc has, on behalf of Ascent, conditionally placed the Placing Shares with institutional investors. Application will be made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and it is expected that admission will become effective and that trading in the Placing Shares on AIM will commence on March 22nd 2007. The total number of Ordinary Shares in issue immediately following the placing will be 290,504,891. * * ENDS * * For further information visit www.ascentresources.co.uk or contact: Jeremy Eng Ascent Resources plc Tel: 020 7251 4905 Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: 020 7242 4477 Notes: Ascent Resources has a portfolio of over 20 oil and gas projects across six countries in Europe. The projects are onshore in Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Spain, Slovenia and offshore Netherlands. Ascent is at present drilling a programme of six wells. Two have already been drilled in Hungary, one of which was a gas discovery. The Anagni-1 well, first of two Italian wells, has been temporarily completed for future deepening and testing and the Hontomin-4 well currently being drilled is the first of two wells in Spain. Later in 2007, two more gas exploration wells are to be drilled in Hungary, high impact gas exploration wells are planned in the Po Valley in Italy, and one well in Switzerland, subject to permitting and rig availability. Ascent operates Spain's only onshore oilfield where production currently averages over 100 barrels of oil per day. With the stable European gas market, Ascent's portfolio favours gas over oil and, with the exception of the Netherlands, all of its projects are located onshore where operating and development costs are substantially lower than they are offshore. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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