Vietnam Drilling Update

Soco International PLC
30 May 2006

                             SOCO International plc

                           ('SOCO' or 'the Company')



                            Vietnam Drilling Update


SOCO is an international oil and gas exploration and production company,
headquartered in London traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of
the FTSE 250 Index. The Company has interests in Vietnam, Yemen, Thailand and
the Republic of Congo with production operations in Yemen.


The first exploration well on the  'L' prospect, on Block 16-1 in the Cuu Long
Basin offshore Vietnam, Te Giac Vang 1X (TGV-1X), spudded on 2 May, reached a
total measured depth of 3,926 metres in the Upper Oligocene.  The well was
deepened from its original prognosis due to the presence of encouraging
hydrocarbon shows continuing below the original target depth. It was primarily
positioned to test a closure at the Miocene Lower Bach Ho 5.2 ('LBH 5.2') level,
the main productive horizon at the Te Giac Trang (TGT) discovery approximately
40 kilometres to the north.


The well intersected a clastic sequence at the LBH 5.2 horizon, however the
reservoir sands were poorly developed at the location and no pay was
encountered. The sediments encountered suggest that the well was located outside
the LBH 5.2 play fairway and that this fairway is to the north and west of the
TGV-1X location.


The well was also drilled into the Oligocene; however, the location was downdip
on the flank of the structure. Despite being in a flank position, good oil shows
were encountered in several sands.  After analysis of the logs, although the
sands were confirmed to be hydrocarbon bearing, it appeared that these lacked
sufficient permeability to produce at commercial rates and were therefore not
tested.


The well results will be evaluated and the seismic re-interpreted prior to
drilling a follow up well to fully test the Oligocene in a more prospective
up-dip position.


The well also penetrated the source rock section at the top of the Oligocene
validating the geological interpretation and confirming the potential of the
deep Oligocene and Basement prospect underlying the shallower closures.


The rig will be moved immediately to drill the sidetrack to the CNV-4X well on
Block 9-2 that was temporarily suspended after encountering unexpected high
pressures in the Oligocene sequence above the Basement. The well is expected to
take approximately 60 days to drill.  Following this well a new drilling
campaign on the play fairway will commence in mid-late September with the
arrival of the Transocean Trident 9 jack-up rig.


Ed Story, President and Chief Executive of SOCO, commented:


'Although the TGV-1X well did not result in another significant discovery, we
did encounter oil in the Oligocene and will follow up with another well on the
TGV structure to evaluate the Oligocene in a better location. The Cuu Long Basin
is a wonderful place to conduct exploration activities.  Rich source rock
coupled with multiple potential reservoirs greatly improves the probability of
success. Ahead of the next exploration drilling on Block 16-1 in the third
quarter of this year, we can focus on the required reserve assessment report and
development studies, which we expect will lead to a Declaration of Commerciality
of TGT in the near future.'


                                                                     30 May 2006


ENQUIRIES:


SOCO International plc
Roger Cagle                      Deputy Chief Executive       Tel: [phone]
                                 and Chief Financial
                                 Officer

Pelham Public Relations
James Henderson                                               Tel: [phone]
Charles Vivian                                                Tel: [phone]



Notes to editors:


SOCO holds its interests in Vietnam, all in the Cuu Long Basin offshore, through
its 80% owned subsidiary SOCO Vietnam Limited ('SOCO Vietnam').  SOCO Vietnam
holds a 25% working interest in Block 9-2, which is operated by the Hoan Vu
Joint Operating Company and a 28.5% working interest in Block 16-1, which is
operated by the Hoang Long Joint Operating Company.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange