Operational Update

Rockhopper Exploration plc
24 April 2008



                                                                               

PRESS RELEASE

24 April 2008


Rockhopper Exploration plc ('Rockhopper' or 'the Company') (AIM:RKH)


                               Operational Update

Rockhopper Exploration is pleased to provide the following operational update.

   •SPD appointed to provide drilling expertise
   •Appointment of farm-out specialist adviser
   •EIA on PL032 & PL033 commences
   •Geohazard assessment of possible drilling locations on PL032 & PL033
    commences

The Company announces that it has appointed SPD Group Limited ('SPD') (part of
the Petrofac group) to undertake a range of well engineering services as part of
the ongoing preparations for a drilling campaign in the North Falkland Basin.
The agreement provides Rockhopper with access to a wide range of engineering and
project management services available from SPD including the provision of long
lead equipment such as wellheads and casing.

Rockhopper announces that it has simultaneously appointed Thompson Knight Global
Energy Services, a specialist adviser to oil and gas companies seeking farm-out
arrangements, to assist in its drilling farm-out campaign.

The Company has also appointed RPS Energy to undertake an Environmental Impact
Asssesment ('EIA') on licences PL032 & PL033 in preparation for drilling. The
EIA on licences PL023 & PL024 is already in progress.

Finally, Rockhopper has commissioned CGG Veritas to reprocess the short offset
3D data over licences PL032 and PL033. The Company will use this data to
evaluate potential geohazards over a number of possible drilling locations,
thereby eliminating the requirement to collect specialist hi-resolution seismic.
This reprocessing is likely to take approximately 8 weeks.

Following the reprocessing and evaluation of this data and completion of the
EIAs, the Company expects to be ready to drill 2 to 4 targets across its
acreage.

These 2 to 4 wells, when added to the 4 wells to be drilled by Desire and its
new partner (Rockhopper will also participate in a number of these wells) result
in a potential 8 well campaign in the North Falkland Basin.

These developments follow the evaluation of seismic data and the identification
of unrisked prospects that the Company's Board estimates may contain over 3.5bn
barrels of recoverable oil on the acreage licensed to Rockhopper.

Pierre Jungels, Rockhopper Exploration's Executive Chairman, commented:

'We are now moving into the final phase prior to drilling. We have identified a
number of targets in PL032 & PL033 on the 3D seismic which are of sufficiently
low risk for us to drill in addition to the Ernest prospect and we are waiting
to see what the interpretation of the new 2D over Weddell shows us.

It is a huge advantage for us to have SPD onside bringing both experience of
drilling and access to long lead items.

We believe that our acreage is of low to medium risk in the global exploration
setting with potential to find over 3.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil using
conservative parameters and that this should prove to be of considerable
interest to the industry in the current environment.

We are continuing to move forward towards our ultimate goal of drilling between
2 and 4 wells on our operated acreage, in addition to participating in other
wells in the Basin.

The 3D still looks hugely encouraging, we are moving forward on our work
programme and with the interpretation of the new 2D on Weddell to come shortly,
we feel that 2008 will prove to be an extremely exciting year for Rockhopper.'


NB: This statement has been approved by the Company's geological staff who
include David Bodecott (Exploration Director), who is a Member of Petroleum
Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB) and the American Association of
Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) with over 30 years of experience in petroleum
exploration and management, for the purpose of the Guidance Note for Mining, Oil
and Gas Companies issued by the London Stock Exchange in respect of AIM
companies, which outline standards of disclosure for mineral projects.


For further information, please contact:


Rockhopper Exploration plc             www.rockhopperexploration.co.uk
Sam Moody - Managing Director          01722 414 419


Aquila Financial Ltd                   www.aquila-financial.com
Peter Reilly                           0118 979 4100


Landsbanki Securities (UK) Limited     www.landsbanki.co.uk
Tom Hulme                              020 7426 9000


Notes to editors

www.rockhopperexploration.co.uk

The Rockhopper Group started trading in February 2004 to invest in and carry out
an offshore oil exploration programme to the north of the Falkland Islands. The
Group, floated on AIM in August 2005, has a 100 per cent. interest in four
offshore production licences which cover approximately 3,800 sq. km. These
licences have been granted by the Falkland Islands government.

Thompson & Knight
Established in 1887, Thompson & Knight today is a global law firm with
approximately 420 attorneys and offices and associations in the U.S., Mexico,
Brazil, North Africa, Europe, and Asia. In addition to providing a wide range of
traditional legal services to clients in many industries, the firm has extensive
experience in the energy industry; Thompson & Knight is one of the world's
premier energy firms having rendered services to companies in almost all
countries around the globe with a significant petroleum industry and market.

Thompson & Knight Global Energy Services, LLC ('TKGES') is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Thompson & Knight law firm. TKGES provides integrated technical
and economic evaluations of exploration and production projects and assists
worldwide clients in their business development, acquisition and divestment,
risk assessment and portfolio management efforts. TKGES' client base includes
NOCs, IOC and independent oil companies from the USA, Latin America, Europe,
Middle East, and Asia.







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