Acquisition

Ascent Resources PLC
20 October 2005


      Ascent Resources plc / Epic: AST / Index: AIM / Sector: Oil and Gas


20th October 2005

                Ascent Resources plc ('Ascent' or 'the Company')
              Acquires Interest in Producing Spanish Oil Field and
                   2D Seismic Acquisition in Hungary Underway

Ascent Resources plc, the AIM quoted oil and gas exploration and production
company, has acquired a 50% interest in Northern Petroleum Exploration Limited
('NPEL'), for a consideration of 370,370 shares and cash from Gold Oil plc.
NPEL holds a 22.5% interest in the La Lora concession that contains the
producing Ayoluengo oil field in the Sedano Basin in Northern Spain.  NPEL was
recently sold by Northern Petroleum plc to Gold Oil plc.

The Sedano basin is an established oil and gas producing area. The Ayoluengo
Field has already produced some 17 million barrels of oil and is currently
producing 110 barrels of oil per day.

The Company recently acquired a 50% interest in the Huermeces, Valderredible and
Basconcillos-H exploration permits which are also located in the Sedano Basin
and cover a total of 556 square kilometres surrounding the Ayoluengo Field.
These permits contain two discoveries and an appraisal programme with the
drilling of two wells will commence as soon as possible.  These wells will
appraise the Hontomin 2 discovery well drilled by Chevron in 1968, which
produced oil during testing, and the Tozo 1 discovery drilled by Chevron in
1965, which flowed several hundred barrels over a five month period.  The Tozo 1
well also contains an un-tested gas sand.

Furthermore, Ascent through its 90% owned joint venture Petro Hungaria, has
completed over 100 km out of a planned 270 km of 2D seismic in the Nyirseg
exploration permits of North Eastern Hungary. The new seismic will define the
prospectivity of the permit that had already been recognised from the
re-processing of the old seismic, the analysis of well-logs and the analysis of
the data from the Peneszlek field.   The Peneszlek field is a gas field located
in the exploration permit and it produced gas between 1983 and 1989.  The
seismic acquisition which is using vibroseis technology is on schedule and
within budget.  It is expected that the field work will be complete in early
November.


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Contacts:

Jeremy Eng              Ascent  Resources Plc             Tel: [phone]
Hugo de Salis           St Brides Media & Finance Ltd     Tel: [phone]


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