Drilling Update

Soco International PLC
01 December 2005




                SOCO International plc ('SOCO' or 'the Company')

            HIGH PRESSURE HYDROCARBON ENCOUNTER/SUSPENSION OF CNV-4X


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 continuing interests in Vietnam, Yemen,
Libya, Thailand and the Republic of Congo with ongoing production operations in
Yemen.



The appraisal well on the Ca Ngu Vang ('CNV') structure on Block 9-2 offshore
Vietnam, the CNV-4X, has encountered an oil and gas interval with unexpected
high pressure in the Oligocene E Sequence, the sandstone sequence overlying the
Basement objective, and has been temporarily suspended.  The joint venture
partners decided to suspend the well, which spudded on 31 August, following the
loss of the 12 1/4' hole section above the granitic Basement reservoir. The
pressures encountered were significantly higher than those seen previously on
the other CNV wells.



The well encountered a gross 370 metre vertical section of oil shows with
attendant gas through the Oligocene 'E' sandstone section, based on mud logs,
drilling cuttings analysis and LWD logs. The use of higher than anticipated mud
weights to control the encountered pressures led to problems higher in the open
hole section where the drill string became differentially stuck while pulling
out of the hole to run casing into the top of Basement. Numerous attempts to
fish the stuck drill string have been unsuccessful.  Plans are underway to
incorporate a different drilling fluid and casing design into the programme to
enable the overpressured section to be redrilled safely.



The rig will be moved immediately to drill a follow-up appraisal well to the
9,432 barrels of oil equivalent per day TGT-1X well drilled earlier this year on
the Te Giac Trang ('TGT') structure.  It will be the fourth well in the
multi-well drilling programme which began this year in Vietnam.  The rig will
return to Block 9-2 following completion of the appraisal programme in Block
16-1.



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



'This bodes well for the high prospectivity of Block 9-2 as the CNV-4X well is
only the second location in the Cuu Long Basin that has encountered such good
oil and gas shows in the E Sequence sandstones.  This adds significant remaining
exploration potential to Block 9-2 as the Oligocene section has been identified
and mapped over other prospects on the Block.  Time spent drilling in Block 16-1
will afford us the opportunity to obtain the necessary materials to return to
Block 9-2.



The recent TGT-1X discovery and our experience in the Oligocene section of the
CNV-4X well underscores the significant potential of these two acreage positions
on either side of the giant Bach Ho field. '

                                                                 1 December 2005




ENQUIRIES:


SOCO International plc
Roger Cagle                                             Tel: [phone]
Deputy Chief Executive 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 Ltd ('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.










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