Operational Update

Soco International PLC
01 August 2006


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

                               OPERATIONS 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, the
Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
with production operations in Yemen.


YEMEN

Current production in the East Shabwa Development Area is up over 12,000 barrels
of oil per day ('BOPD') from the 2005 year average.  Drilling results and the
addition of a self contained production facility have enabled the fields to
exceed all previous production records with production exceeding 45,000 BOPD.

APPRAISAL/DEVELOPMENT DRILLING - KHARIR FIELD

A number of successful development wells have been drilled on the field since
the February 2006 update. These include the KHA-1-12 well in the western part of
the structure, the KHA-1-14 well in the southern flank of the structure and the
KHA-1-07.G1 sidetrack, which was drilled as a water injection well but completed
as a producer based on drilling results.  These wells are all connected to the
production facilities and were tested at rates between 5,500 and 8,000 BOPD.

The drilling of wells designed to ensure field pressure maintenance is being
accelerated in parallel. The KHA-1-11 gas injection well is nearing completion.
It is being drilled using underbalanced drilling technology that allows the
assessment of connectivity between a nearby producer and an actively drilling
injection well.  Gas injection is scheduled to commence late summer. The
KHA-1-13 water injection well, designed to provide pressure support to the
eastern end of the structure, has been connected to the water injection system.

Currently, the KHA-1-16 production well, designed to continue the delineation of
the reservoir in the eastern part of the structure as currently mapped, and the
KHA-1-17 water injection well, aimed at providing pressure support to the wells
draining the northwest end of the structure, are being drilled.

EXPLORATORY DRILLING - JATHMA AREA

The first Jathma exploration well, the JAT-01 that tested over 1,900 BOPD, is
currently being prepared for long term production. The oil produced will be
trucked to the existing Kharir facilities for processing and export, enabling
rapid and economic development.

The sidetrack of the second exploration well in the Jathma area, the JAT-02
well, has been completed. The objective of the sidetrack was to evaluate
fracture development away from the original wellbore. Testing programmes on the
JAT-02-ST and the exploration well on the eastern side of the Jathma area,
JAT-04, have been completed. Both wells encountered significant oil columns, but
neither produced commercial volumes of hydrocarbons when tested.

An evaluation of the results of all the Jathma area wells drilled to date will
now be conducted.  A 3D seismic programme is currently being considered to
acquire better definition of the fracture zones in the Jathma area.

VIETNAM

The sidetrack of the Ca Ngu Vang appraisal well, CNV-4XST, is currently at 4,927
metres measured depth, just above Basement. Logging operations in the Oligocene
have been completed and preparations have begun to run 9-5/8 inch casing prior
to drilling into the Basement reservoir horizon.

Following this well, the drilling campaign in the Cuu Long Basin will continue
with the arrival of the Transocean Trident 9 jack-up rig.


REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE)

A contract has been awarded to PGS Overseas AS for the acquisition of a 1,200
square kilometre 3D seismic programme. The Ramform Explorer is expected to
begin acquisition in early October.

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

'There is a lot of activity across the asset portfolio.

The ESDA partners have drilled a series of superb high performance wells in the
Kharir Basement. With the production capacity reaching the facility limits, the
partnership is focusing on ways of upgrading the facility. Success of both the
water injection and producer wells is good news for improving oil recovery in
the Basement.

We are just above the top of Basement in the CNV-4X ST having successfully
drilled through the operationally problematic section that forced us to abandon
the original well-bore.

Operations will begin in earnest on Marine XI with the 3D seismic acquisition
programme now set to begin.

We expect exciting news flow throughout the rest of the year.'

                                                                   1 August 2006


ENQUIRIES:

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

Pelham Public Relations
James Henderson
Alisdair Haythornthwaite
Tel: [phone]


NOTES TO EDITORS

The Company holds its interests in Yemen through Comeco Petroleum, Inc.
('Comeco'), in which SOCO holds a 58.75% interest.  Comeco holds a 28.57%
interest in the East Shabwa Development Area in Block 10 in Yemen. The East
Shabwa joint venture is operated by TOTAL E & P Yemen (28.57% interest) under a
production sharing agreement with the government of Yemen. The other joint
venture partners are Occidental Yemen Ltd. (28.57% interest) and Kuwait Foreign
Petroleum Exploration Co. (14.29% interest).

SOCO holds its interests in Vietnam, all in the Cuu Long Basin offshore, through
its 80% owned subsidiary SOCO Vietnam Limited ('SOCO Vietnam') and through its
100% ownership of OPECO Inc. SOCO Vietnam holds a 25% working interest in Block
9-2, which is operated by the Hoan Vu Joint Operating Company and holds a 28.5%
working interest in Block 16-1, which is operated by the Hoang Long Joint
Operating Company.  OPECO Inc. holds a 2% interest in Block 16-1.

SOCO holds its interests in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) through its 85%
owned subsidiary SOCO Exploration and Production Congo ('SOCO EPC'). SOCO EPC is
the designated operator of Marine XI.




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