Hook Head 50/11-4 appraisal well spuds on Licence SEL 2/07, Celtic Sea, Ireland

Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, 5th August 2008 - Atlantic Petroleum (OMX: FO-ATLA)
the international upstream oil and gas company, today announces that it has
commenced drilling its multi-well drilling programme on Standard Exploration
Licence 2/07 in the North Celtic Sea Basin. 

The Transocean GSF Arctic II semi-submersible rig spudded the Hook Head
appraisal well (50/11-4) today. 
 
Following completion of this well, a further appraisal well, (50/6-4), is
planned on the Dunmore oil accumulation, located approximately 20 kilometres to
the north of the Hook Head oil accumulation. 

It is anticipated that the drilling programme will take up to 100 days,
including a provision for comprehensive wireline logging and testing. 

The current Standard Exploration Licence 2/07 partners and their respective
percentages are Providence Resources Plc (Operator) 48.6556%, Challenger
Minerals (Celtic Sea) Limited 24.5%,  Forest Gate Resources Inc. 8.3889%,
Atlantic Petroleum (Ireland) Limited 12.3037% and Sosina Exploration Limited
6.1519%. 

Wilhelm Petersen, Managing Director of P/F Atlantic Petroleum said:

“Atlantic Petroleum are pleased to announce that drilling operations in the
Celtic Sea have begun. Appraising these discoveries is part of our ongoing
strategy to grow the company and add significant long term value to our
shareholders. We look forward to the results from these forthcoming wells. At
the moment Atlantic Petroleum has three drilling rigs under contract together
with its partners. One on the Ettrick development, one on the Blackbird
prospect and now this in the Celtic Sea.” 



Further Details
Further details can be obtained from Wilhelm Petersen, Managing Director, tel
+298 350 100 (wilhelmp@petroleum.fo) or Teitur Samuelsen, Financial Manager,
tel +298 350 100 (teiturs@petroleum.fo). This announcement will be available,
together with other information about Atlantic Petroleum, on the Company's
website: www.petroleum.fo. 

                                                          
P/F Atlantic Petroleum     Telephone +298 350 100            Issued 05-08-2008 
Gongin 9	                  Fax +298 350 101
P.O. Box 1228	         Website: www.petroleum.fo
FO-110 Tórshavn 
Faroe Islands





Notes to Editors

Celtic Sea Standard Exploration Licence 2/07

Licence No 2/07 refers to part blocks 49/22, 49/23, 48/29, 48/30, 49/26, 49/27,
49/28, 49/8, 49/9, 49/13, 49/14, 50/6, 50/7 and 50/11 in the North Celtic Sea
Basin. 

About Hook Head

The Hook Head Field is located in about 240' water depth being about 60 km
offshore Wexford and is situated in Standard Exploration Licence 2/07 in the
North Celtic Sea Basin. The Hook Head structure is a large mid-basinal
anticline where three previous wells have successfully encountered hydrocarbon
bearing sands. The original 50/11-1 discovery well, which was drilled by
Marathon in 1971, logged about 100 feet of hydrocarbon bearing section in five
sandstone units of Lower Cretaceous age. The well was not flow-tested due to
severe operational issues at that time. The subsequent 50/11-2 appraisal well,
which was drilled by Marathon in 1975 was drilled as a delineation well at the
down-dip edge of the structure and encountered about 25' of hydrocarbon bearing
section. 

In 2007, Providence drilled the 50/11-3 well on a central location some 2 km
northeast of the 50/11-1 well and successfully logged a total of about 110' of
net hydrocarbon bearing reservoir. The reservoir zones are of equivalent age to
those encountered in the 50/11-1 & 2 wells, located about 2.5 km and 5 km to
the south-west, respectively. Whilst key reservoir and fluid data were acquired
during the initial well flowing period, down-hole mechanical conditions, which
were primarily related to the integrity of the casing string cement bond,
delayed the implementation of a full flow test programme. The 50/11-3 well was
suspended for future re-entry and potential use as a production well. 

About Dunmore

The Dunmore oil discovery is located in about 70 metre water depth being about
40 km offshore Wexford and is situated in Standard Exploration Licence 2/07 in
the North Celtic Sea Basin. The 50/6-1 discovery well was drilled in 1986 by
Gulf Oil (now part of Chevron), and tested approximately 60' gross interval at
a rate of about 2,100 BOPD from sands of Upper Jurassic age at a depth of about
5,000' TVDSS. The oil is a light, sweet, 44 degrees API crude and is
interpreted to be trapped in a downthrown terrace structure. Mapping of
reprocessed 2D seismic data now suggest that this structure rises to the east
of the 50/6-1 well location and that an appraisal well would be optimally
drilled about 500' up-dip from the 50/6-1 well. On the assumption that a common
contact exists between the 50/6-1 discovery well and this crestal area, a
number of sands which were water bearing in the original well should be oil
bearing at the crestal area thereby significantly increasing the potential flow
rates.