Egdon Gets OK for Westerdale Drilling

Egdon Resources plc announced that, at Thursday's meeting of the Planning Committee of the North York Moors National Park Authority, permission was granted for an exploratory borehole near the village of Westerdale in onshore Petroleum Exploration and Production Licence PEDL068, where Egdon is operator with a 40 percent interest.

The Westerdale-2 well is planned to evaluate the Ralph Cross/Westerdale gas discovery in an area up-dip of the Ralph Cross-1 well, drilled in 1966, which flowed gas from fractured limestone of the Permian age Brotherton Formation at a depth of 3,412 feet (1,040 meters) below surface. Company evaluations have indicated the potential for between 5 and 38 billion cubic feet ("Bcf") of gas in place, with a most likely case of around 18 Bcf.

The Company had previously drilled a well in the Westerdale area in 2006. This well did not find commercial gas reserves and the site was subsequently restored to farmland.

The interest holders in PEDL068 are as follows:

• Egdon Resources U.K. Limited (operator) 40.00%
• Sterling Resources (UK) Limited 47.00%
• Yorkshire Exploration Limited 8.00%
• Montrose Industries Limited 5.00%

Commenting on the decision Mark Abbott, Managing Director of Egdon said: "We are delighted that the National Park Authority has approved our application for the Westerdale-2 well. The final timing of the drilling will be dependent upon the conditions of planning, rig and contractor availability and final joint venture approval and is likely to be during 2013. We recognize the unique qualities of the North York Moors and in accordance with Egdon's Health, Safety and Environmental procedures will be doing everything possible to minimize the impact of our activities on the area."