Drill Programme Commenced

Ascent Resources PLC
23 October 2006



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


23 October 2006

                Ascent Resources plc ('Ascent' or 'the Company')

              Commences Drill Programme with First Well in Hungary

Ascent Resources plc, the AIM traded oil and gas exploration and production
company, announces that its drilling campaign is now underway with the spudding
of the PEN-104 well in Hungary.


PetroHungaria kft (a 90% owned subsidiary of Ascent), spudded the PEN-104 well
on October 21, 2006. Partners in the well are DualEx of Canada (37.5%) and Petro
Pequnia of Sweden (2%). This morning at 6am (local time) the rig was drilling
ahead in 12-1/4' hole at 285m with a planned total depth (TD) of 1,350m.


PEN-104 is a re-appraisal well within the once productive Peneszlek gas field
and targets gas reservoirs in the Pannonian clastics and the underlying Miocene
tuffs. The Peneszlek gas field produced a total of 4.8 bcf (136 mcm) of gas from
six wells between 1983 and 1989. Re-mapping of the field using seismic data
acquired in 2006 by PetroHungaria leads the parties to believe that significant
reserves may be remaining.


Once PEN-104 drilling is completed, the rig will be moved to the FGY-2 location
in the north part of the block. The group then has the option to drill two
further wells in the western part of the acreage in the first half of 2007.


                                  * * ENDS * *


For further information visit www.ascentresources.co.uk or contact:

Jeremy Eng Ascent Resources plc                 Tel: [phone]

Hugo de Salis St Brides Media & Finance Ltd     Tel: [phone]


Notes

Ascent Resources has an extensive portfolio of over 20 oil and gas projects
across six countries in Europe. The projects are onshore in Italy, Switzerland,
Hungary, Spain and Romania and offshore the Netherlands. Ascent is commencing a
programme of six exploration wells, at least two in Hungary and two each in
Spain and Italy. In 2007, high impact gas exploration wells are also planned in
the Po Valley in Italy and in Switzerland. Ascent will also participate in up to
four non-operated exploration wells in the Aurelian Oil & Gas PLC led project in
Romania (5% Ascent) from where gas sales from the Bilca development commenced
earlier this month. Ascent also produces about 100 barrels of oil daily from
Spain's only onshore oilfield.


With the strong and stable European gas market, Ascent's portfolio favours gas
over oil and, with the exception of the Netherlands, all of its projects are
located onshore where operating and development costs are less than they are
offshore.


Ascent's Board of Directors are specialists in the oil and gas business and each
director has extensive expertise and experience in commercialising energy
assets. The Company's Board and Executive Management provide the basis upon
which Ascent can accommodate the rapid growth that will accompany a discovery
made during the drilling campaign.



                      This information is provided by RNS
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