Drilling Update

Soco International PLC
15 November 2004

SOCO International plc

('SOCO' or 'the Company')

Yemen Drilling Update



SOCO is an international oil and gas exploration and production company,
headquartered in London. The Company has interests in Vietnam, Mongolia, Yemen,
Libya, Tunisia, and Thailand with production operations in Yemen, Tunisia and
Mongolia.





The Company's majority owned subsidiary, Comeco Petroleum, Inc. ('Comeco'),
through which the Company holds a 16.785% interest in the East Shabwa
Development Area in Yemen (ESDA), announces the results of the initial well of
an appraisal and development drilling programme targeting the Basement in the
Kharir Field. This well is the first of three wells planned for 2004.



The KHA-401 well spudded on 17th August 2004 reaching a total depth of 3,873
metres. The well was drilled to test the potential of the downthrown fault block
at the far eastern end of the field. It was located away from the more
prospective crestal area of the field in order to avoid the possibility of a
secondary gas cap. The main objective of the well was to test the development of
potential productive fractures at depth, over 600 metres below the top of the
Basement and well below the level encountered in previous wells in to the
Basement.



Both oil and gas shows were encountered and initial log results indicated that
there were two thin zones of interest in the Upper Biyad Cretaceous reservoir
and some 340 metres of inferred fractured Basement. The well was suspended to
allow for the rig to be moved to the next location. Limited testing, due to a
poor cement bond at the casing shoe, was carried out including acidisation,
utilising a workover unit between 26th and 31st October 2004.



Initial interpretations of the test results of the well indicate that the well
encountered reservoir but, the fracture development is inadequate to support
economic production at this depth and location. It does however provide valuable
information on the depth below top of Basement for the potential for water
injection as an option for the required pressure maintenance planned for the
full development of the structure.



Currently the well is suspended while options for side tracking the well to a
shallower location are explored.



The second well in the Basement drilling programme, the KHA-402, is currently
drilling an 8-1/2' section at 2,986 metres.



                                                                15 November 2004



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


College Hill                                                 Tel:  [phone]
Ben Brewerton

Nick Elwes







Notes to Editors



Comeco, in which SOCO holds a 58.75% interest, has a 28.57% interest in the ESDA
in Block 10 in Yemen.  The East Shabwa joint venture is operated by TOTAL Yemen,
S.A. (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).




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