Vietnam Drilling Update

Soco International PLC 25 September 2007 SOCO International plc ('SOCO' or 'the Company') Vietnam Drilling 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), the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa) and Angola with production operations in Yemen. TGL-1X Well The Company's majority owned subsidiary, SOCO Vietnam Ltd., announces that the Te Giac Lam 1X ('TGL-1X') exploration well, the first well on Prospect 'O' in Block 16-1, will be plugged and abandoned after reaching a total depth of 3,697 metres. The well was drilled to test a Miocene four-way closure on one of the Basement ridges that appear on seismic to be analogous to the geological setting of the Te Ge Trang ('TGT') field discovery to the East, and deepened to intersect the Oligocene sands. Even though the well was drilled overpressured, mud log data indicated 70 metres of sand with good oil shows in the Oligocene section. A test was conducted over this interval however, the sands at this location were found to be tight and further testing was discontinued. The data gathered during the testing process will be further analysed to determine future drilling activities on Prospect 'O' in Block 16-1. Upcoming Drilling Activity - TGD-1X Well Testing and VN-1X Exploration Well The rig will immediately move to the 'AA' prospect to drill the Voi Nau 1X exploration well ('VN-1X'), which is estimated to take approximately 20 days prior to testing, if required. The 'AA' prospect is located on a shallow water play fairway, on trend with an oilfield discovered in 2002 by the NO-1X well. Following this well, the rig will be fitted with high pressure equipment, including a 15,000 psi blow out preventer, which will enable it to test the Te Giac Den 1X ('TGD-1X') well on Prospect 'E', which covers an areal extent of 30 kilometres. As announced on 30 July 2007, the TGD-1X well encountered hydrocarbons in two Oligocene clastic sequences, which were separated by a volcanic layer. Well logs over the upper sequence, the object of the impending test, indicated approximately 30 metres of net pay. After drilling through the volcanics, the well also encountered a subsequent high pressure clastic sequence with oil and gas shows, which is anticipated to continue through a further 300 metres of sediment. This interval will not be re-entered on this test, but will be redrilled later in the drilling programme. Ed Story, President and Chief Executive of SOCO, commented: 'Reservoir quality in the Oligocene section has proven to be challenging in the Cuu Long Basin, but has offered good successes in both the TGT field and the overpressured TGD-1X well. Given our experience in the TGD-1X well to date, we expect more consistent success in the overpressured, massive structures represented by the 'E' and 'E' South prospects and look forward to testing the upper sequence of the TGD-!x well in the near future.' 25 September 2007 ENQUIRIES: SOCO International plc Roger Cagle Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Tel: 020 7747 2000 Financial Officer Pelham Public Relations James Henderson Tel: 020 7743 6673 Alisdair Haythornthwaite Tel: 020 7743 6676 Notes to editors: 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 ('HVJOC') and holds a 28.5% working interest in Block 16-1, which is operated by the Hoang Long Joint Operating Company ('HLJOC'). OPECO, Inc. holds a 2% interest in Block 16-1. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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