Northern Petroleum Plc announces that, further to its previously announced agreement with Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (“NAM”) involving cooperation onshore Netherlands, it has appointed Birger Polkamp, a Netherlands national, as a director of its wholly owned Netherlands subsidiary, NP Netherlands B.V. (“NPN”).

Mr Polkamp has been appointed in order to assist with operations in the Netherlands. Mr Polkamp graduated from Utrecht University with a degree in Company Law, after which he joined the Shell Group. During a thirty-four year career, he held various senior financial, legal and operational positions within the Shell Group, both in the Netherlands and overseas, including latterly as an executive board member of NAM . Mr Polkamp is also a former member of the Executive Committee of The Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association, which promotes the common interests of all companies holding licenses to explore for, develop and produce hydrocarbons both on and offshore in the Netherlands.

Additional Netherlands Expansion Opportunities

In line with Northern’s strategy to increase its assets in the Netherlands, NPN has applied for a Production Licence to develop the Papekop oil and gas field discovered in 1986 by NAM. A later competitive application was submitted in April 2005.

The case for development of the Papekop field has been based upon interpreted and mapped Government released data including the Papekop-1 discovery well and a 3D seismic survey acquired by NAM in 1994.

Derek Musgrove, Managing Director of Northern stated, “Birger Polkamp’s experience in oil and gas production in the Netherlands, where Northern is building a portfolio of attractive assets, will be of great benefit to the Company a we move to increase our activity in the country.

We look forward to working with him and, hopefully, to reporting the successful outcome of our application on the Papekop oil and gas field.”

For further information please contact:

Derek Musgrove/Graham Heard
Northern Petroleum
Tel. 020 7743 6080

Ben Simons/Chris Roberts
Hansard Communications
Tel. 020 7245 1100