Company Information for Sterling Energy Plc

AIM-SEY

www.sterlingenergyplc.com

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AIM; SEY

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Company Statement

Sterling Energy is an upstream Oil and Gas company listed on the AIM (SEY) Market of the London Stock Exchange. The company has a portfolio of exploration interests in Africa and the Middle East.

STRATEGY

The Company's business strategy is to be an integrated exploration, development and production company; creating sufficient cash flow to both reinvest for further growth and, when appropriate, to provide returns to Shareholders.

To deliver on this strategy the Company requires several key ingredients:

a team of talented and experienced technical, commercial, and financial specialists;
access to highly prospective exploration projects in investor friendly fiscal regimes;
expertise to promptly develop discoveries into cash flow generative and profitable assets; and
to operate safely and responsibly so that all stakeholders are proud to be involved in the Company's activities.

In the near term the Board:

is planning to commence drilling at the Sangaw North prospect in Kurdistan;
is seeking farm-in partners for some of its offshore blocks; and
will conduct a full review of the Group's exploration and production assets and seek to add new projects.

Operations and Technology

Sterling Energy has built a portfolio of exploration and production assets in Africa and the Middle East. The exploration portfolio increased significantly in potential prospectivity through the signing of the Sangaw North PSC. Sterling will renew its efforts to identify and acquire new ventures securing interests through direct licensing agreements, farming in or acquisition.

Africa
In addition to production from Mauritania, Sterling Energy has built a portfolio of exploration interests in the Middle East and Africa.

Sterling is operator on licences in three of its core areas in Africa: Madagascar, Gabon and Cameroon.

Middle East
In November 2007 Sterling made its entry into the Middle East through the signature of the Sangaw North PSC in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Geographical Spread

Production - Mauritania

Board of Directors and Key Management

Alastair Beardsall, Executive Chairman

Alastair joined Sterling in September 2009. He has been involved in the oil industry for 28 years. For the first 12 years Alastair worked on international assignments with Schlumberger, the oil-field services company. From 1992 he began working for independent exploration and production operators, with increasing responsibility for specific exploration, development and production ventures.

Between September 2003 and October 2009, Alastair was Executive Chairman of Emerald Energy plc during which time Emerald grew from a market capitalisation of less than £8 million to entering the FTSE 250 index in January 2009. Recently taken over by Sinochem Resources UK Limited, Emerald was valued at £7.50 per share or £532 million for the entire issued share capital at the time of acquisition.

Andrew Grosse, Exploration and Technical Director

Andrew joined Sterling in 2002, as the company’s Exploration Manager, and was appointed as a Director in January 2005. He has extensive international exploration experience with operating oil companies in Africa, the Middle East and North America.

Prior to joining Sterling, he was British-Borneo’s Exploration Manager for the Gulf of Mexico and then for International New Ventures. He began his career with Gulf Oil in Canada, and has also worked with BP Exploration and Ultramar Exploration.

Jon Cooper, Financial Director and Company Secretary

Jon joined Sterling as Finance Director in February 2008. He is an experienced finance professional with advisory experience in the oil and gas industry.

Jon began his career with KPMG where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant, and in 1997 joined Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein as a Director in the Oil and Gas Corporate Finance Team. During this time he worked on mergers and acquisitions, public offerings and as strategic adviser to a wide range of companies including Gazprom, Lukoil, OMV, PKN Orlen, Unocal, Petronas and Harvest Natural Resources. Prior to joining Sterling Jon spent two years working as Finance Director at Gulf Keystone Petroleum.

Dick Stabbins, Non-Executive Director

Dick joined Sterling as a Non-Executive Director in January 2007. He currently chairs the Nominations Committee and is a member of the Audit and Remuneration Committees.

Dick is a geologist with more than 35 years of experience in the international energy industry, mainly in the independent sector. He has worked for the Saskatchewan (Canada) Department of Mineral Resources (1969-72), for Murphy Oil (1972 -75) and for Ranger Oil (1975-81). He was Exploration Manager and subsequently Exploration Director of Goal Petroleum plc from 1981 until 1996.

Dick currently manages a private energy company, Montrose Industries Ltd, which has interests in a wide range of energy projects. He is a former Chairman (1990) of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain and a Council Member (2000-2003) of the Geological Society of London, whose Audit Committee he Chairs.

Nicholas Clayton, Non-Executive Director

Nicholas was appointed a Non-Executive Director of Sterling in October 2009. He chairs the Audit Committee and a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committees.

Nick has provided strategic and corporate finance advice to a number of public and private oil and gas companies since January 2007. Between August 2005 and December 2006 he was Global Co-Head of Oil and Gas Corporate Finance for Canaccord Adams. For the previous 5 years he held the position of Global Head of Oil and Gas Corporate Finance for Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, the investment bank, having previously been Global Head of Oil and Gas Research between 1997 and 2000. Nick began his career at BP having obtained a first class honours degree in Business Studies, sponsored by BP, from Portsmouth Polytechnic in 1985.

He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Artumas Group Inc, an international oil company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, and of Bridge Resources Corp., a Canadian listed company with operations in the North Sea and North America. Nick also provides strategic advice to Geopark, an AIM-listed company operating in Chile and Argentina.

Keith Henry, Non-Executive Director

Keith was appointed a Non-Executive Director of Sterling in September 2009. He chairs the Remuneration Committee and is a member of the Audit and Nominations Committees.

He has over 33 years of international business experience in the development, ownership, design and construction of major facilities worldwide. He was with Brown & Root Limited for 23 years, the last five of which were as Chief Executive responsible for the Europe, Africa and FSU regions. From 1995 to 1999 he was Chief Executive of National Power Plc, and then Chief Executive of Kvaerner Engineering and Construction Ltd until June 2003.

Keith serves as Chairman of Regal Petroleum plc and Helius Energy plc, as well as serving as a Non-Executive Director and advisor to a number of companies in the engineering, services and energy sectors. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Company Address

5 Chancery Lane
London, United Kingdom WC2A 1LG


Telephone:	+44 (0) 20 7405 4133
Facsimile:	+44 (0) 20 7440 9059
Email:	info[at]sterlingenergyuk.com
Website:	http://www.sterlingenergyplc.com

Capital

Issued Ordinary Shares; 219,304,551

Year End

31 December

Nominated Brokers

Evolution Securities
100 Wood Street
London, EC2V 7AN
United Kingdom

Nominated Advisors