01 February 2007

Irvine Energy plc appoints shale
gas specialists as Chairman and
Managing Director

Irvine Energy plc, the AIM listed oil & gas exploration company, has appointed Doug Manner and Aaron Close to its Board as Chairman and Managing Director respectively. The existing directors will remain on the Board as non-executive directors. The appointments are part of the Company's strategy of assembling a board with the relevant experience, expertise and connections to advance the Company's shale and conventional gas portfolio in the Chattanooga Shale oil and gas region in Kansas, build a strategic initial acreage position and provide the Company with strong deal flow to achieve its objectives.

Doug Manner has over 25 years engineering experience in the oil and gas industry, principally in the North American region as well as extensive corporate experience serving on the Boards of numerous oil and gas exploration firms. He is currently Chief Executive Officer ('CEO') of Westside Energy Corporation, an American Stock Exchange listed shale gas energy company with 65,000 acres in the Barnett Shale area in Northern Texas and production of 3 million cubic feet gas per day. He is also a Director of Cordero Energy, Inc and Rio Vista Energy Partners LP, energy companies based in North America.

Previously, Mr Manner has held senior positions in oil & gas companies including, COO of Kosmos Energy LLC, a private company exploring for oil and gas in offshore West Africa, COO of White Stone Energy, a Houston based oil and gas advisory firm, Chairman and CEO of Mission Resources and COO of Gulf Canada Resources Ltd responsible for both international and domestic activities. He spent 16 years with Ryder Scott Petroleum engineers having started his career at Amoco Production Company.

Aaron Close has over nine years experience as a geoscientist in the North American oil and gas sector, having graduated from the Colorado School of Mines Golden with a Bachelor of Science, Mathematics and Computer Science Engineering and Geophysics in 1997. Mr. Close has extensive knowledge and experience of shale gas exploration including mineralogical, petrophysical, stratigraphic, geomechanical, and geochemical analysis. Until recently he was a Gas Shale Supervisor and Geoscientist for Kerogen Resources Inc, which specialises in identifying unconventional gas shale formations in North American Basins. He worked on the initial geologic and engineering evaluation of the Barnett Shale, where he led a team in the acquisition of over 12,000 acres of land and then undertook 3D seismic. He also handled most aspects of corporate technology development with Kerogen Resources Inc. He also gained vast experience as a Geoscientist at EnCana Corporation, an industry leader in unconventional natural gas and integrated oil sands development. Here he primarily worked in unconventional plays, exploration and development focusing primarily on gas shales, as well as tight sand, cherts, tight carbonates and basin centre accumulations. Mr. Close is a proven oil finder having discovered new oil and gas accumulations for EnCana Corporation in the Comanche Ranch Field, Texas. Additionally he has gained experience in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas as a geophysicist at Marathon Oil Company, where he undertook seismic interpretation and mapping of exploration sites, and producing fields.

Irvine Energy director Michael Frayne said: "Our strategy is to become a leading player in the Chattanooga Shale gas formation by building and developing an extensive land position of between 100,000 to 200,000 acres. We are very pleased to welcome both Doug and Aaron to the Board and feel they are ideally suited to lead the exploration and development programme, and contribute significantly to achieving our aggressive growth objectives. Additionally, with such extensive experience in our area of activity, they both have the ability to introduce us to further opportunities in the sector to expand the Company. I believe the Board now has the connections, experience and expertise to deliver our vision of building Irvine Energy into a significant operator in the unconventional oil and gas industry focussed in North America."

Incoming Managing Director Aaron Close said: "I'm very excited to be joining Irvine. The Company has already established a first mover advantage on the prospective Chattanooga formation and I am looking forward to helping the Company to the next phase of its development and assisting in realising its potential."

The Company has granted Mr Manner and Mr Close 10 million options each to subscribe for ordinary shares in the Company of which 5 million each will be exercisable at a price of 3.5p per share and 5 million each will be exercisable at a price of 6p per share. The options granted to Mr Manner and Mr Close have a term of five years from the date of grant.

Douglas Glenn Manner, aged 51, is a director or has been a director of the following companies during the previous five years:

Current Directorships:
Westside Energy Corporation
Cordero Energy Inc.
Rio Vista Energy Partners L.P.

Directorships held within the previous five years:
White Stone Energy
Blizzard Energy, Inc.
Resolute Energy, Inc.
Zenas Energy Corp.

Mr Manner was a partner in Kosmos Energy, LLC until January 2006.

Aaron Dale Close, aged 31, has not held any directorships previous to this appointment during the last five years. Mr Close was a partner in Close Enterprises up to January 2006.

There are no other matters which are required to be announced with regard to these appointments under paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules.

For further information please visit www.irvineenergy.com or contact:

Irvine Energy plc
Michael Frayne, Tel: +44 (0) 207 016 9579

Nabarro Wells & Co Ltd
Hugh Oram, Tel: +44 (0) 207 710 7400

St Brides Media & Finance
Hugo de Salis, Tel: +44 (0) 207 242 4477

St Brides Media & Finance
Felicity Edwards, Tel: +44 (0) 207 242 4477

Notes to Editors:

Irvine Energy Plc strategy is to establish itself as a leading player in the exploration and development of the Chattanooga Shale gas formation in Kansas, USA. The Company already has a 75% working interest in approximately 61,000 acres of oil and gas leases as part of a lease acquisition, exploration and development strategy with a target acreage of between 100,000 and 200,000 hectares. The aim is to explore unconventional "shale gas", with its joint venture partner the Metro Energy Group Inc, as well as conventional gas targets, within an exclusive area of mutual interest covering approximately seven million acres in the Chattanooga Shale.

Organic rich shales are hydrocarbon source rocks which are pervasive across large geographic areas, and not confined to limited traps or structures. These shales typically have lower gas flow rates than conventional reservoirs, but tend to produce over longer periods. Recent technological advancements, including fracture stimulation combined with horizontal drilling, and higher gas prices have enabled economic natural gas production from extensive shale basins. This has resulted in the development of the multi-billion dollar shale gas industry in the US, one of the fastest growing energy sectors in onshore US.

Following the appointments of Mr Manner and Mr Close, the Board has extensive experience of the energy sector and has a good understanding of the potential value of shale gas projects. By utilizing industry contacts Irvine hopes to rapidly develop and expand its portfolio to increase shareholder value.