Venture Completes Trinidad Operational Withdrawal

Venture Production plc ('Venture'), the Aberdeen based UK independent oil and gas production company, today announces that it has completed the sale of its Trinidad operations to Ten Degrees North Energy Limited ('TDN'), a recently formed local Trinidadian company.

Venture retains an economic interest in its Trinidadian assets through a 40% equity stake in TDN and it will appoint a representative to the Board of the new company. Venture will cease to have any direct operational involvement in Trinidad, consistent with its corporate focus on expanding its UKCS business.

Commenting on the completion of the transaction, Mike Wagstaff, Chief Executive, said:

"I am very pleased to announce completion of a deal which sees us rationalise our business to be 100% UK focused, yet at the same time allows us to retain a material interest in the upside generated by Trinidadian assets. These assets were the bedrock of Venture and without them we would not have been able to build the business we have today. We believe that attractive development opportunities still exist in Trinidad and I look forward to Ten Degrees North positioning itself to take advantage of them as a new local independent energy company."

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Notes to Editors

Venture has transferred its entire interests in Trinidad to TDN, a newly established company in which it will hold 40% equity ownership.
Dr Jim Lee-Young and Bruce Dingwall, who are both Trinidadian citizens, hold 35.5% of TDN between them. Dr Lee-Young ran the Trinidadian operations for Venture prior to the disposal and Mr Dingwall was Chief Executive of Venture from its inception in 1997 until September 2004.
Venture's Trinidadian interests consist of:

Licence/Concession	Venture Interest	Operator	Status
WD-13	100.0%	VPTL	Producing oil field
WD-14	100.0%	VPTL	Producing oil field
Tabaquite	100.0%	VPTL	Producing oil/gas field
Brighton Marine	100.0%	VPTL	Producing oil field
Point Ligoure	50.0%	VPTL	Producing oil field

Without fresh investment Venture's Trinidadian assets have been producing at an average rate of around 1,000 barrels of oil per day ('bopd') net to Venture in the 12 months to 31 December 2005.
This strategic disposal leaves Venture wholly focused on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf ('UKCS') where it currently operates 21 field interests. Of these, 10 are in production, three are currently under development (Chestnut, Goosander, Amanda) and eight are undeveloped discoveries.
In addition, Venture is a partner in the producing Saturn field and the Mimas discovery currently under development (both operated by ConocoPhilips) as well as being a partner in a further eight undeveloped discoveries.
Venture is currently producing in excess of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day ('boepd').