RIFT OIL PLC
PLACING AND ADMISSION TO AIM


Rift Oil plc ("Rift" or "the Company") has raised 2.3 million before expenses,
through a private placing of 24,080,000 new Ordinary Shares and a placing on
admission to the AIM Market ("AIM") of 22,200,000 new Ordinary Shares, both at
0.05 per share, giving the Company a market capitalisation at the placing price
of 17.3 million. The shares will begin trading on AIM today (19 April 2006).
Insinger de Beaufort is the Nominated Adviser and Broker to the Placing.

Rift was established in November 2004 to acquire a 65% interest in an oil and
gas exploration licence, the petroleum prospecting licence number 235 ("PPL 235
Licence"), in western Papua New Guinea. It acquired this interest in December
2004 through its subsidiary Foreland Oil Limited ("Foreland Oil"), in return for
a commitment to spend US$6 million (approximately 3.2 million) on the
exploration and development of PPL 235. The remaining 35% interest in the PPL
235 Licence is held by Trans-Orient Petroleum (PNG) Limited ("TOPPNG"), a wholly
owned subsidiary of Austral Pacific Energy Ltd ("Austral"), a Yukon
incorporated, oil exploration company operating in New Zealand whose shares are
publicly traded in the United States of America, Canada and New Zealand.

In January 2005, the Company and Austral entered into a joint venture operating
agreement to constitute the joint venture between the Company and Austral (the "
Joint Venture") in relation to the exploration activities to be undertaken
within PPL 235. These include a commitment to drill one exploration well, which
has already commenced as set out below.

Between December 2004 and March 2005, the Company raised a total of 4,505,000
at 0.25 per share from a range of private investors pursuant to an offer for
subscription to enable it to meet its initial obligations in relation to PPL
235, and as general working capital. On 10 April 2006 the Company raised an
additional aggregate sum of 1,204,000 by way of a private placing also at 0.05
per share.

The Joint Venture experienced difficulties in securing an appropriate rig in
order to begin the proposed drilling program on PPL 235. This was due to the
current high demand worldwide for the hire of drilling rigs. This led to the
decision by the Joint Venture, in late July 2005, to purchase the Coral Sea-1
Rig, a heli-transportable, free standing double for the purposes of the Joint
Venture.

PPL 235 covers a total area of approximately 2,910 sq km and lies within the
Foreland Basin, an area southwest of the Papua New Guinea highlands
approximately 500 km west from the capital, Port Moresby. The Company has chosen
the Douglas Prospect and the Puk Puk-1 (previously known as 'Kamu') Prospect
("the Prospects") as the initial targets on PPL 235.

Following extensive commissioning work, drilling on the Douglas Prospect, the
first prospect on PPL 235, commenced on 4 April 2006. The Company expects to
reach the planned total depth of around 2,000m after approximately 20 days of
drilling. This will be followed by a 4 day wireline logging program to determine
what further testwork may be required. Further analysis and interpretation of
the results will be necessary during early May before an announcement can be
made. The Company will then decide whether the results are sufficiently
encouraging to either:

(i) flow test the well;

(ii) drill further appraisal well(s);

(iii) shoot more seismic over the field; or

(iv) drill the Puk Puk-1 Prospect, also on PPL 235.

Rift has lodged an application, together with Austral, for a further PPL (APPL
261) covering an area of some 3,958 sq km immediately north of PPL 235. This
application is in the name of Foreland Oil (for and on behalf of Rift) as to
50%, and TOPPNG (for and on behalf of Austral) as to 50%.

Nice 10%rise today,news on its way?

capetown, we must stop buying the same shares.

time to wonder where to next canada1,something HAS to be going on for this to not only have held its own but to be up when so many stocks have been hit hard.

Very exiting ,after so long in the doldrums we are now up 14% on the day.

Yes, very nice, so happy I sold 30,000 at 4.5p.....NOT!

Hi capetown after yesterdays bloodbath especially nice.
100,000 just gone through at 6p looks like a buy so may go higher still today. IMHO!

Struggling on the boards though with all yesterdays prices still there.
Using three sites to keep up to date.

6.5p offer now, I would guess some positive news will come Friday or Monday at latest, or if there is 'no known reason' for the rise then they should make a statement to say so. Anyone close shed any light?

only 294p to go..!

I hope its not MM's pushing up the price because they have some stock to sell.

Good start to the day, up 0.38p straight away. Does anyone know why, there is a distinct lack of rns and rumour.

Another odd purchase just gone through for 16 shares at 6.75p costing 1.08 plus dealing charges. This would sugest to me that its worth holding or do we have some funny buggers who just like taking the pee.

They must have found a way to get the gas out, plant or pipeline to a ship.

Correct me if i am wrong,but was there an rns to explain the dramatic fall of the sp when it fell from its highs of 12 to 3P,NO!,so it could just well be a correction in value or even better if news is on the way.

14p intraday, I've been buying from 7.5p to 3.35p, it's the second placing that threw me, I thought I was looking at another fao.

Sorry canada1, you've totally lost me. 14p intraday? when? what are you talking about?

So Canada1 are you still in this?,i HOPE so.

oily, rift made 14p intraday, when it was on the top risers board. capetown, only 6,000 left, sold out yesterday, still throwing up..!

Can anyone shed any light as to why there have been 2 mil sells & 500,000 buys & the share price has gone up?

Canada1, I am very sorry to disagree with you but RIFT OIL has never been 14p let alone risen by that in one day. I have held this share from day 1 and the highest that I can recall was 12.something about a week or so after floatation. Please explain to me what you mean by intraday.