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%.

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.

oily, intraday means it doesn't show up on the charts, it might only be one or two trades, similar to cpnr, which topped out at 7.75p to sell, for about two seconds.

What I found confusing, which I have just worked out, is that the three parts of your post, cover a period of several months and bare no relevance to the current movement in RIFT sp movement. There are a lot of larger sales going through at the moment and strangley the price is rising. This happened on PRTY last week and that came crashing down. I have a strange feeling that the same is happening here, giving an opportunity for longer term holders to bail out, while the market makers sucker in new blood. As there is news expected soon I am going to risk it and hold for the time being.

Just had another thought. Could be that someone wants to buy really big so MM's are collecting stock at whatever price.

I think they've found a way to get the gas to market, if they have then it's a pci and goo scenario, up to mid teens. That 300,000 long at 6.5p seems to think so. I'm off to hang myself !.

If you think its mid teens, then jump back in.

Edging up again, getting rather exciting. If it does go to mid teens then i'm halving my stock for a free ride.

I can smell oil.

I can't i've got a blocked nose, pass us a tissue.

Try Olbas oil it works for me.

I was right, a large buyer waiting in the wings 4.3 million shares, thats why the price was rising whilst most trades were sales.

Looks like some more movement here this afternoon.

And another tick up!,i keep sniffing but cant smell OIL?,heavy selling at yet the sp is still on an upward trend,finally in profit,tempted to get out but greed tells me that there MUST be a soon to be revealed reason for the increase.