Caithness Petroleum Latest

18th September 2011

Caithness Petroleum the company that recently drilled for oil at Lybster has made some changes and given an update on the field at Lybster.

Caithness Petroleum Limited - Board Appointment
Caithness Petroleum Limited ("Caithness" or the "Company"), the privately owned British
independent petroleum exploration and production company, is pleased to announce the
appointment of Peter de Wit, who recently retired as Chairman of Shell Netherlands, as a non executive director of the Company, with effect from 15 September 2011.

Peter, 62, is a Dutch national who has spent most of his 40 year career with Shell in the downstream oil marketing and natural gas sectors, based at various times in the UK, the USA, the Netherlands and a number of locations in the Far East.  A graduate in economics and political science from Trinity College, Dublin, Peter joined Shell in 1971 and worked initially in Shell's oil marketing and natural gas businesses in Australia, the UK and Nigeria.

In the 1980s, he held management roles in Shell's Australian and Dutch retail oil marketing, and its global gas marketing  business in the UK and USA, before moving to London in the mid 1990s as Vice President Aviation and Marine Products and Vice President & Commercial of Shell Coal.  In 1998, Peter was appointed Strategy Director for Shell's Gas and Power division and in 1999 joined this division's Executive Committee, as Executive Vice President responsible for the Middle East Region.

In 2002, he relocated to Singapore to serve as Executive Vice President for the critical Asia Pacific Region, overseeing Shell's high profile Asian gas business and a number of new LNG and coal gasification projects including in the Russian Far East, Australia and China.  At that time he also served as non executive Board member of Woodside Petroleum.  In 2005, he returned to The Hague as Executive Vice President responsible for Shell's Global LNG business.

From late 2007 until his retirement in May 2011, Peter served as President and Country Chairman, Shell Netherlands.  In addition to his business accountabilities, while based in The Hague, Peter was also responsible for Government relations and represented Shell on numerous boards, industry and government & sponsored bodies.

Commenting on the appointment, David Donnelly, Chairman, said:  "I am delighted to welcome Peter de Wit to the Board.  His extensive international board level experience is an excellent complement to the expertise of our other Board members and I look
forward to working with him on the next phase of the Company's development." 

Lybster, UK
Caithness operates eight blocks in the UK North Sea, with a 65% interest in blocks 11/23, 11/24, 11/25b, 11/27 and 11/28 and a 50% interest in blocks 12/22b and 12/23b.  Caithness also holds a 50% interest in block 23/26c in the Central North Sea.  The Company's partner on the UK North Sea blocks is Trap Oil's subsidiary Reach Exploration (UK) Limited.

Block 11/24 contains the Lybster and Knockinnon fields.  Some  promising undrilled prospects and leads have been identified on blocks 11/24, 11/25b, 11/28 and 12/23b.
In 2010/11, Caithness re-entered, side tracked and extended its L11/24& 8208;3 well (drilled from onshore) into the eastern part of the Lybster field to twin the original vertical discovery well.

The sidetrack well, L11/24 & 3z, was completed for production and test operations have recently been concluded on the well which flow tested at rates of up to 1,900 barrels of oil per day of 38 degree API oil through avariable choke set at 36/64".  The well has now been shut in pending completion of surface facilities, prior to the start of production.

The Company is now preparing to acquire a 2D seismic survey in the area.  An offshore well to appraise the Knockinnon field is also planned.

Caithness Petroleum Web Site
http://www.caithnesspetroleum.com/