Manati update

Panoro Energy ASA ("PEN", OSE ticker code), the independent oil and gas company with assets in West Africa and Brazil: The Operator for the Manati gas field offshore Brazil has notified the partners that it has concluded an inspection of the platform risers.

As a result of the inspection, the Operator, in agreement with the consortium, decided to temporarily shut down three additional wells as a safety precaution. As communicated in the Panoro Energy ASA Q4-2010 report, two wells were already shut down due to maintenance. Consequently, the field is currently producing from one out of six wells, causing a temporary decrease in its production capacity. According to the Operator, two of the temporarily shut down wells are expected to be back in production in approximately one week, reaching a total capacity of 4.3 MMm3/day. The production capacity of Manati field is expected to further ramp up in the following steps: (i) 5.3 MMm3/day by end of March 2011, (ii) 7.0 MMm3/day by end of April 2011, and (iii) 8.0 MMm3/day  end of May 2011.

The Operator maintains the 2011 field average production estimate of 6.0 MMm3/day (~3,700 boe/day net to PEN).

The Operator has currently not released any firm information regarding the cost of this maintenance, however the estimate is that total cost could be up to USD 20 million (USD 2 million net to PEN).

Panoro Energy ASA holds its 10 % ownership in the Manati gas field through its Brazilian subsidiary Rio das Contas.

For more information, please contact:

Jonas Gamre
Finance & Investor Relations Manager
Tel.: +47 23 01 10 02
Cell: +47 971 18 292
Email: jonas.gamre@panoroenergy.com