Forest Gate Resources Inc. has commenced drilling on its Hook Head appraisal well, located in Standard Exploration Licence 2/07 in the North Celtic Sea Basin. Using the Petrolia semi-submersible rig, drilling operations on the 50/11-3 well commenced at approximately 20:45 on Friday, August 17th and are expected to last 50 days.

The Hook Head structure is a large anticline that was first drilled in 1971 by Marathon. The IRL 50/11-1 well discovered hydrocarbons in five sandstone units within the Lower Cretaceous. The well was not flow-tested due to severe operational issues at the time.

"The project is moving ahead as anticipated and I look forward to news from Ireland in the very near future." said Michael Judson, President & CEO of Forest Gate.

The IRL 50/11-2 discovery well, drilled by Marathon in 1975, was a delineation well at the down-dip edge of the structure. Post-drill mapping by Marathon indicates that the crest of the structure is located to the north-east of the IRL50/11-1 discovery well. This mapping is further supported by the seismic data acquired by Providence in 2006.

"We are very pleased that the drilling is now underway," said Michael Judson, President of Forest Gate. "This is a very exciting time for Forest Gate and our consortium partners."