San Leon has been offered a new licensing option, Licensing Option 11/13, ("License" or "Option") in the 2011 Atlantic Margin Licensing Round, offshore Ireland. The Option area covers 986 km² and includes four full blocks, 27/13, 27/14, 27/19 and 27/24.

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources announced the offer on October 17, 2011, which if accepted by San Leon, will run from November 1, 2011 to October 31, 2013.

The License is adjacent to the company's current FEL 4/06 Slyne License, where San Leon (50% interest) and Lundin Petroleum (50% interest) acquired 300 square kilometres of 3D seismic data in August 2010. That new Slyne 3D data has now been interpreted and both parties have engaged First Energy Capital to market the mapped Inishmore Prospect to potential farminees. The new Option is also adjacent to License 1/06 which is owned by Serica Energy (50% interest) and RWE Dea (50% interest).

Oisin Fanning, Executive Chairman of San Leon Energy, commented, "Ireland offers an excellent fiscal regime in a proven petroleum system. This new Option does not come with an onerous work program and we see it as complimentary to our existing high impact Atlantic Margin portfolio.

Offshore Atlantic Margin Ireland is very underexplored and recent activity suggests that that could change. We are pleased to expand our acreage in this area with minimal exposure to shareholders."

Tags: San Leon Energy