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30 April 2008

Matra Petroleum plc ("Matra" or the "Company"): Update – Hungary

Matra Petroleum plc (AIM:MTA), the oil and gas E&P company focused on Central Europe and Russia announces the following operational update for Hungary:

Matra is pleased to announce that its Hungarian subsidiary has signed a contract with Rotary Drilling of Hungary for the drilling of two exploration wells on the Inke Concession in Hungary. Rotary drilling has confirmed the availability of its rig 42 at the completion of operations at its current location – this is currently anticipated by mid-May.

The rig will be used to drill Pamuk-1 and Polany-1. These wells are located within the 2007 3-D seismic survey on the north eastern sector of the Concession. Pamuk-1 will be drilled to a depth of 2000m and is expected to take 20 days to drill and log. Polany -1 will be drilled to a depth of 1600m and is expected to take 18 days to drill and log. The total cost of the two well programme is $5 million gross ($2 million net to Matra).

Both prospects exhibit strong Direct Hydrocarbon Indicators (DHI's) based on modelling of the 2007 seismic survey.

At the Company's request Senergy conducted an independent review of the two prospects. Their findings are summarised as follows:

Pamuk-1

Estimate of Prospective Resources (Billions of Standard Cubic Feet) – BCF

Chance of Success – 33%

An economic assessment of the potential worth in the case of discovery, subsequent successful appraisal and development at the Best Estimate level indicated the following valuation:

Estimated Unrisked after tax Net Present Value of the Best Estimate:

Polany -1

Estimate of Prospective Resources (Billions of Standard Cubic Feet) – BCF

In addition Senergy indicated the possibility of an additional 3 stacked targets also identified separately by DHI's that are not included in the above volume estimate.

Chance of Success – 28%

An economic assessment of the potential worth in the case of discovery, subsequent successful appraisal and development at the Best Estimate level indicated the following valuation:

Estimated Unrisked after tax Net Present Value of the Best Estimate:

Both sets of economics assumed:

Successful discovery, appraisal and development with first gas in mid 2009

A notional gas development using estimated capital and operating costs only

A constant gas price of $11/mcf.

After tax NPV calculated at 10% discount rate

Peter Hind, Matra's Managing Director said:

"The combination of good fiscal terms in Hungary and the proximity to infrastructure means that discoveries of this size can have a significant impact for Matra. The Senergy report confirms our own view of the prospectivity of the Inke Concession."

Matra has a 40% interest in the Mezocsokonya Exploration License and in the Inke Concession.

The information in this release that relates to technical matters has been provided by Senergy Limited and reviewed by Dr Neil Hodgson (BSC, PhD) Matra's Exploration Director, a Petroleum Geologist with more than 20 years experience and who is a Fellow of the Geological Society and a member of the Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain (PESGB).

Estimates of Prospective Resources have been made in accordance with Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) definitions.

For further Information, please contact:

Matra Petroleum

www.matrapetroleum.com

Peter Hind, Managing Director +44 (0) 7990 807855

Neil Hodgson, Exploration Director +44 (0) 7973 342822

Aquila Financial Limited

www.aquila-finacial.com

Peter Reilly +44 (0) 118 979 4100

Matra's nominated Advisor is

RFC Corporate Finance Ltd -

Contact: Steve Allen +618 94802500

Glossary

SPE – Society of Petroleum Engineers

Prospective Resources are "those quantities of petroleum which are estimated, on a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations."

$ – means United States dollars

Notes to Editors:

Matra Petroleum plc

Matra is actively exploring both Hungary and Russia and is constantly reviewing new opportunities for investment in both those areas and the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Central Europe provides significant opportunities in proven oil and gas producing provinces in an increasingly open, stable and attractive commercial environment. The dependence upon oil and gas imports from other areas has heightened the need for Central European countries to develop domestic resources.

By contrast, European Russia has substantially greater oil and gas reserves typically encountered in smaller accumulations than seen in the Eastern regions of Russia. In addition to opportunities to acquire known fields requiring further development and optimisation there are also low risk exploration plays that offer potentially high rewards.

Matra Petroleum shares are traded under the symbol MTA on AIM, a market operated by London Stock Exchange.

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