Dana Petroleum

Press Release

24th September 2004

DANA PETROLEUM PLC ("DANA", "THE COMPANY", OR "THE GROUP")

DTI Approval of the Gadwall Oilfield Develoment

Dana is pleased to announce that the UK Department of Trade and Industry ("DTI") has given its approval for the development of the Gadwall oil field. Gadwall is located in UKCS Block 21/19 within the Greater Kittiwake Area ("GKA"), an area in the central North Sea surrounding the Kittiwake production platform in which Dana and Venture Production plc each have a 50% participating interest.

Gadwall will be developed as a sub-sea tie back to the Kittiwake platformutilising a single producer/injector pair of wells. The discovery well on the Gadwall field, 21/19-6, was originally drilled in 1996 by Shell and suspended for subsequent re-use. Completion of the suspended well as a producer is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2004 and, after a period of monitoring production performance, drilling of a water injection well is planned during 2005.

First oil from the Gadwall field is expected by February 2005 once tie-in of the production well to the Kittiwake platform is completed. Estimated proven and probable recoverable reserves for the field amount to 7.3 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Commenting on the news, Tom Cross, Dana's Chief Executive, said:

"DTI approval of the Gadwall development achieves an important milestone in driving forward the Greater Kittiwake Area. Gadwall will add significant production to Dana in 2005 and increase the Company's total number of producing fields to ten."

For further information please contact:

Tom Cross, Chief Executive	Dana Petroleum plc	01224 652400
Andy Bostock, Technical Director	Dana Petroleum plc	01224 652400
Nick Elwes	College Hill Associates	020 7457 2020

Notes to Editors:

• The base case Gadwall water flood development is expected to deliver a peak annual average oil production rate of approximately 6,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The expected producing life of the Gadwall oil field is approximately 10 years, with cumulative production of 6.6 million barrels of oil and 4.4 billion cubic feet of gas forecast to be recovered over that period, a total of 7.3 million barrels of oil equivalent.
• The production well completion is scheduled for 4Q 2004 using the Sedco 704 drilling rig owned by Transocean. The tie-back involves a 75m tie in to the existing Mallard production flowline plus a 3km control umbilical to Mallard. The water injection well tie in point will be installed as part of the production well tie in work, thus enabling injection to commence as soon as the water injection well is completed. No modifications will be required to the Kittiwake platform.
• The Greater Kittiwake Area ("GKA") is an area of approximately 1,350 sq. km encompassing 11 North Sea Blocks. The area is administered by a single Joint Operating Agreement in which Dana and Venture each have a 50% participating interest. The GKA contains the producing Kittiwake and Mallard oil fields, the Gadwall oil field development and a number of future development, appraisal and exploration opportunities.
• Following the Gadwall production well completion, the Sedco 704 will move to the Mallard field, where the existing Mallard water injection well will be sidetracked to a new location designed to optimise future recovery of oil from the Mallard field.