Company Announcements

25 January 2021

Bowleven plc ('Bowleven' or 'the Company')

Etinde Exploitation Authorisation Agreement

Bowleven, the Africa focused oil and gas exploration group traded on AIM, today announces that New Age Ltd (New Age), Operator of the Etinde licence, has received formal approval to apply for a new Etinde Exploitation Agreement (EEA). This would replace the  existing EEA which came into force by Presidential decree in January 2015.

The agreement was reached following discussions with the Government of Cameroon's representative, Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures, the national oil and gas company of the Republic of Cameroon (SNH). The authorisation is based on the following general terms:

The new EEA would be for the production of hydrocarbons including the delivery of gas to thermal power plants or any other projects confirmed by the State.

Commenting on the announcement, Eli Chahin, CEO of Bowleven, said:

"We are pleased to announce that following a constructive dialogue between the Etinde JV partners and SNH, authorisation to apply for a replacement EEA has been granted.  This is very positive news for the Etinde development, as it essentially eliminates the possibility of the Government of Cameroon removing the Etinde licence from the JV partners, following the end of the initial six year development implementation period in January 2021.

The JV partners continue to make good progress towards achieving a Final Investment Decision on the licence in 2021 and I look forward to keeping all our stakeholders updated on developments over the coming months."

This announcement may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements".  These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "estimates", "anticipates", "projects", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", "seeks" or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions.  These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts.  They include statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, amongst other things, the results of operations, financial conditions, liquidity, prospects, growth and strategies of the Company and its direct and indirect subsidiaries (the "Group") and the industry in which the Group operates.  By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future.  Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.  The Group's actual results of operations, financial conditions and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which the Group operates, may differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in the announcement.  In addition, even if the Group's results of operations, financial conditions and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which the Group operates, are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in the announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.  In light of those risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements in the announcement may not occur.  Other than in accordance with the Company's obligations under the AIM Rules for Companies and the Market Abuse Regulations, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or to persons acting on the Company's behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements referred to above and contained elsewhere in the announcement.

Notes to Editors:

Bowleven plc is an African focused oil and gas group, based in London and traded on AIM. It is dedicated to realising material shareholder value from its asset in Cameroon, whilst maintaining capital discipline and employing a rigorously selective approach to other value-enhancing opportunities.

Bowleven holds a strategic equity interest in the offshore, shallow water Etinde permit (operated by New Age) in Cameroon.