Switzerland-based Manas Petroleum (CVE:MNP) (OTCBB:MNAP) said it has started
drilling in Mongolia. 

The company”s subsidiary, Gobi Energy Partners, spud its first well in the
region, and plans to drill this first well, known as Ger Chuluu A1, to a depth
of 1,200 metres and into Jurassic/Paleozoic formation. 

Target horizons in Ger Chuluu A1 are Lower Zuunbayan and Tsagaantsav
formations, the company said. 

Manas expects the well to cost around US$1.8 million, with the well reaching
target depth and being logged in mid-September. 

If there is a discovery, Gobi plans to test the well with a workover rig and
move the rig to the site of the second exploration well – around 170 kilometres
northeast of the first well. 

“Ger Chuluu A1 represents the next step in the evaluation of our
Mongolian assets and a major step in the company development,” said Manas
president, Werner Ladwein.

The 2012 seismic survey, for a total of 335 kilometres, will be finished in
the next few days, the oil and gas explorer said. The detailed prospect seismic
will form the base for the 2012 and 2013 drilling locations.

Shares of Manas Petroleum rose 8 per cent to 13.5 cents Thursday afternoon.

The international oil and gas company is primarily focused on exploration
and development in South-Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Mongolia. 

In Mongolia, Manas owns a 74 per cent working interest in two
production-sharing contracts covering Blocks XIII and XIV through its Gobi
Energy Partners unit.