In simultaneous offers, 25 million ordinary fully paid shares are to be offered by placement following a prospectus issued last Friday, and another 25 million are to be offered to current shareholders under Norwest’s share purchase plan.

Norwest is gearing up for an active exploration period with:

• drilling of the Magnolia exploration well starting next month;

• drilling the next five wells at the Millers shale gas project in Tennessee, USA;

• starting up Little Sandy/Pigeon Roost shlae gas project in Kentucky, USA with three wells due to

spud in the next four weeks;

• spudding three wells to be drilled in coming months in West Virginia, to be followed by an aggressive drilling program continuing into 2006; and

• drilling at Perth Basin permit TP 15, scheduled for April 2006.