bhpb exec in agreemnt ?, page-2

FORMER BHPB COAL SEAM EXECUTIVE IN INITIAL AGREEMENT

WITH CENTRAL PETROLEUM FOR ALICE SPRINGS TENEMENT

A green energy company headed by the executive who founded and led BHP Billiton’s
coal seam gas (CSG) business until its sale in 2006, has agreed to a term sheet with
Central Petroleum Limited (ASX: “CTP”) to assess the potential of a large Coal Seam
Gas (CSG) and oil prospective block southeast of Alice Springs in the Northern
Territory.

Central Petroleum and the privately held, low emission energy solution developer,
Energy Infrastructure and Resources Limited (EIR), have signed an initial Term Sheet
proposing a joint assessment of Exploration Permit Application (EPA) 130.

EIR was founded and is headed by its Managing Director, Mr Rohan Gillespie, who
founded and led BHP Billiton’s CSG business as Vice President and Chief Operating
Officer until the division was sold to AGL in 2006. Prior to that, Mr Gillespie held senior
roles with the Commonwealth Bank and Ceramic Fuel Cells and Renewable Energy
Corp and established EIR in 2006.

The Term Sheet provides for Mr Gillespie’s EIR to earn a 25% stake in EPA 130, with
Central Petroleum reducing its interest in the block to 55%. EIR will be required to
fund 60% of initial work programs (a 2.4:1 “promote”) and pay a “Reserve Premium” of
$10,000,000 per trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG) or oil equivalent, which may be
discovered and independently verified at 3P reserve level.

Great Southern Gas Limited, a subsidiary of EIR, already holds a 20% conditional
interest in the permit application, which was farmed down by Petroleum Exploration
Australia Limited (PXA), now a subsidiary of QGC, a BG group business, as part of the
non-confidential provisions of the PXA farmin which Central and PXA struck in early
2008. EPA 130 is no longer part of the PXA farmin permit and application areas.

“The Term Sheet is subject to Board approval of a formal farmout agreement but
points the way to a potentially rewarding relationship” Central Petroleum’s Managing
Director, Mr John Heugh, said today.

“To attract a partner, which is lead by someone of the calibre and experience of Mr
Gillespie, underscores in our view, the primary prospectivity of this 15,000 km² area,”
Mr Heugh said.

“Up to 25% of this tenement is thought to be underlain by Permian coal measures and
while it has only attracted limited seismic and no drilling to date, it does host several
very large mapped conventional prospects, inclusive of the Lamerocke, Tintagel and
Galahad prospects.

“Combined, these prospects total more than 700 million barrels of Undiscovered Oil
Initially In Place (UOIIP).”


Mr Heugh said EIR had been successful to date with a combination of corporate
advisory assignments and new business incubations. These included:

Pacific GTL – Established to develop a gas-to-liquids business in eastern Australia, to
sell diesel into the domestic market to offset imports. A pre FEED of the first initiative,
the SunState GTL Project, is underway. A German financial group is co-investor with
EIR, which together has an exclusive strategic alliance with AMEC for its engineering
and project management services.

Magma Oil – Established to commercialise innovative underground coal-to-liquids
(UCTL) technology. Funding has been secured for a $3.8million demonstration plant
through ASX-listed Regal Resources Limited.

With 270,000 km² of tenements, Central Petroleum is the largest holder of prospective
oil and gas acreage in onshore Australia, with a portfolio that includes the majority of
the Pedirka and Amadeus Basins on the SA-NT border, all of the known Lander
Trough north of Alice Springs and 15,000 km² of the Southern Georgina Basin in far
west Queensland.

Central Petroleum is well cashed up, recently completing a $26 million Renounceable
Rights Issue and subsequent placement of $5 million to raise more than $31 million.