ABERDEENSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - Jul 9, 2012) -

 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION TSX-V, LSE-AIM: XEL Xcite Energy Limited ("Xcite Energy" or the "Company") 9 July 2012 Commencement of Pre-Production Flow Test The Company announces that it has now successfully completed the final part of the 9/03b-7 & 7z well lateral well construction work programme, including installation of the smart completions equipment (enabling individual laterals to be flowed, co-mingled or shut-in), the installation of twin electrical submersible pumps (giving full redundancy) and a down hole safety valve. The on-rig process and control packages have been fully commissioned and linked to the pipeline and in-field dynamically-positioned shuttle tanker, Scott Spirit. The pre-production flow test operations on the 9/03b-7 (B6) lateral well were successfully commenced this morning and the well is currently being cleaned up. This flow test is not a headline flow rate test; it is a data gathering exercise. The 9/03b-7 lateral well is planned to recover a minimum cumulative volume of 45,000 barrels of oil during the flow test period, to help ensure that the data gathering will be as effective as possible and will be used to calibrate the existing reservoir model and update the Reserves Assessment Report. This flow test is planned to be up to 90 days in length and to be conducted at a range of different flow rates (specifically not 500 barrels per day for 90 days), to collect additional reservoir and production data, including data with respect to enhanced oil recovery.This data will be used to further increase the certainty with respect to the longer term oil, gas and water production profiles and recoverable reserves from the Bentley field. Commenting on today's announcement Steve Kew, Exploration and Development Director, said:"We are very pleased with the production test work programme to date, with all major elements having been completed safely and competently. This is a significant step forward for the Company in proving its technical capabilities in the drilling of these wells with the multi-lateral smart completions that have been installed. The start-up of the production test has gone well and we shall continue to provide operational updates in due course." ENQUIRIES: +44 (0) 1483 549 063 Xcite Energy Limited Richard Smith / Rupert Cole Rothschild (Financial Adviser) +44 (0) 207 280 5000 Neeve Billis / Stewart MacDonald Oriel Securities (Joint Broker and Nomad) +44 (0) 207 710 7600 Emma Griffin / Michael Shaw Morgan Stanley (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 207 425 8000 Andrew Foster Pelham Bell Pottinger +44 (0) 207 861 3232 Mark Antelme / Henry Lerwill Paradox Public Relations +1 514 341 0408 Jean-Francois Meilleur Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this announcement constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to the Company's future outlook and anticipated events or results and, in some cases, can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan","anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "predict", "target","potential", "continue" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. These statements are based on certain factors and assumptions including expected growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to us, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking information is also subject to certain factors, including risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we currently expect. These factors include risks associated with the oil and gas industry (including operational risks in exploration and development and uncertainties of estimates oil and gas potential properties), the risk of commodity price and foreign exchange rate fluctuations and the ability of Xcite Energy to secure financing. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties are contained in the Company's annual information form dated 26 October 2010 and in the annual Management's Discussion and Analysis for Xcite Energy dated 22 March 2012 filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at [ www.sedar.com ] . The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) acceptsresponsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END