ABERDEENSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - Aug 3, 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 3 August 2012 Xcite Energy Limited ("Xcite Energy" or the "Company") Board and Management Appointments Xcite Energy today announces a series of Board and senior management appointments as the Company continues successfully to progress its development of the Bentley field in the current Phase 1A work programme. Key points: - Richard Smith has decided to retire from his role as Chief Executive Officer and as a Director of the Company. - Rupert Cole has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer. He is a founding member of Xcite Energy and previously held the role of Chief Financial Officer. He will continue to maintain overall responsibility for the strategic financing of the Company and the associated external relationships. - Stephen Kew, also a founding member of Xcite Energy and currently Exploration and Development Director, will formally take on the role of Chief Operating Officer for the Company, which will continue to include his responsibilities for oilfield asset acquisition and development. - Jon Dale has been appointed as Finance Director of Xcite Energy Resources Limited ("XER"), the Company's 100% owned operating subsidiary. He has been the Xcite Energy group's financial controller since early 2008 and was appointed as Company Secretary for XER in September 2011. - Andrew Fairclough has been appointed as Corporate Affairs Director for the Xcite Energy group. He will play a leading role in the Company's external communications and relationship management. He has over 17 years of corporate broking and corporate finance experience, having previously worked for a number of leading financial institutions, including Espirito Santo Investment Bank, Merrill Lynch and Rothschild. - Matt Bower has been appointed as Operations Director for XER, taking over full responsibility for operational matters from Richard West on completion of the Phase 1A work programme. - Following the completion of the Phase 1A work programme, Richard West will assume responsibility for industry related regulatory and compliance matters for XER, thus providing important continuity in the transition from Phase 1A to Phase 1B of the Bentley field development. Commenting on today's appointments Roger Ramshaw, Chairman, said: "We thank Richard for his important contribution up to this point and as one of the founding members of the Company. We wish him well in his future endeavours. The Board is pleased to appoint Rupert as CEO and to welcome Andrew to work in the external communications role. With Steve formally taking on the group COO role, Matt's appointment to the XER Board and Jon taking on the FD role for XER, the Aberdeen operations group is in safe hands and we have a good balance in our financial management. With the good progress being made in the current well operations, as announced separately today, together with this strengthened management team now in place to continue driving our on-going operational, financial and commercial progress, the Company remains firmly on track to deliver its strategic objectives." ENQUIRIES: Xcite Energy Limited +44 (0) 1483 549 063 Roger Ramshaw / 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 Management's Discussion and Analysis for Xcite Energy dated 25 July 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) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END