Huinga Update

Wellington, New Zealand – August 20, 2002-- /PRNewswire/--

Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd. (OTCBB: INDOF) reports that all test
equipment is now installed on site, and the operator advises that
production testing of the Huinga-1B well is about to commence. The
Huinga oil discovery is located in Petroleum Exploration Permit 38716,
onshore Taranaki Basin, New Zealand.

The test program will consist of an initial five-day ‘clean-up’ flow
of both test zones. This will be followed by a five-day day flow of
the upper zone intersected between 13,980-14,058 feet, and a five-day
day flow of the lower zone between 14,393-14,465 feet. It is expected
that initial flows will include considerable amounts of drilling
fluids and lost circulation material, which were lost into the
formation during drilling. It will, therefore, take some time
to achieve clean, stabilized oil and gas flow rates.

This initial test is designed to provide information on formation
pressures, well productivity and minimum reserve estimates. It is
possible that the two test zones intersect the same oil pool and that
this might be a single oil column over a depth interval of 750 feet or
more. The Huinga structure is mapped on seismic as covering an area of
up to 2,500 acres within PEP 38716. Similar structures are identified
to the south in PEP 38716, and in the acreage immediately to the
north, over which exploration rights were last week awarded to a
consortium led by Indo-Pacific.

All oil produced in testing at Huinga will be on-sold, initially under
a common marketing arrangement of the joint venture. Thereafter, it is
planned to continue oil production from one or both zones, dependent
on the results of the initial test. The Company has a 12.3% interest
in Huinga-1B and the PEP 38716 permit."

Pay-Day cometh soon...SALTY