Acquisition of APA Petroleum Engineering Inc ("APA" or "the Company")

Notification of Preliminary Results Date/b>

APA (www.apa-inc.com)

RPS announces the further expansion of its Energy business with the acquisition of APA, a leading petroleum engineering consultancy with headquarters in Calgary, Canada’s oil and gas centre.

APA was founded in 1982. It assists its clients maximise oil and gas production, minimise exploration and development risk and improve operational profitability. It has expertise in reservoir engineering, production and well engineering. It has a core team of over 30 professional staff and, in common with RPS's existing Energy business, uses a range of external expert consultants as required to assist in the execution of projects.

Financials

In the year ended 31 July 2006, APA had revenues of Can $9.61 million (£4.15) million and pre tax profit, adjusted for non-recurring items, of Can $1.23 million (£0.53 million). Net assets at 31 July 2006 were Can $2.16 million (£0.93 million).

Consideration

Maximum total consideration payable is Can $6.0 million (£2.59 million). Can $3.0 million (£1.29 million) was paid in cash at completion. A further Can $1.5 million (£0.65 million) will be paid in cash on both the first and second anniversaries of the transaction, provided certain operational conditions are met.

Integration

APA will be integrated with the existing RPS Energy unit based in Calgary. Bob Pearson, the CEO and major shareholder of APA, and his senior management team will all be remaining with the business and have entered into new two year service agreements. APA’s extensive experience in reservoir engineering and production studies worldwide and their knowledge of the technologies required for the heavy oil and oil sands developments in Northern Canada will be valuable additions to our existing North American business.

2006 Results

RPS intends to announce Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2006 on 6 March 2007.

Alan Hearne, CEO of RPS commented:

“The acquisition of APA is a positive step in the development of our Energy business in North America. Bob Pearson and his team are highly respected for their work in the oil sands developments of Northern Canada, Arctic gas, and deep water projects in the Gulf of Mexico. We look forward to further development of the oil sands market and the introduction of RPS’ environmental expertise into this marketplace.

“2006 was an exceptionally good year for our energy business which has enabled the Group as a whole to outperform expectations. In 2007 we expect to build upon that with further organic growth and complementary acquisitions.”

1 February 2007

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