MAGELLAN PETROLEUM CORPORATION

News release=

Magellan Petroleum’s Shareholders Approve Board Discretionary

Authority for a Reverse Stock Split and Elect Directors

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Hartfor= d, Conn., December 12, 2007 – Magellan Petroleum Corporation (Nasdaq: MP= ET; ASX: MGN) (the “Company”) announced that the Company held its 2= 007 annual meeting of shareholders on December 6, 2007, in Hartford, Connecticut. At the Annual Meeting, the Company’s shareholders overwhelmingly voted, by a margin of greater t= han 3-to-1, in favor of a resolution to authorize the Company’s Board of Directors, in its sole and absolute discretion without further action of the shareholders, to implement a reverse stock split of the Company’s com= mon stock at a ratio of not less than 1-for-2 and not greater than 1-for-10 at = any time prior to December 31, 2009, with the exact ratio to be determined by t= he Board of Directors (the “Reverse Split”).

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Walter McCann, Chairman of the Board of Directors commented “The Company is pleased that our shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the resoluti= on to give the Board the authority to implement a Reverse Split in the future, should circumstances warrant taking this step. As we stated in our proxy statemen= t and to shareholders attending the 2007 Annual Meeting, the Board of Directors believes that the continued listing of the Company’s common stock on = the Nasdaq marketplace is of critical importance to shareholders. Any decision = in the future to implement the Reverse Split will only be made to preserve the= liquidity of the Nasdaq trading market for our stockholders, and then only if the implementation of a Reverse Split is determined by the Board to be in the b= est interests of the Company and its shareholders.”

At the 2007 Annual Meeting, the Company’s share= holders also voted to re-elect Walter McCann and Ronald Pettirossi to the Company’s Board of Directors, to hold office for a term of three years expiring with the 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company’s independent auditors for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008.

Forward Looking Statements

S= tatements in this release which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and = are hereby identified as, forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements about Magellan a= nd MPAL may relate to their business properties and prospects, revenues, expen= ses, operating cash flows, and other matters that involve a number of uncertaint= ies that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Among these risks and uncertainties are the ultimate outcome of the MPAL tax audit by t= he ATO, the future outcome of the negotiations for gas sal= es contracts for the remaining uncontracted reserves at both the Mereenie and = Palm Valley gas fields in the Amadeus Basin, pricing and production levels from the properties in which the Company has interests, the extent of the recoverable reserves at Magellan/MPAL properties and the risk that any wells drilled may fail to encounter hydrocarbons in commercially recoverable quantities. Any forward-looking information provided in this release should= be considered with these factors in mind. Magellan assumes no obligation to up= date or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this release, whether= as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.<= /p>
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C= ontact: Daniel J. Samela, at (860) 293-200= 6