Rockpool Acqui Regulatory News (ROC)

12 Mar 2008 07:01

Roc Oil Company Limited12 March 2008 12 March 2008 ROC OIL COMPANY LIMITED ("ROC") STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE ACTIVITY UPDATE ROC is pleased to provide the following activity update. 1. Zhao Dong C&D Oil Fields and C4 Oil Field, Bohai Bay, Offshore China Roc Oil (Bohai) Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of ROC, is pleased to reportthat the precursor to 2008 development drilling programme has commenced withslot recoveries and well completions. The 2008 drilling programme in the C&D OilFields, the C4 Oil Field and the Extended Reach Area will comprise of up to atotal of 24 wells being a mix of oil producers and water injectors with thefirst well expected to commence drilling by early April. Participating Interests are: Roc Oil (Bohai) Company (Operator)*.............................24.5%PetroChina Company Limited......................................51.0%New XCL-China LLC...............................................24.5%*C4 Unitised Interest - 11.575% 2. WA-286-P, Perth Basin, Offshore Western Australia Roc Oil (WA) Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ROC, advises that as at0600 hours (local time) on 12 March 2008, the Premium "WilCraft" jack-updrilling rig was waiting on weather prior to moving to Dunsborough-2, 26kilometres to the north. Participating Interests in the WA-286-P Joint Venture are: Roc Oil (WA) Pty Limited (Operator).............................37.5%AWE Oil (Western Australia) Pty Ltd.............................27.5%ARC Energy (Offshore PB) Limited................................30.0%CIECO Exploration and Production (Australia) Pty Ltd.............5.0% 3. PSC Area C, Block 6, Offshore Mauritania Roc Oil (Mauritania) Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of ROC, advises that asat 0600 hours (local time) on 11 March 2008, the current operation at the Khop-1exploration well was running 9-5/8" casing at a depth of 3,262 mBRT. The Khop-1 exploration well is located approximately 70 kilometres from theMauritanian coast. Participating Interests in the PSC Area C, Block 6 Joint Venture are: Roc Oil (Mauritania) Company.....................................5.000%PC Mauritania I Pty Ltd (Operator)..............................37.578%Petronas Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd..............................35.000%Tullow Oil plc..................................................22.422% 4. Cabinda South Block, Onshore Angola Roc Oil (Cabinda) Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of ROC and operator of theCabinda South Block, onshore Angola, is pleased to provide the following updatewith respect to its current seven well exploration drilling programme. • As previously announced, the Milho-1 exploration well commenced drilling on 21 November 2007. Although it is the fourth well in the programme, Milho-1 is the first well in the current drilling programme to specifically target a pre-salt structure which is the sequence which contains most of the oil reserves in the adjacent area offshore Cabinda. All three of the wells to be drilled subsequent to Milho-1 will also target pre-salt structures. • Milho-1 has reached Total Depth after encountering what appears to be a classic pre-salt sequence characterised by a thick world class source rock, with significant oil and gas shows, from which oil has been recovered via wireline sampling. This sequence overlies a thick sand interval with good reservoir quality. While the well is judged to be non-commercial, Milho-1, which is approximately 12 kilometres inland, is only the second well in this part of the Block to penetrate a full pre-salt sequence to basement and, as such, it is a very important data point. It provides the first modern sub-surface evidence that the pre-salt petroleum system, which is so prolific in the adjacent offshore area, underlies a considerable portion of the onshore Cabinda South Block. The lack of shows in the pre-salt reservoir may relate to the well being down dip from the top of the structure. • During March 2008, the rig will move to the Coco-1 location, about 1.5 kilometres north of Milho-1. Coco-1 is expected to commence drilling in early April and to have reached Total Depth by end May 2008. • Immediately after finishing Coco-1 the rig is expected to move to the Sesamo-1 location to test a large pre-salt prospect in the eastern part of the Block. Consistent with ROC's established practice regarding its Angolan drillingactivity, the Company will only issue public statements at the beginning and endof each drilling operation after the relevant information has been collected andcarefully analysed. Roc Oil (Cabinda) Company is also pleased to provide the following updateregarding the shallow (400 metres) Massambala Heavy Oil Field which wasdiscovered in August 2007 by the first well in the current programme.Specifically: • ROC and its co-venturers are currently considering an optimal field appraisal programme the first stage of which has been agreed: an MTEM subsurface resistivity survey scheduled to commence in 2Q 2008. The possibility of drilling several shallow Massambala appraisal wells during 2H 2008 is also being considered and a final decision is expected by April 2008. • As a result of reprocessing 3D seismic in order to clarify the shallow seismic events, the areal and vertical closures of the 4-way dip Massambala structure have been confirmed as approximately 24 square kilometres and 24 metres respectively. Laboratory studies of core material in Canada have confirmed the heavy nature of the oil and the excellent quality of the reservoir sands which have porosities up to 35% and permeabilities up to 10 Darcys. On this basis the currently estimated potential P90-P50-P10 in-place oil resource at Massambala approximates to 50-200-400 MMBOIP, respectively. Participating Interests in the Cabinda South Block are: Roc Group Companies.............................................60%Force Petroleum Limited.........................................20%Sonangol P&P S.A................................................20% 5. Blane Oil Field, North Sea Roc Oil (GB) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ROC, advises that as of 0600hours (local time) on 11 March 2008, the "Ocean Princess" rig was logging the 30/3a-3 pilot hole which has been drilled to a Total Depth of 3,542 mBRT. The forward programme will evaluate the wireline logs to finalise the mechanicsof completing the well or a sidetrack thereof as a planned water injector. Unitised Interests in the Blane Oil Field are: Roc Oil (GB) Limited............................................12.5%Talisman Energy (UK) Limited....................................25.0%Talisman Energy Norge AS........................................18.0%MOC Exploration (UK) Limited(a subsidiary of Nippon Oil Corporation)........................14.0%ENI UK Limited..................................................13.9%ENI ULX Limited..................................................4.1%Bow Valley Petroleum (UK) Limited...............................12.5% In accordance with ASX and AIM Rules, the information in this Release has beenreviewed and approved by Dr John Doran, Chief Executive Officer, Roc Oil CompanyLimited, BSc (Hons) Geology, MSc and PhD. Dr Doran, who is a member of theSociety of Petroleum Engineers, has more than 30 years of relevant experiencewithin the industry and consents to the information in the form and context inwhich it appears. Damian FisherGeneral ManagerExternal Affairs & Investor Relations For further information please contact: Dr John Doran on Tel: +61-2-8356-2000 Fax: +61-2-9380-2635 Email: jdoran@rocoil.com.au Or visit ROC's website: www.rocoil.com.au Dr Kevin Hird General Manager - Business Development Tel: +44 (0)20 7495 5707/+61 (0)2 8356 2000 Mob: +44 (0)7751 3671 49/+61 (0)417 261 727 Email: khird@rocoil.com.au Michael Shaw Oriel Securities Limited (Nominated Adviser) Tel: +44 (0)20 7710 7600 Bobby Morse Buchanan Communications Tel: + 44 (0)20 7466 5000 Fax: + 44 (0)20 7466 5001 E-Mail: bobbym@buchanan.uk.com Mob: +44 (0)7802 875 227 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange