Rockpool Acqui Regulatory News (ROC)

30 Aug 2007 07:01

Roc Oil Company Limited30 August 2007 30 August, 2007 ROC OIL COMPANY LIMITED ("ROC") STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE EXPLORATION UPDATE: MASSAMBALA OIL DISCOVERY, ONSHORE ANGOLA Roc Oil (Cabinda) Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of ROC, is pleased toadvise that the Massambala-1CH2 sidetrack hole has reached a prognosed totaldepth of 491 metres and wireline and coring programmes have been completed. Thesidetrack hole was drilled to evaluate a shallow oil zone intersected byMassambala-1, ROC's first exploration well in Angola. On 27 August 2007, Massambala-1CH2 was suspended for possible re-entry in orderto determine the commercial merit of the discovery. Laboratory analyses havebeen initiated with regard to the fluid and core samples obtained from thesidetrack well and results are expected during the next several weeks. In themeantime, a preliminary interpretation of currently available data provides thefollowing insights: * The oil is mobile, not residual. * Visually, the oil appears to be heavy and viscous, but definitive comment must await laboratory analysis. In any event, the oil seems to bear comparison to many crudes that are currently being routinely produced in other parts of the world via standard heavy oil industry production techniques. * Although there appears to be a 1 to 2 metre oil sand higher in the section, the sidetrack confirmed that the main zone of interest is a 16 metre gross oil column with approximately 15 metres (94%) of net oil saturated sand with good to excellent reservoir qualities and an associated wireline log anomaly. At the depth of the shallow oil accumulation, approximately 400 metres, theMassambala feature is currently mapped on 3D seismic data as a gentle four-waydip structure with a vertical relief in the order of 16 metres at the well whichis located a few metres below the structure's high point. As currently mapped,the area of structural closure is approximately 26 sq km/6,400 acres and basedon an apparent oil-water contact identified in the well, it would seem that theshallow Massambala structure is filled to spill. It is far too early to comment specifically on potential recoverable reserves atMassambala but volumetric calculations, based on the most recent 3D seismicmapping and available well data, suggest the in-place oil resource potentialcould be in the order of 170 MMBO. In a more generic sense and subject tospecific field details, heavy oil recovery techniques can recover a minimum of10% of the oil in-place, often about 20% and sometimes considerably more. Commenting on the Massambala results, ROC's Chief Executive Officer, Dr JohnDoran, stated: "After drilling the original Massambala well last month, there were two mainconcerns about the shallow oil accumulation: is it residual and, if not, is theoil too heavy to be produced via conventional heavy oil industry techniques? Thesidetrack tells us that the oil is not residual and, even if it is heavy, it maystill be producible. Heavy oil production techniques are an established and increasingly important,subset of the upstream petroleum business, particularly in countries such asCanada and Venezuela. Therefore, although ROC's primary exploration target inCabinda continues to be the more mobile and lighter crudes typical of theregion, we have had enough exposure to crudes with less amenable flowproperties, through our Cliff Head, Zhao Dong and Beibu Gulf operatorships, torealise the potential importance of the oil discovery at Massambala. On this basis, Massambala becomes the most recent addition to ROC's "conveyorbelt" of projects which merit more thorough appraisal. In Massambala's case, thethought that it might be possible to produce 20% or more of the in-place oilusing standard heavy oil industry production techniques, provides plenty ofreason for ROC and its co-venturers to take a very close look at the discovery. Finally, from a purely statistical point of view, Massambala-1 was not onlyROC's first well in Angola and its first well onshore Africa, but also theCompany's fifth exploration success out of nine exploration wells drilled inthree different countries during the last 16 months." Participating Interests in the Cabinda South Block are: ROC Group Companies (Operator) 60% Force Petroleum Limited 20% Sonangol P&P S.A. 20% 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 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 20 7495 5707/+61 2 8356 2000 Mob: +44 775136 7149/+61 417 261 727 Email: khird@rocoil.com.au Michael Shaw Oriel Securities Limited (Nominated Adviser) Tel: +44 (0)20 7710 7600 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange