North Sea Development

5 Jul 2005 07:01

Roc Oil Company Limited05 July 2005 5 July 2005 ROC OIL COMPANY LIMITED STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE UK AND NORWEGIAN GOVERNMENTS APPROVE DEVELOPMENT OF BLANE AND ENOCH FIELDS IN THE NORTH SEA KEY POINT • Following receipt of development approvals from the governments of the UK and Norway, the Blane (ROC: 12.50%) and Enoch (ROC: 12.00%) fields are expected to be developed for gross costs in the order of A$391 million and A$178 million respectively. Production from both fields is scheduled to start in late 2006 at gross rates of 14,000 BOPD for Blane and 12,000 BOPD for Enoch ROC is pleased to advise that its wholly owned subsidiary Roc Oil (GB) Ltd andits joint venturers have received approval from both the UK and NorwegianGovernments for the development of the Blane Oil Field and Enoch Oil and GasField which straddle the UK Norway international boundary. (See Attachment 1). ROC's unitised interests in the Blane and Enoch developments are 12.50% and12.00% respectively. The following development summary has been derived from a recent public releaseby the operator of both fields, Paladin Expro Ltd ("Paladin") +-----------+---------------------------------+--------------------------------+| | BLANE | ENOCH || +---------------------------------+--------------------------------+|Development|£165 million/A$391 |£75 million/A$178 ||Costs | | |+-----------+---------------------------------+--------------------------------+|Initial |14,000 BPD |12,000 BPD ||Production | | ||rate | | |+-----------+---------------------------------+--------------------------------+|First Oil |Late 2006 |Late 2006 |+-----------+---------------------------------+--------------------------------+|Development|Subsea wells tied back to Ula |Subsea well tied back to Brae ||Facilities |platform |platform |+-----------+---------------------------------+--------------------------------+|Operator |Paladin |Paladin |+-----------+---------------------------------+--------------------------------+|Joint |Roc Oil (GB) Ltd (12.50%) |Roc Oil (GB) Ltd (12.00%) ||Venturers |Paladin (25.00%) |Paladin (24.00%) || |MOC Exporation (UK) Ltd (14.00%) |Dyas UK Ltd (14.00%) || |Eni UK Ltd (13.90%) |Bow Valley Petroleum (12.00%) || |Bow Valley Petroleum (12.50%) |Statoil ASA (11.78%) || |Paladin Resources Norge AS |Dana Petroleum (E&P) Ltd (8.80%)|| |(11.70%) |Petro-Canada UK Ltd (8.00%) || |Talisman Energy Norge AS (6.30%) |Total E&P Norge AS (4.36%) || |Eni ULX Ltd (4.10%) |DNO AS (2.00%) || | |DONG Norge AS (1.86%) || | |Lundin North Sea Ltd(1.20%) |+-----------+---------------------------------+--------------------------------+ Commenting on the developments, ROC's Chief Executive Officer, Dr John Doran,stated that: "The Blane and Enoch fields are two of the nine fields which ROC currently hasat various stages of appraisal, pre-development and development. This is whatROC refers to as its "conveyor belt of projects". As a result of this latestannouncement, that conveyor belt has just moved Blane and Enoch forward into the"Development" category where they join the Chinguetti and Cliff Head oil fields. With first production from Blane and Enoch scheduled for late 2006, six to ninemonths after first production from Chinguetti and Cliff Head, ROC's 2006production will receive a timely boost in the latter part of next year. Thistiming allows ROC to fund its share of the cost of developing the Blane andEnoch fields from internal sources without seeking fresh capital fromshareholders, although the Company will also consider financing thesedevelopments via a corporate or project loan facility. In a separate, but related announcement, the Norwegian Government ascribedproved and probable (2P) reserves of 32 MMBOE and 15 MMBOE respectively to Blaneand Enoch. This equates to a total net ROC 2P reserves for both fields of 5.8MMBOE; slightly more than ROC's net share of current 2P estimates for the CliffHead Oil Field." Bruce Clement For further information please contact:Chief Operating Officer 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)207 586 7935 Fax: +44 (0)207 722 3919 Email: khird@rocoil.com.au Nick Lambert Bell Pottinger Corporate & Financial Tel: +44 (0)207 861 3232 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Attachment 1: Map* *Map attached to the copy of this release on ROC's website.(http://www.rocoil.com.au/Pages/ASX_Releases/2005_Releases/July-2005.html) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Attachment 2: Additional Information 1. Blane Field The Blane Field was discovered in 1989 by well N1/2-1, which encountered an oil accumulation in the Palaeocene Upper Forties Sandstone. The structure was successfully appraised in the same year by a well in the UK sector, 30/3a-1. Perceived trans-boundary complications and commercial difficulties have since then prevented development progress. The field will be developed by three subsea wells, drilled in UKCS Block 30/3a, two of which will produce oil and associated gas, whilst one will be a water injector. The wells will be serviced by new subsea infrastructure connected to the BP operated Ula Platform located 34km North-East of Blane in Norwegian Block 7/12. A Blane reception module will be installed on the Ula facility to separate and meter the Blane produced fluids. Ula will also provide a full processing service to Blane, including provision of water for injection and high-pressure gas to accelerate and increase oil recovery. 2. Enoch Field The Enoch Field was discovered in 1985 by UKCS well 16/13a-3 and was later appraised by four more wells, two of which were drilled in the Norwegian sector in Block 15/5. The field contains oil and gas trapped in sands of the Eocene age Flugga Sandstone. Perceived trans-boundary complications and commercial difficulties have since then prevented development progress. The field will be developed by a single subsea well, drilled in UKCS Block 16/13a, which will produce oil and gas. The well will be tied back using new subsea infrastructure to the Marathon operated Brae A Platform located 15km North-West of Enoch in UKCS Block 16/7. Modifications will be carried out on Brae A to support the subsea infrastructure and process and meter the Enoch produced fluids. The Enoch oil will then be exported from Brae A through the Forties Pipeline System and sold at Kinneil, whilst Enoch gas will be sold offshore to Brae A. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange