Roc Oil Finds Crude at Appraisal Well at Angola Field

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Roc Oil Co., the Australian company exploring in China, Angola and Mauritania, said it found oil at the first appraisal well to be drilled at the Massambala heavy oil discovery in onshore Angola.

Initial results show the MAW-1 well found a 9.5-meter column of oil, Sydney-based Roc said today in a statement to the Australian stock exchange. A second appraisal well will be drilled before operations are suspended for the rainy season.

Roc's Cabinda South venture, which includes Force Petroleum Ltd. and the national oil company Sonangol SA, has yet to confirm a commercial discovery after drilling seven exploration wells in the southwestern African nation. Massambala, one of two finds from the program, holds heavy, viscous oil, rather than the light oil typical of Angolan and West African crudes that the venture was originally targeting.

Roc didn't comment on how the results of the latest drilling affect prospects for the find being declared commercial.

Roc dropped 4 cents, or 5 percent, to 76 cents in Sydney trading, a record-low close. That performance was still better than a 7.1 percent slump in the exchange's benchmark energy index.

To contact the reporter on this story: Angela Macdonald-Smith in Sydney at amacdonaldsm@bloomberg.net