$$$$$roc soaring$$$$$

Speculation that this could be worth $7 to ROC Sp if field contains 600,00 brls or $17.50 if field has 1.5 Billion brls as predicted by TAP And ROC. First it has to be drilled and a proven find of oil confirmed before speclation of the size of the field i would have thought.


PERTH, Jun 21, 2005 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) By Stephen Bell Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

As energy prices soar, Australia's Tap Oil Ltd. (TAP.AU) said Tuesday that its Jacala wildcat prospect offshore Western Australia may contain more than one billion barrels of oil.

Jacala-1, in the deep water part of the Carnarvon Basin, is scheduled to be Related Products

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drilled in October by operator BHP Billiton (BHP), Tap said in a presentation to a UBS resources conference.

"It is a high risk prospect, but every oil well is risky," Tap managing director Paul Underwood told Dow Jones Newswires after the presentation.

If the well succeeds, it could increase the worth of Tap "10 times", Underwood said in an interview, adding that Jacala's oil size potential was calculated by BHP.

In its presentation, Tap said Jacala is one of three "monster" exploration wells to be drilled this year and early next, also citing the Marley-1 well off the Western Australian coast and the Barque-1 well off the coast of New Zealand's South Island.

It said the target in the Barque prospect is five trillion to six trillion cubic feet of gas and about 500 million barrels of condensate. The company didn't provide estimates for Marley-1.

Tap shares rose 5.2% or 11 cents to A$2.21, valuing the company at about A$351 million. The stock soared in late trade as news of the company's bullish views about Jacala seeped into the market.

BHP owns 55% of Jacala, Tap 25%, while Roc Oil Co. Ltd. (ROC.AU) is earning 20%.

Perth-based Tap is a small oil producer from the Harriet joint venture and Woollybutt fields offshore Western Australia. It plans to spend around A$40 million in calendar 2005 on drilling 24 exploration wells.

Analysts Caution Well Is High-Risk, But Worth Watching

Expected to cost around US$7 million, Jacala-1 will be drilled more than 2,000 meters below the seabed in a water depth of around 1,000 meters, Underwood said.

It will target a geological structure covering more than 300 square kilometers.

"The prospect has a lot going for it," Underwood said.

"It is one of those wells that just have to be drilled," he said, adding that Tap rated the chance of success at around 10%.

Last month, Sydney-based Roc entered into a farm-in deal over Jacala. It will earn its interest by contributing up to US$4 million toward the cost of Jacala-1.

"ROC has no illusion about the Jacala Prospect, it is high risk and high reward," Roc said at the time of the deal.

"If it contains oil it could have a very big impact on the company."

Analysts expect the well to create speculative interest in Tap and Roc, although they caution the well is a high risk play.

"It is a large structure, but the question is whether it is charged with oil," Deutsche Bank energy analyst John Hirjee told Dow Jones Newswires.

"We'll have to wait and see, though I'd say the chance of success is relatively low," Hirjee said.

"The trend is showing that the area is more gas, rather than oil, prone," he said, in reference to nearby gas fields such as Io/Jansz and Gorgon.

However, Roc notes that Jacala is also relatively close to Woodside Petroleum Ltd.'s (WPL.AU) A$1.48 billion Enfield oil development.

Around 100 kilometers north west of Jacala, Enfield contains an estimated 125 million barrels of oil.

Betsy Donaghey, Woodside's director of strategic planning, told the UBS conference that Enfield remains "on schedule and budget" for a startup in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Enfield is expected to initially produce around 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

By Stephen Bell, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-8-9245-5120; [email protected]