ROC OIL COMPANY LIMITED (“ROC”)

ROC is one of Australia’s leading independent oil and gas companies with 186 million shares on issue and a market capitalisation in the order of A$350 million/US$280 million. As of January 2005, ROC had approximately A$200 million/US$ 150 million in cash and receivables and no debt. In September 2004, ROC listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange although it did not seek to raise fresh capital partly because, in April 2004, the Company had undertaken, at A$1.40/share, a A$92 million Rights Issue, fully underwritten by Goldman Sachs JBWere Pty Ltd. In January 2005, ROC raised US$15 million by placing with two institutional investors 10 million shares at A$2/share, a premium to the then market.

The Sydney-based company has a strong operating emphasis, an international focus and a worldwide workforce of about 100 people comprising 24 different nationalities, which collectively speak 16 different languages. ROC’s global portfolio covers 25 million gross acres/100,000 sq km, of which about 4.3 million acres/17,000 sq km are net to ROC. The Company’s assets are grouped into four main regions: the UK, both onshore and in the North Sea; West Africa; China and Australia/New Zealand. Within these regions, each of ROC’s eight areas of interest* is associated with a proven petroleum system, two of which were only recognised as a result of recent drilling by ROC and its co-venturers.

The Company has had a number of encouraging exploration drilling results which have led to two field developments (offshore Mauritania and offshore Western Australia) and four potential field developments (three offshore Mauritania and one offshore China). Through asset transactions, ROC also has an option over 26% of a producing oilfield in the North Sea; interests in two other oilfields in that area which are being actively considered for development; and a field offshore China which is at the pre-development stage. With this asset base in place, ROC is now positioning itself for its next growth phase.

ROC’s sequence of recent drilling successes includes discovering potentially commercial oil with each of its first exploration wells in Mauritania, Australia and China. During June 2004, made its debut as a deep water drilling operator when it drilled, on schedule and below budget, Bravo-1, located in 1,500m of water, offshore Equatorial Guinea, West Africa.

ROC began operations in 1997 as a privately-owned company, the shareholders of which consisted primarily of the current Board and Management, blue-chip corporate entities and high net worth individuals in Australia, Asia, the Middle East, the United States and the UK. At the outset, ROC promised its original private shareholders that they would have liquidity within three years of the Company being established. This promise was fulfilled in August 1999 when ROC was publicly-listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Through this process, ROC raised A$150 million, of which A$115 million was used to purchase a suite of oil and gas assets onshore eastern England and in the UK North Sea, which had US$46 million of associated debt. That acquisition proved to be very successful. The core asset acquired, the then undeveloped Saltfleetby Gas Field in Lincolnshire, proved to be much larger and much more productive than forecast and it is now recognised as Britain’s largest onshore gas field.

In a little more than five years, ROC’s UK portfolio has generated about A$350 million in production sales revenue, about A$220 million cash flow from operations and approximately A$211 million from the sale of assets including, in December 2004, the Saltfleetby Gas Field. During the same period, corporate debt was reduced from US$46 million to zero.

Consistent with its “sensibly contrary” strategy, ROC continually upgrades its project portfolio by investing in high potential growth projects, not only in the UK but also in other key parts of ROC’s core areas of operations in West Africa, China, Australia and New Zealand.

The next 18 months will be a very active period for ROC. It will paticipates in multi-well exploration, appraisal and development drilling programmes in, around and on trend from, its recent discoveries offshore Mauritania, Western Australia and China and also in the North Sea. Drilling will also take place onshore UK and New Zealand, in deep water offshore Equatorial Guinea and, possibly, onshore Angola. ROC is well placed to internally fund these activities as part of its “Organic Growth” strategy although it expects to take on a project finance facility for some of the field developments. Simultaneously, the Company is pursuing a “Change-the-Company” strategy which is designed to identify and cost efficiently acquire new ventures which will substantially increase shareholder value prior to the current development and some of the pre-development projects coming to fruition in early 2006.

For background information refer to "ASX Releases"

* Onshore UK; UK North Sea; offshore Western Australia; deep water areas offshore Mauritania and Equatorial Guinea, onshore Angola; shallow water areas offshore China and onshore New Zealand