Roc Oil Company Limited 19 January 2006 19 January 2006 ROC OIL COMPANY LIMITED ("ROC") STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE ROC SHARE PLACEMENT TO RAISE A$76 MILLION /GBP 32 MILLION FOR EXPLORATION IN ANGOLA ROC is pleased to advise it intends to place 28 million fully paid ordinary shares (14.9% of the Company's current issued share capital) at a price of A$2.71(1) / £1.15 per share to raise A$75.9 million(1) / £32.2 million, before expenses. After the placement, the issued capital of the Company will be 215.9 million shares of which approximately 20%-25% is expected to be held by UK based institutional investors. The placement price represents a 1.5% discount to the volume weighted average share price for the first 12 trading days of January and is equivalent to the volume weighted average price of the shares traded in the last month. All the shares will be placed with institutional investors in London through a process managed by ROC's nominated adviser and broker ('NOMAD'), Oriel Securities Limited. London-based Equity Development acted in a support capacity. Trading of the new shares on both the UK Alternative Investment Market ('AIM') and the Australian Stock Exchange ('ASX') is expected to commence on Wednesday 25 January. From the date of issue the new shares will rank equally with existing fully paid ordinary shares. Because the new shares represent less than 15% of the Company's issued capital, shareholder approval is not required. The primary purpose of the placement is to fund the recently announced acceleration of ROC's exploration programme in the Cabinda South Block, onshore Angola. ROC has a 60% Working Interest (75% Contributing Interest) in this area and anticipates a net expenditure of at least US$34 million / £20 million in Angola during 2006. Most of the expenditure will relate to the acquisition of 250 sq km of 3D seismic and 200 km of contingent 2D seismic together with the drilling of up to three exploration wells, subject to rig availability. The location of the wells, the first of which is anticipated to begin drilling in September 2006, will be based upon seismic data acquired by ROC in 2005, the interpretation of which is expected to be completed within the next few months. It is anticipated that a successful exploration drilling programme will lead to a prompt appraisal drilling programme. Commenting on the placement, ROC's CEO Dr John Doran stated that: "In addition to allowing ROC to greatly accelerate its exploration operations onshore Angola, the placement, which was substantially over subscribed, also delivers another key strategic objective: the establishment of a significant shareholder base and a liquid market for ROC shares in London." (1) based on an A$/£ exchange rate of 2.357 Michelle Manook For further information please General Manager - Corporate Affairs contact: Dr John Doran on Tel: +61-2-8356-2000 Fax: +61-2-9380-2635 E-mail: 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 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange