The head of Australia's Roc Oil has described its first discovery in a major Angolan field for almost four decades as "encouraging".

The new oil and associated reserves were discovered at the end of last week during routine testing of the company's Coco 1 onshore well and comes as it carries out a seven-well drilling programme at the Mossambala field, also in the African nation.

Commenting on the news, Roc Oil chief executive John Doran stated: "It's the first flow from the Cabinda province for 39 years.

"There had been a hiatus of activity in onshore Angola, which is changing now."

He added that, while the true extent of the discovery has yet to be ascertained, initial estimates put the reserves at ten million barrels; an "encouraging amount" and "valuable in today's oil-price regime".

However, it is unlikely that the scale of the find will ever be fully known, as Roc has a policy of not reporting on its Angolan exploration programme due to the privacy requirements of the African state's government.