Soco writes off $79.5m for DRC Block V

London-based Soco International has written off $79.5m associated with costs incurred on the Albertine Graben Block V in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Soco carried out a seismic survey over a portion of Lake Edward in mid-2014. Processing of the data has been completed; interpretation is under way in the UK and should be completed by mid-2015. “After providing the DRC government with interpretation of the seismic results, Soco will have no further involvement in the block. Consequently, all costs incurred on Block V to date and any further costs anticipated in the course of 2015 have been written off as exploration expense in 2014,” the company said in its preliminary results statement.