Providence Announces Operations Update on Drombeg Prospect

Providence Resources P.l.c., (“Providence”) the Irish oil and gas exploration and production company, whose shares are quoted in London (AIM) and Dublin (ESM), provides an update on Licensing Option 11/9 (“LO 11/9″ or “Drombeg”).

Providence (80%, Operator) and Sosina Exploration (20%) were awarded Drombeg as part of the 2011 Irish Atlantic Margin Licensing Round. The 872 MMBO REC (P50) Lower Cretaceous Drombeg prospect lies in c. 2,500 metre water depth and is c. 3,000 metres below the seabed. The prospect is situated in the southern Porcupine Basin, c. 220 km off West Cork, being c. 70 km from the Dunquin exploration prospect which was drilled during 2013.

Providence has recently been awarded a follow-on Frontier Exploration Licence, (FEL) 2/14, over Drombeg, having made a mandatory 25% areal relinquishment. The principal element of the forward work programme is the acquisition of a 500 km2 3D seismic survey over the prospect, with survey planning having already commenced. The main Lower Cretaceous Drombeg prospect is considered to be of a similar age and depositional setting to prospects being targeted by Kosmos Energy further to the north and east in the basin. Notably, the recently completed ExxonMobil-operated Dunquin North exploration well, which encountered a residual oil column in an over-pressured carbonate reservoir, has confirmed that both oil migration and entrapment has occurred within the Lower Cretaceous in this part of the basin.

John O’Sullivan, Technical Director of Providence said: “Given the significant oil prospectivity, which was highlighted during the Licensing Option phase, it should come as no surprise that we have elected to progress Drombeg to an exploration licence. We envisage the 3D survey both as a tool to allow for further exploration risk mitigation, together with well planning. The results of the nearby Dunquin North well confirmed our oil-prone model for the area with the overpressure encountered in that well mitigating top-seal risk at Drombeg. In contrast with the Dunquin North target however, our existing 2D seismic data indicates that active hydrocarbon migration into Drombeg is occurring to the present day.”