Barryroe Well Encounters Notable Gas Shows

Providence Resources on Wednesday provided an interim update on its appraisal drilling programme in the North Celtic Sea Basin, offshore southern Ireland. The 48/24-10 Barryroe well is located in c. 100 m water depth (328 ft) c. 50 km offshore Ireland in Standard Exploration Licence (SEL) 1/11, with operations being carried out by the GSF Arctic III semi-submersible rig. Providence (50%) operates SEL 1/11 on behalf of its partners San Leon Energy plc (30%) and Lansdowne Oil & Gas plc (20%).

The 48/24-10 well has reached section total depth (TD) of 4,038' true vertical depth subsea (TVDSS) with the key geological horizons having been encountered close to the pre-drill depth prognosis. Notable gas shows were encountered drilling through the PSE Seven Heads Limited operated gas reservoir, which overlies the Barryroe oil discovery. Following casing of this section, the well will be drilled ahead through the underlying primary and secondary Barryroe oil reservoir targets to a TD of 7,464' TVDSS.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. John O'Sullivan, Technical Director said:

"We are pleased to provide this interim operational update and to confirm that we are geologically on prognosis, with the main oil bearing reservoir objectives lying ahead of the drill-bit. The accuracy of the new 3D seismic data in mapping the overlying gas reservoir section gives us confidence in relation to the delineation of our underlying primary and secondary oil targets."