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Irish oil company granted license extension for work off the south west coast of Ireland

By: 
Ellie Donnelly - Irish Independent

Irish based oil and gas exploration company Providence Resources has been granted an extension to the first phase of FEL 6/14 to 31 March 2019.

FEL 6/14 is the company’s Frontier Exploration licence that contains the Newgrange prospect, located roughly 260 km off the south-west coast of Ireland.

The license is operated by Providence on behalf of its partner Sosina Exploration, who has a 20pc share in the project.

The extension will allow for the acquisition of a new high resolution 2D seismic survey over the crest of the Newgrange prospect, while also providing data suitable for input to an application for the permitting of an offshore exploration well.

Commercial discussions in relation to a potential farm-out of equity in the licence are continuing, the company said in an update to the stock market today.

Providence is also in discussions with nearby operators in the area with a view to rig share operations given the expected short duration of the Newgrange well.

"We are very pleased to be granted this extension to the Newgrange licence, which will allow for the acquisition of a new high resolution 2D seismic survey together with seabed data which may allow us to further de-risk the Newgrange prospect," Dr. John O'Sullivan, technical director of Providence, said.

"These data will also facilitate commencement of the detailed planning process for the Newgrange exploration well," he continued.

Last month Providence announced that it has signed a farm-out agreement with Chinese company APEC in respect of the Standard Exploration Licence ("SEL") 1/11 that contains the potentially huge Barryroe offshore field.

Under the terms of the farm-out agreement, which covers an area in the North Celtic Sea Basin and is located around 50 km off the south coast of Ireland, APEC will be directly responsible for paying 50pc of all the cost obligations associated with the drilling of three vertical wells, plus any associated side-tracks and well testing.

Posted Date: 
16 April 2018