Providence hires rig for well project
PROVIDENCE Resources, the exploration company looking for oil and gas in Irish waters, has secured a semi-submersible oil rig for its well programme in the Celtic Sea for the summer.
Providence also recently announced a multi-year, multi-basin drilling programme off several parts of Ireland. The company said yesterday that it had hired the semi-submersible rig, the GSF Arctic III. The rig contract provides for a minimum 54-day period, with options to extend should the company plan to drill further wells.
The company said that the core objective of the 2011 drilling programme would be to further investigate the Barryroe oil accumulation in the north Celtic Sea.
London-based Lansdowne Oil and Gas holds a 20pc stake in the Barryroe well
Earlier this month, Providence sold its assets in the Gulf of Mexico for up to $22m (€15.5m) to focus on exploration here and in the UK.
Providence recently raised $120m (€84m) to carry out a $500m (€352m) exploration programme over the next two years.
The company plans to drill up to 10 wells in six separate basins.
- Thomas Molloy
Irish Independent
