Providence Commences Drilling at New Singleton ...
PROVIDENCE COMMENCES DRILLING
NEW WELL AT SINGLETON OILFIELD
* DRILLING OF L99/02-SWD DEVELOPMENT WELL IS THE FIRST STAGE
OF SINGLETON FIELD RE-DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Providence Resources P.l.c., the London (AIM) and Dublin (IEX) listed
oil and gas exploration and development company, is pleased to
announce that it has commenced new drilling operations on the
L99/02-SWD development well at its Singleton Field in the Weald
Basin, onshore United Kingdom. The new well will be drilled to a
total measured depth of c. 14,000 feet using the Larchford
Drillmaster 1 drilling rig, with drilling operations expected to take
up to 45 days.
During 2008, Providence commissioned a number of internal and third
party studies to assess the redevelopment potential and ultimate
resource base of the Singleton Field. These studies confirm that
increased recovery rates are possible and as a result, Providence has
commenced a phased programme of targeted development drilling, well
stimulation and work-over activities with the objective of both
accelerating production and increasing reserves. The L99/02-SWD well
represents the first phase of this field redevelopment, with the well
programmed to target potential zones of un-swept oil within the
Singleton Field. This sub-horizontal well has been designed to
penetrate a c. 2,800 ft section of hydrocarbon bearing reservoir and
is expected to materially increase oil production rates.
Current production from the field is c. 500 BOPD and c. 1.2 MSCFGD*
(c. 700 BOEPD) from six wells. Providence holds a 99.125% interest
and operates the Singleton Field, with Noble Energy holding the
remaining 0.875%.
Speaking today, Tony O'Reilly, Chief Executive of Providence, said:
"This new development well is the first major activity in our field
re-development programme at Singleton. Pre-drill modeling suggests a
potential production uplift of some 30%, which can be brought on line
immediately. We look forward to updating you on the drilling results
in the coming weeks."
* Only a small proportion of the produced gas is used for operations,
with the remaining portion currently being flared. The Company is in
the process of finalising plans to monetize this flared gas.
Contacts:
Providence Resources P.l.c.
Tel: +353 1 219
4074
Tony O'Reilly Jnr., Chief Executive
Powerscourt
Tel: +44 (0) 207 250 1446
Rory Godson/Elizabeth Rous
Murray Consultants
Tel: +353 1 498 0300
Pauline McAlester
Notes to Editors
About Providence
Providence Resources Plc is an independent oil and gas exploration
company listed on the AIM market in London and on Dublin's IEX
market. The Company was founded in 1997, but with roots going back to
1981 when its predecessor company, Atlantic Resources Plc was formed
by a group of investors led by Sir Anthony O'Reilly. Providence's
active oil and gas portfolio includes interests in Ireland
(offshore), the United Kingdom (onshore and offshore), the United
States (onshore and offshore) and West Africa (offshore Nigeria).
Providence's portfolio is balanced between production, appraisal and
exploration assets, as well as being diversified geographically.
Comprehensive information on Providence and its oil and gas
portfolio, including all press releases, annual reports and interim
reports are available from Providence's website at
www.providenceresources.com.
About Singleton
The Singleton Oil Field is located 7 km north of Chichester in
onshore licence PL 240 in the Weald Basin, South of England. The
field consists of two east west trending elongate horst blocks
divided by a narrow graben. The wells produce from the Jurassic-aged
Great Oolite formation, consisting predominantly of oolitic
grainstones deposited during transgressive/regressive episodes.
Since production commenced in 1986, the field has produced c. 3.7
MMBO, which represents a recovery factor to date of c. 3.5%.
Published data from similar fields in the area suggest an ultimate
recovery factor of up to c. 10% should be achievable. Recent studies
(2008) suggested an original oil in-place resource of up to c.107
MMBO, a 50% increase over previous estimates which indicates that
there is up to c. 7MMBO of potential remaining reserves. The produced
oil is a 37o API gravity crude and is trucked to the Holybourne Rail
terminal.
Terms used in this Announcement
MMBO Millions of Barrels of Oil
MMBOE Millions of Barrels of Oil Equivalent
BOPD Barrels of Oil per Day
BOEPD Barrels of Oil Equivalent per Day
MSCFGD Millions of Standard Cubic Feet of Gas per Day
This Announcement has been reviewed by John O'Sullivan, Exploration
Manager, Providence Resources P.l.c. John holds a B.Sc. in Geology
from University College Cork, Ireland, an M.Sc. in Applied Geophysics
from the National University of Ireland, Galway and a M.Sc.in
Technology Management from The Smurfit School of Business at
University College Dublin. John is presently working part-time on a
PhD dissertation at Trinity College, Dublin. John has worked in the
offshore business for 19 years and is a fellow of the Geological
Society of London. Definitions in this press release are consistent
with SPE guidelines.
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