Providence Resources plc : Repsol Assumes Opera...

22^nd March 2012
Embargo 7am

REPSOL ASSUMES OPERATORSHIP OF NEWGRANGE PROSPECT

• Repsol assumes the role of operator for Licensing Option 11/11 

• Option contains the Newgrange exploration 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), is pleased to provide an update on Licensing Option 11/11 ('Option'). This licensing authorization is located c. 250 km off the south-west coast of Ireland in c. 1,000 metre water depth. The Option was awarded to Providence (40%), Repsol (40%) and Sosina (20%) as part of the 2011 Irish Atlantic Margin Licensing Round in October 2011.

The partners recently agreed for Repsol Exploracion Irlanda, S.A., a subsidiary of Repsol, to assume the role of Operator for the Option. This change of operatorship is in recognition of Repsol's extensive deepwater drilling expertise together with its recent significant successes in carbonate exploration elsewhere in the Atlantic Basins. The transfer of operatorship has been approved by the Irish government.

Speaking today, Tony O'Reilly, CEO of Providence said,

"We are pleased to confirm that Repsol have taken over the role of Operator for this significant exploration opportunity. The Newgrange partners are already co-venturing on the nearby and potentially analogous Dunquin exploration prospect which was recently confirmed for drilling in Q2 2013. The partners look forward to leveraging on Repsol's range of resources and capabilities in order to advance Newgrange to drill ready status."

CONTACTS:

Providence Resources Plc Tony O'Reilly	Tel: [phone]
Powerscourt Rob Greening/Lisa Kavanagh	Tel: [phone]
Murray Consultants Pauline McAlester	Tel: [phone]
Cenkos Securities Plc Adrian Hargrave/Nick Wells	Tel: [phone]
J&E Davy Eugenee Mulhern/Stephen Barry	Tel: + 353 (0)1 679 6363

ABOUT PROVIDENCE
Providence Resources Plc is an Irish based oil and gas exploration company quotedon the AIM market in London and on Dublin's ESM market. Providence's portfolio of production, appraisal and exploration assets includes licence interests in Ireland (offshore) and the United Kingdom (onshore). Providence and its partners are investing upwards of $500 million in the drilling of a number of exploration and development wells in 6 different basins offshore Ireland. This multi-year programme represents the largest drilling campaign ever carried out offshore Ireland. www.providenceresources.com.

ABOUT REPOSL
Repsol Exploracion Irlanda, S.A. is a subsidiary of Repsol, a multinational energy company that is present in over 30 countries. With more than 36,000 employees, Repsol is one of the ten largest privately-owned oil companies in the world and the largest private energy company in Latin America in terms of assets. Repsol is the market-leader in refining and marketing in Spain and Argentina, the third-largest private LPG distributor in the world, and one of the world's leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) marketers. Its oil and gas production is around a million barrels a day. It operates four chemicals plants and nine refineries in the world and handles over 50 million tons of crude oil that is transformed into a wide range of products, distributed through a sales network of about 7,000 service stations.

ABOUT THE NEWGRANGE PROSPECT
The Newgrange prospect is located in Licensing Option 11/11 in the Goban Spur, offshore south-west Ireland. The prospect comprises a large four way dip closed anticline which extends over a c. 1,000 sq kilometer area. Nearby well control suggests the potential for excellent carbonate reservoir development with the most recent volumetric analysis indicating a mean gas in place prospective resource potential of 14 TSCF.

ANNOUNCEMENT
This announcement has been reviewed by John O'Sullivan, Technical Director, 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 20 years and is a fellow of the Geological Society of London and member of The Petroleum Exploration Society of Great Britain. Definitions in this press release are consistent with SPE guidelines.

SPE/WPC/AAPG/SPEE Petroleum Resource Management System 2007 has been used in preparing this announcement

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Source: Providence Resources plc via Thomson Reuters ONE

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