Share placing to raise £14m for Providence

IRISH oil and gas exploration company Providence Resources is to raise £14.4 million (€16.5m) – for use on boosting its production levels – via a new share placing, which will add nearly 450 million new shares to the company’s stock register.

The additional listing – dealing in the new shares commences today – will boost Providence’s number of ordinary shares in issue to just more than 3.37 billion.

Tony O’Reilly Jnr said the latest proceeds raised will go towards enhancing production levels at Providence’s assets in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Britain and will also provide additional working capital for its recent move into the gas storage market (via its subsidiary company Eirgas buying a 40% stake in the Kinsale Head gas field).

Mr O’Reilly also said that 2010 is set to be “an exciting year” for Providence “and its shareholders”.

“Whilst this fundraising is focused on the production/storage side of our business, we also expect to see material progress in our exciting portfolio of development and exploration assets, such as those on the Irish Atlantic Margin,” he added.

Providence is aiming to reach production levels of 5,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by 2012 and the 10,000 boepd mark by 2014 and could become totally debt free by 2013, shareholders have already been told by the company’s board. Their share price about the 4c mark, in Dublin, yesterday.