Providence to drill Spanish Point asset in 2013
The Dublin-based firm has reached agreement with its partners over a budget to prepare for the drilling of an appraisal well on the licence.
The appraisal study will aim to judge gas flow rates and field productivity as well as defining an ultimate well count and development plan for the discovery.
Providence owns a 32% share of the licence with its partner Chrysaor, upping its stake from 30% to 60% and assuming operator status.
The company’s plan is to spud the well in the third quarter of 2013, subject to rig availability and approval from the Government.
Current resource estimates for Spanish Point are around 200m barrels of oil equivalent.
Spanish Point will mark drilling at the second well in Providence’s multi-well offshore Ireland programme, following the recent work undertaken at the Barryroe field off the Cork coast. Full results of exactly how much oil resides there should be known later this month.
“Next year should prove to be pivotal in assessing the exploration and development potential of hydrocarbons in the Porcupine Basin, with drilling now planned at Spanish Point, as well as the Dunquin exploration prospect to the south,” Providence’s CEO Tony O’Reilly Jr said yesterday.
“Similar to our recent success at Barryroe, we believe that the application of modern well completion technologies, driven by state-of-the-art 3D seismic data, can unlock material value at Spanish Point, a significant resource with up to 200m barrels of oil equivalent potential,” he said.
Meanwhile, Irish minerals firm Connemara Mining has agreed to sell a 75% stake in its Oldcastle Block of licences in counties Cavan and Meath to the Irish division of Canadian mining company, Teck Resources for €1.35m.
