Providence hoping to drill 530 million barrels at Rathlin

Providence Resources plans to commence drilling next year at its Rathlin Basin assets, off the Co Antrim coast, with the company saying its prospects there could contain up to 530 million barrels of oil.

The Tony O’Reilly Jr-headed exploration company is due to drill at two more of its high-potential prospects — Dalkey Island, off the Dublin coast, and Dunquin off the Dingle peninsula — this year.

However, yesterday it gave an update on another of its highly anticipated prospects; saying that newly acquired data from an airborne survey has revealed a number of prospective structures within the P1885 and PL5/10 licences within Rathlin Basin. Both of these licences are 100% owned and operated by Providence at the current time.