Exploration company Providence has been granted a licensing option for six part-blocks off the Irish coast.

Exploration company Providence has agreed a €50m revolving credit facility with Macquarie Bank to fund the acquisition of new production and/or the development of both existing and new projects.

Exploration company Providence has announced in its preliminary results for 2004 that profit after tax was €165,000, up from a net loss of €580,000 in 2003.