Singleton Oil Well Brought on Stream

20 December 2005

 

Providence Resources Plc ("Providence" or "the Company") is today (Wednesday, 21st December 2005) pleased to announce that the X-9 production well has been successfully brought on stream in the Singleton oilfield, onshore UK and that the X-8x well is expected to be brought on stream later this week.

 

The field, in which Providence holds a 20% equity interest, is operated by Star Energy Plc and is located within the Weald Basin in the South of England. These new horizontal wells were designed to develop reserves not presently accessed by the existing revenue-generating production wells. The wells which involved the application of extended reach technology were drilled utilising the Marriott-7 drilling unit.

 

The objective was to increase daily oil production by between 50% to 100%.

 

Once production rates have stabilised, a further release will issue.

 

Tony O'Reilly Jnr., CEO of Providence commented:

"We are delighted at the initial outcome of our 2005 Singleton development drilling programme as it heralds an important step in our objective to increase our daily oil production."

Ends. Wednesday, 21st December 2005

 

Tony O'Reilly Jnr. Chief Executive Tel: +353 1 667 5740

 

Rory Godson Mob: +44 (0) 7909 926 020

Victoria Brough Mob:+44 (0) 7967 044 840

 

Pauline McAlester Tel: +353 1 498 0300

The Singleton oilfield is situated onshore UK in the Weald Basin, West Sussex. Providence holds a 20% equity interest in the field, which is operated by Star Energy Plc. The field, which contains good quality oil in Jurassic-aged carbonate reservoirs is thought to contain ~74 MMBO STOIIP. At present four wells are producing ~400 BOPD and the total production to date has been ~3 MMBO. In addition to the oil production, the Singleton partners utilise produced gas from the field in power generation which is sold to local users and which generates further revenue streams from the field.

 

The Singleton X-8x well is situated on the northern flank of the field and a 2,000 foot horizontal section was drilled and completed in the Cornbrash and Forest Marble sequences. These units, which lie above the main reservoir in the field, are presently not in production though they are known to be oil-bearing.

 

The Singleton X-9 well was designed to probe the main Great Oolite reservoir in the southwest flank of the field. The Operator believes that the extended-reach Singleton X-9 well broke the record for the longest 8.5" hole section drilled onshore UK. The 8.5" hole section was drilled from 1,142 feet to 9,282 feet, a length of 8,140 feet. The well has been TD'd at 9,831 feet in 6" hole.

 

Participating interests in the Singleton field are:

 

Star Energy UK Onshore Limited (Operator) 79.125%

 

Providence Resources P.l.c. 20.000%

 

Noble Energy (Europe) Limited 0.875%

 

Providence's active oil and gas portfolio includes interests in Ireland (offshore), the UK (onshore and offshore) and West Africa (offshore Nigeria). Providence's portfolio is balanced between production, appraisal and exploration assets, as well as being diversified geographically.

 

Comprehensive information on Providence and its oil and gas portfolio, including the AIM Admission document, Annual Report 2004 and Interim Report 2005 are all available from Providence's website at www.providenceresources.com