Confirmation Nigeria Drilling

24 Jun 2005 12:00

Providence Resources PLC24 June 2005 Providence Resources P.l.c. 24 June 2005 Providence Resources P.l.c. ("Providence" or "the Company") Announces confirmation of Nigeria drilling Providence is today pleased to announce that it has received confirmation fromthe technical adviser to the Aje consortium*, Lundin Petroleum AB, thatGlobalSantaFe International Drilling Corporation, an affiliate of AppliedDrilling Technology Inc. has been contracted to drill an appraisal well on theAje Field (OML 113), offshore Nigeria. It is expected that drilling willcommence in late July 2005 and the drilling programme is estimated to take onemonth. The Aje Field was discovered in 1996 with the first appraisal well drilled in1997 which proved the existence of both oil and gas in separate reservoirs inthe field. Commenting on the announcement Mr. Tony O'Reilly Jnr, Deputy Chairman ofProvidence, said: "The imminent drilling of the Aje Field is great news for Providence. The Aje Field is a very exciting prospect and we look forward to the outcome of the drilling programme". * Providence is part of the strong international consortium on the AJE fieldoffshore Nigeria, which includes Lundin Petroleum, Challenger Minerals, PalaceExploration Company, Howard Energy, Syntroleum Corporation and Yinka FolawiyoPetroleum. Providence is entitled to 6.328% of net revenues from anydevelopments within OML 113, offshore Nigeria, which includes the Aje field. Theparticipants have also entered into an Area of Mutual Interest agreementcovering areas adjoining OML 113. Contacts:Providence Tel: +353 1 6675740Dr. Brian Hillery, ChairmanTony O'Reilly Jnr., Deputy ChairmanTony Odone, Chief Operating Officer Powerscourt Tel: +44 (0) 207 236 5615Rory Godson Mob: +44 (0) 7909 926 020Victoria Brough Mob: +44 (0) 7967 044 840 Murray Consultants Tel: +353 1 4980300Pauline McAlester Davy Tel: + 353 679 6363Eugenee Mulhern Cenkos Tel: +44 (0) 207 397 8919Joe Nally NOTES TO EDITORS The Aje Structure is situated in Oil Mining Lease 113 (OML 113) in water depthsof c. 3,000 feet and is 15 miles offshore Nigeria, being some 40 miles southwestof Lagos. The discovery well, Aje-1, which was drilled in 1996 encountered oil and gas inreservoirs of Cretaceous age, and flowed at an aggregate rate of 42 MMSCFGD and2,262 BOPD over three zones. An appraisal well, Aje-2, which was drilled in 1997flowed 3,866 BOPD from a deeper separate additional zone which had not beenencountered in Aje-1. OML 113 contains a number of further un-drilled exploration leads and prospectsin addition to the Aje Structure. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange