Update on Singleton Drilling

7 Nov 2005 13:37

Providence Resources PLC07 November 2005 7 November 2005 Providence Resources plc UPDATE ON SINGLETON DRILLING •Completes 2005 development drilling programme •Accesses new areas in oilfield •Consistent with Providence's stated strategy of increasing daily oil production Providence Resources Plc ("Providence" or "the Company") is today pleased toannounce that it has successfully completed its 2005 development drillingprogramme on the Singleton oilfield, onshore UK. The field, in which Providence holds a 20% equity interest, is operated by StarEnergy Plc and is located within the Weald Basin in the South of England. Thedrilling programme, which comprised two horizontal wells (X-8x, X-9), wasdesigned to develop reserves not presently accessed by the existingrevenue-generating production wells. These new wells, which were drilledutilising the Marriott-7 drilling unit, are now expected to be tested andbrought on-stream in the coming weeks. The Singleton X-8x well is situated on the northern flank of the field and a2,000 foot horizontal section was drilled and completed in the Cornbrash andForest Marble sequences. These units, which lie above the main reservoir in thefield, 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 inthe southwest flank of the field. The Operator believes that the extended-reachSingleton X-9 well broke the record for the longest 8.5" hole section drilledonshore UK. The 8.5" hole section was drilled from 1,142 feet to 9,282 feet, alength of 8,140 feet. The well has been TD'd at 9,831 feet in 6" hole. Tony O'Reilly Jnr., CEO of Providence commented: "I am pleased that we have now completed the drilling programme at Singleton asit is an important step in our objective to increase our daily oil production.This was a significant and complicated drilling operation that was well executedby the Operator. We now look forward to bringing both these production wellson-stream in the near future." Contacts: ProvidenceTony O'Reilly Jnr. Chief Executive Tel: +353 1 667 5740 Powerscourt Tel: +44 (0) 207 2365615Rory Godson Mob: +44 (0) 7909 926020Victoria Brough Mob:+44 (0) 7967 044840 Murray ConsultantsPauline McAlester Tel: +353 1 498 0300 NOTES TO EDITORS About the Singleton Oilfield 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 StarEnergy Plc. The field, which contains good quality oil in Jurassic-agedcarbonate reservoirs is thought to contain approximately 74 MMBO STOIIP. Atpresent four wells are producing approximately 400 BOPD and the total productionto date has been approximately 3 MMBO. In addition to the oil production, theSingleton partners utilise produced gas from the field in power generation whichis sold to local users and which generates further revenue streams from thefield. 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% About Providence Resources PlcProvidence'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 explorationassets, as well as being diversified geographically. Comprehensive information on Providence and its oil and gas portfolio, includingthe AIM Admission document, Annual Report 2004 and Interim Report 2005 are allavailable from Providence's website at www.providenceresources.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange