www.providenceresources.com
The combination of board and management talent, together with Providence's major shareholder worldwide network, presents a unique ability to succeed on the international stage. Providence has appropriate experience in the financing of large developments and is well equipped to plan and access finance for a wide range of activities and projects. Providence has established banking relations with a number of leading international financial institutions.
Since its formation, Providence has built a diversified portfolio of oil and gas exploration licences and concessions with the key focus being the pursuit of exploration and appraisal interests offshore Ireland. The Company’s board and management have a well-established background in the oil and gas business having worked closely with many major companies throughout the world. Providence works with leading companies including ExxonMobil, Repsol, ENI, Petronas, Chrysaor and Nautical Petroleum.
Providence Resources success in Celtic Sea could trigger re-appraisal of Irish oil sector
Providence Resources (LON:PVR) chief executive Tony O’Reilly remains upbeat about the prospects for the Barryroe discovery in the Celtic Sea, with work set to get underway imminently.
Not only will it unlock value for shareholders, Barryroe “should also trigger a complete industry re-appraisal of the Irish offshore” oil exploration, he said.
O’Reilly’s comments were made as the company posted its interim results – a release which summarised its preparations for the most important two years in its history.
Providence is embarking on a US$120 million, high impact drilling campaign, which starts with Barryroe before moving anti-clockwise around the coast of Ireland.
Gearing up for this, Providence negotiated a new US$60 million loan facility.
It also has cash of US$63 million (€46.3m) on the balance sheet and sold its Gulf of Mexico assets for US$22 million, funds that will be used for debt reduction.
Turning to the Singleton field in Sussex, the company’s only oil producing asset, output was down 7.5 per cent 92,631 barrels of oil.
However the reserve base has grown 44 per cent to 7.7 million barrels and the group is on target to increase production to 1,500 barrels a day in the next two years.
The financials, though largely irrelevant at this stage in Providence’s development, show the group made a pre-tax loss from operating activities of €3.2 million compared with a €2 million profit in the same period last year.
O’Reilly said: "The first six months of 2011 have been extremely busy for the company and its partners as we prepare to commence the biggest concerted drilling programme ever carried out offshore Ireland.
“Providence's shareholders have waited patiently for this moment, and the forthcoming spudding of the first well in the programme, on the Barryroe oil discovery, is a momentous step forward that should not only unlock the value of this particular asset but should also trigger a complete industry re-appraisal of the Irish offshore.
“Given recent industry advances in technology and pricing, as well as Ireland's now established infrastructure and fiscal regime, the time has now come for Ireland's hydrocarbon potential to be realised.
“Providence, as the leading Irish based E&P company, with its extensive acreage position, outstanding technical capabilities and world class international partners, intends to be at the forefront of this realisation for its' shareholders."
