Permeability analysis positive for Barryroe oil field productivity

Offshore staff

DUBLIN, Ireland – Providence Resources (AIM:PRV) has provided a further update of its findings following the Barryroe oil appraisal well earlier this year off southern Ireland.

Barryroe is in a water depth of around 100 m (328 ft) in the North Celtic Sea basin. The company holds an 80% interest in partnership with Lansdowne Oil and Gas.

Corelab has completed permeability analysis of side wall cores over the basal oil-bearing interval in the 48/24-10z well. Results indicate average reservoir permeability in the basal oil-bearing reservoir sands of roughly 600 md, confirming the high productivity of this reservoir interval as observed during well testing.

Additionally, analysis of cores from overlying secondary reservoir sands, logged as hydrocarbon bearing in the well, has demonstrated permeabilities of up to about 100 md.

These secondary sands are thinly developed at the well location but thicken significantly to the west, where logging of an earlier well by previous operator Esso revealed porosities of up to 30%.

Third party micro-paleontological studies have proven the presence of a wide marine flooding surface within the lower part of the Wealden section, Providence adds, confirming that the depositional environment exerted a greater marine influence than previously thought.

Also, log motif analysis shows that the deposition of the basal oil-bearing sand may have been in a distributary channel setting as part of a broad delta plain, supporting the evidence of marine influence.

John O’Sullivan, technical director of Providence, said: “The permeability data from the overlying secondary reservoirs is welcome news as previously we had no information as to their potential productivity. These sands are now likely to add further resource potential to Barryroe.

“The evidence for marine influence in the lower part of the Wealden is consistent with the previous Esso-Marathon core analysis, which suggested the basal reservoir interval to have been deposited in a delta plain setting.”

6/22/2012