Offshore staff
DUBLIN, Ireland – Appraisal drilling on the Spanish Point gas/condensate discovery offshore western Ireland should begin next spring, according to Providence Resources.
Spanish Point is an Upper Jurassic structure in frontier exploration license (FEL) 2/04 in thePorcupine basin, about 200 km (124 mi) off the west coast in 400 m (1,312 ft) water depth. The license also contains the Lower Cretaceous Burren oil discovery.
Under the terms of a 2008 farm-out agreement, partner Chrysaor took up an option to drill up totwo appraisal wells on Spanish Point, in exchange for an increase in license equity from 30-60%, with Providence and Sosina retaining the remainder. Chrysaor also agreed to provide a financial cap on Providence’s and Sosina’s financial exposure to the appraisal drilling costs.
Following a recent partnership meeting, a budget was approved that includes well design activities in the build-up to appraisal drilling next year, subject to rig availability and Irish governmental approvals. The partners also agreed to transfer of operatorship of FEL 2/04, FEL 4/08, and licensing option 11/2 from Providence to Chrysaor, again pending government approval.
Tony O’Reilly, CEO of Providence, said: “Next year should prove to be pivotal in assessing the exploration and development potential of hydrocarbons in the Porcupine basin, with drilling now planned at Spanish Point, as well as at the Dunquin exploration prospect to the south.
“Similar to our recent success at Barryroe, we believe that the application of modern well completion technologies, driven by the state of the art 3D seismic data can unlock material value at Spanish Point, a significant resource with up to 200 MMboe recoverable potential.”
7/20/2012
