Providence Resources has completed a technical assessment of the heavy oil potential which underlies the Ardmore gas field ('Ardmore'). The Ardmore field is located in Standard Exploration Licence (SEL) 2/07 in the North Celtic Sea Basin and is situated some c. 60 kilometers off the south coast of Ireland in c. 90m water depth. Providence holds a 72.5% operated interest in SEL 2/07 with partners Atlantic Petroleum (18.3%) and Sosina Exploration (9.2%). Providence manages its interest in the Ardmore field through its special purpose vehicle EXOLA Limited.

The Lower Cretaceous aged Ardmore field was discovered by Marathon Oil in 1974, and comprises a gas cap with an underlying heavy oil (c. 16o API) accumulation. Recent work in the area, which revealed the presence of potentially significant heavy oil resources at the nearby Baltimore discovery, prompted a re-evaluation of the deterministic resource potential within the Ardmore oil leg. This work, which is based on a recently acquired 2006 3D seismic survey, has now been completed and suggests an in place resource potential of up to c. 230 MMBO.

Tony O'Reilly, Chief Executive of Providence, said, 'The positive results from our recent work on the Baltimore heavy oil discovery lead us to reevaluate Ardmore in the context of its heavy oil potential. Whilst further work needs to be carried out, we are suitably encouraged by this review and as with our recently announced JV on Baltimore, we have agreed with the Ardmore partners to seek a heavy oil specialist to assess this discovery for potential future development.'

Tags: Providence Resources Plc