Irish oil and gas company Providence Resources has announced new interpretations of old data that suggest that a field off the west coat of Ireland contains as much as 200 million barrels of oil.
Providence’s Spanish Point project is located around 170 kilometres off the west coast of Ireland in the Porcupine Basin. Drilling, at a depth of 400 metres, is expected to begin in 2012, with oil and gas potentially flowing by late 2014 or 2015.
The find is made up of 75 per cent gas and 25 per cent oil; and could meet Ireland's gas needs for several years, and around a fifth of the country's oil needs.
The company said up to 72,000 barrels a day could be produced once it reaches its peak.
Commenting on the find, Tony O’Reilly, chief executive of Providence said: “The completion of this technical work finally awakens the sleeping giant that is Spanish Point. This is not only a significant event for Providence and its partners, but for the whole Irish offshore.
“The last two years work has significantly de-risked Spanish Point and as such, it gives us every confidence in the successful future appraisal and development of this tested discovery. We have already identified the primary appraisal well location and have commenced well planning with a view to drilling in 2012.”
Providence has a majority interest in Spanish Point, and UK-based Chrysaor E&P Ireland a 30 per cent stake. UK-based Sosina Exploration holds a 14 per cent interest. As much as €743 million may have to be invested to extract the oil and gas, Providence said.
It would only be the fourth time in 40 years that an oil field was commercially developed in Irish waters.
The find makes the project twice as valuable as Ireland’s Corrib gas field, which was discovered in 1996 off Ireland’s north-west coast, and now operated by Shell.
Phillips Petroleum, now ConocoPhillips, discovered the Spanish Point field in 1981 but falling oil prices at the time prevented the company from developing it further. Providence and its partners acquired the licence in 2008
Headquartered in Dublin, Providence has interests in Ireland, the UK, the US (Gulf of Mexico) and West Africa (Nigeria). The company’s portfolio is balanced between production, appraisal and exploration assets.
