Offshore staff
DUBLIN -- Providence Resources has been awarded a new licensing option in the North Celtic Sea basin, off the south coast of Ireland.
The Barryroe licensing option has been granted to Lansdowne (40%), Island Oil & Gas (30%), and Providence Resources (30%). Lansdowne will act as the operator of the license for the period of time up to and including the acquisition of any seismic data over the acreage. Thereafter, Providence will become the operator for any drilling and development activities.
According to Providence, the new license has been renamed Barryroe to avoid confusion with the Seven Heads gas field, which is partly situated above the deeper oil accumulations. Part of the Barryroe acreage lies beneath the Seven Heads gas field, with the boundary between the two concessions lying at 4,000 ft (1,250 m) subsea.
Within the Barryroe area, oil has been successfully tested at flow rates of between 1,300 and 1,600 b/d of oil, from three exploration or appraisal wells. The reservoir sands are in the Cretaceous Middle and Lower Wealden sequences between 1,400 and 2,300 m (4,600 to 7,550 ft) below sea level. The oil is light (30 to 42° API) and contains relatively high wax contents ranging from 12 to 22%, which may require treatment to avoid production difficulties, the company says.
Providence believes the two main challenges to the commercial development of the acreage are the reservoir continuity and the high pour point of the oil caused by the high wax content.
07/14/2008
