Highlights
• Turnover up 30% at €1,376,000
• Profit for the year of €127,000
• Farmout agreed with ExxonMobil on Dunquin
• Spanish Point farmout programme commences in May 2006
• Drilling at Singleton leads to increased production in 2006
• New licence Interests awarded for Apollo, offshore Ireland and West Lennox and Crosby, offshore UK
• €50 Million Financing Facility put in place with Macquarie to fund acquisition of new production and / or the development of both existing and new projects
Commenting on today's results, Tony O'Reilly jnr., Chief Executive of Providence Resources P.l.c. said:
"The past year has been an exciting and busy period for Providence and has seen a number of strategic initiatives get underway. The drilling of 4 wells; the farmout of the Dunquin Prospect to ExxonMobil - the world's largest oil and gas company; the securing of a new €50 million financing facility with Macquarie; the finalization of a major development study on Spanish Point and subsequently, the opening of the data room for Spanish Point are all individually major milestones for the Company. Taken together, they demonstrate that the Company has delivered on its stated strategy of achieving a balanced and diverse portfolio of assets, whilst also increasing its daily oil production.
"The successful farmout of Dunquin, and partnering with ExxonMobil, highlights the renewed and growing interest of the significant hydrocarbon potential off Ireland's west coast. This focus on the Porcupine Basin is enormously encouraging for Ireland's hydrocarbon industry and is a very positive backdrop against which Providence has begun to market its Spanish Point Project, in which there is significant interest.
"Looking forward, the Company is planning a comprehensive programme of activity for 2006 and beyond, including the farmout of Spanish Point, seismic activity over Dunquin, further potential appraisal wells at AJE in Nigeria and possibly in the East Irish Sea, as well as a multi-well drilling programme being planned for offshore Ireland. This activity is all set against a market shaped by scarcity, geo-political pressure on domestic resources and rising commodity prices. We believe that, with Providence's balanced portfolio of Irish and UK assets and the ever-growing need for secure and reliable sources of energy, that the Company is extremely well placed to capitalize on this environment."
