Celtic Sea explorers Providence Resources and Island Oil and Gas along with Lansdowne have been awarded a new licensing option in the region covering acreage directly below the producing Seven Heads gas field.
Together the three companies have been awarded the Barryroe licence area which has seen three previous exploration wells drilled and which has tested at rates between 1,300 and 1,600 b/d of 30 to 42° API oil with a high wax content.
Lansdowne holds 40%, and Providence and Island have 30% licence shares. Lansdowne will act as licence operator up until any seismic survey is undertaken.
Today the Providence said the licence area, renamed to avoid confusion with Seven Heads, includes areas below the Seven Heads gas field, and the border between the two concessions is at a depth of 1,250 m (4,000 ft) subsea. Reservoir sands lie in Cretaceous Middle and Lower Wealden sequences between 1,400m and 2,300m (4,592 8.740 ft).
“From the previous technical work carried out, the two main challenges to commercial development have been identified as the reservoir continuity and the high pour point of the oil caused by the high wax content,” Providence stated today in its declaration of the new licence.
“The significant increase in the price of oil since 2006 has materially improved the likelihood that these reserves could be exploited commercially,” the company said.
Forward work plans will concentrate on gaining a greater understanding of reservoir continuity, and the pour point of the oil.
Development of other established oil discoveries in the Celtic Sea area will be considered alongside the Barryroe accumulations, Providence indicated, and: “In particular the appraisal and conceptual development work being carried out by Providence on other Celtic Sea oil accumulations may have an impact upon the development options being considered for Barryroe,” the company stated