Providence Resources completes drilling at Druid Drombeg prospect

Oil and gas exploration company Providence Resources has completed drilling at its failed Druid Drombeg prospect off the south-west coast of Ireland.

The company said in a stock exchange announcement on Tuesday that the Stena IceMax deep-water drillship had departed the site on Monday afternoon and was on its way back to Gran Canaria.

The licence in the southern porcupine basin is operated by Providence on behalf of its partners Capricorn Ireland and Sosina Exploration. It announced at the beginning of August that analysis of the Druid project indicated the reservoir contained water.

Earlier this month, it said that the deeper Drombeg prospect contained “a porous water-bearing reservoir interval”, a result the company’s chief executive, Tony O’Reilly Jr, said was “disappointing”.

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Shares in the exploration company have dropped by more than 70 per cent since the beginning of August. The company’s market cap stands at €33.99 million or £29.88 million.