Ireland Awards Porcupine Basin Licences

Irish independent oil and gas exploration company Providence, along with ExxonMobil and UK-based Sosina Exploration, has been awarded two exploration licences off the coast of Ireland.

The licences in the Porcupine Basin comprise 13 blocks across 760,000 acres, located in water depths of at least 6,500ft.

According to Providence, a number of potential leads have been identified across the two licences, including the Drombeg prospect.

The three companies now own 18 exploration blocks in the Porcupine Basin including an option for an additional 15 blocks.

US oil major ExxonMobil will operate the two new licence areas.

The results of the licensing round were announced by the Irish Government's Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources last week.

By Ozge Ibrahim