Exploration company Providence Resources has said it expects to announce the sale of some of it assets in coming months.

The sale of the assets is part of a strategic review announced earlier in the year, which has resulted in Providence examining its plans for the Celtic Sea and conducting a strategic appraisal of a number of business development options.

In parallel with the strategic appraisal, Providence said it was looking at ways of ensuring that the business was run as cost-effectively as possible and that it was introducing a number of cost reduction initiatives.

Speaking after the company's annual general meeting yesterday, finance director Mr Stephen Carroll said:

"We have looked at our cost base and cut it back. We're talking to a number of parties which have expressed interest in parts of our portfolio." As part of the review, Providence announced earlier in the year that it had decided not to develop Helvick discovery in the Celtic Sea as a "stand-alone" operation.

However, Mr Carroll said the Helvick discovery had put the Providence name "on the map within the industry".

He said floating production and storage vessels were a tested method of developing offshore oilfields.

"It is one of the development methods that we looked at for the Helvick development," he said.