Providence has announced that it has commenced drilling operations at the Singleton oil field in the UK.
The Singleton field is located in the Weald Basin and currently produces 800 BOEPD from seven production wells. The field is operated by Providence - which has a 99 per cent stake in the operation - and its partner Noble Energy.
Operations are expected to last some six weeks.
The drilling programme comprises the sidetracking of the X9 well to a new and more optimal location together with the addition of two new lateral sections to the currently producing X8x well, potentially providing 350 BOEPD of additional cumulative production.
In addition, the new X9 sidetrack well has been designed for future acid fracture stimulation, thereby providing further incremental production potential.
Providence chief executive Tony O'Reilly said: "Following our highly successful drilling programme in 2009, these wells are again aimed at materially increasing production rates as well as evaluating the potential of fracture stimulation and multi-lateral well technology."
"This programme should not only boost daily production rates by over 40 per cent, but should also allow us to assess the impact of new production technologies at Singleton which are expected to form the cornerstone of our field redevelopment activities during the coming years," he added.