Providence has commenced drilling its Hook Head appraisal well, located in Standard Exploration Licence 2/07 in the North Celtic Sea Basin. Using the Petrolia semi-submersible rig, drilling operations on the 50/11-3 well commenced at approximately 20:45 on Friday, August 17th.

Partners in the Hook Head well are:

                         Providence Resources Plc (Operator) 40%
                         Challenger Minerals (Celtic Sea) Limited 15%
                         Dyas BV 15%
                         Forest Gate Resources Inc 15%
                         Atlantic Petroleum (Ireland) Limited 10%
                         Sosina Exploration Limited * 5%

It is anticipated that the complete drilling programme will take up to 50** days.

Tony O'Reilly Jnr., Chief Executive of Providence said, "We are pleased to announce the commencement of drilling operations at Hook Head. This is an exciting time for Providence and we look forward to the outcome of this drilling programme".