Prospectivity of Atlantic Ireland: Porcupine Basin

1. Welcome to… AAPG Long Beach 2nd April 2007

2. ATLANTIC IRELAND PROSPECTIVITYThe Porcupine Basin Noel Murphy, Peter Croker (Petroleum Affairs Division, DCMNR) Hamish Wilson (Paras Consulting)

3. Atlantic Ireland Basins

4. North AtlanticRifting Events

7. Atlantic Ireland Prospects

8. Porcupine Basin

9. Bajocian-Early Oxfordian palaeogeography

10. Kimmeridgian-Tithonian palaeogeography

11. Apto-Albian palaeogeography

12. Combined charge risk summary

13. Middle Jurassic CRS

14. Jurassic well correlation

15. PROVIDENCE RESOURCES Offshore Ireland – 35/8,9 Block 35/8, 9 (Frontier Exploration Licence 2/04) Providence Resources (Operator) 80% Sosina Exploration 20% Burren discovery: Well 35/8-1 Burren discovery in 1978 - total depth of 14,500 ft; flowed 733 bopd 34° API from a thin, c.30 ft, overpressured Lower Cretaceous sand reservoir. Trap interpreted as a stratigraphic pinch-out of Early Cretaceous sandstones, which have the potential to thicken down-dip to the east. The sands may be part of a submarine fan system. Volumetrics are not available for this discovery but Providence has indicated that it believes there is sufficient potential either for a stand-alone development or for a tieback to the Spanish Point discovery. Spanish Point discovery: Well 35/8-2 in 1981, total depth of 15,200 ft and encountered oil and gas in a thick overpressured Upper Jurassic reservoir comprising submarine fan sandstones in a tilted fault block trap. Individual reservoir intervals range from 146 ft to 264 ft with good porosities and net/gross between 0.52 and 0.6. Permeabilities - 2 to 20 mD. The Well tested three intervals: uppermost ‘A’ Sand flowed at 925 bopd 40°API and 4.85 mmscfd gas, some uncertainty whether the reservoir fluids are gas condensate or volatile oil. The deeper ‘B’ and ‘C’ sands logged hydrocarbons but failed to flow on test. The Well is interpreted as having encountered a fault that cut out some 170 ft of gross section of the uppermost reservoir unit. Providence reports that acoustic impedance modelling indicates good sandstone development within this cut-out section, up-dip from the well location. Providence has also analysed the test results and states that these indicate that the ‘A’ Sand has the potential to flow at up to 30 mmscfd gas and 5500 bopd if horizontal well technology and fracture stimulation are applied. Mapping indicates significant potential is present within this discovery with up to 1.8 Tcf gas and 288 mmbbls oil recoverable from the three sand units based on the liquid fraction from the Well test.  The forward work programme involves seismic attribute analysis ahead of a possible 3D seismic survey prior to appraisal drilling. In anticipation of drilling, an outline well proposal has been prepared with the top reservoir at -13,030 ft TVDSS.

16. Spanish Point – Seismic Inline (after Robinson et al, 2001)

18. Jurassic fault-block plays - south Porcupine margin

19. Cretaceous CRS

20. Lower Cretaceous well correlation

21. Blocks 35/1 & 35/2Lead: 35/1-K3 – L. Cretaceous Connemara Field Lead 35/1-K3 Lead 35/1-K3 is a mounded feature interpreted as being a low stand basin floor fan located in a basinal setting at the toe of a prograding slope of Aptian age. The fan is of limited areal extent (6 x 3 km) but is relatively thick at approx 450 ft. Typically, basin floor fans of this size are sand rich and may have a net to gross ratio of up to 80%. Migration of hydrocarbons from the Jurassic source rocks into the fan is possible via seismically resolvable faults that cut through the Tertiary and Cretaceous and into the Jurassic, but a more vertical migration route is also possible through the Lower Cretaceous via sub seismic scale faults. The top seal for the system would be from the muddy transgressive system and the up-dip seal would be a combination of the muddy transgressive system and the muddy toes of the prograding slope. Phillips was prepared to commit to a well contingent on finding a partnership group, but as no group could be found the licence was relinquished undrilled.

22. 17 & 1826, 27 & 44/1 Leads: C2 & D – Lower Cretaceous Submarine Fans Lead D - is a stratigraphic lead towards the base of the Albian. It is interpreted as a small elongate channelised mounded structure basinwards of the time equivalent deltaic units deposited to the North. It lies at depth of around 5000m with an area of potential closure over 100km2 with an interval thickness less than 100m. Lead C2 – is a possible submarine fan mound, onlapped by later sedments, lying on the Base Aptian unconformity at around 5000m. A small (30km2) closure can be mapped, based on zero sand being defined as the 250m isopach contour.

24. 2007 Porcupine Round Round to cover unlicensed blocks in an area of approx. 63,500 sq km Tranch size: 1-3 blocks in northern Porcupine 1-6 blocks in southern Porcupine

25. 2007 Porcupine Round(next steps) • Contractor for IOSEA2 (Porcupine) selected; work to start shortly • Licensing Terms review to be published by end April • Round notice to be placed in EU Official Journal in June • Licence applications due in by end October • Data / Information includes - IHS data pack comprising well and seismic data - ARK providing grav/mag datasets - Ternan Atlantic Ireland regional report available now; GIS version to follow - Hannon Westwood prospect inventory available now…

26. Tel +353 1 6782000 Email Padadmin@dcmnr.gov.ie Address PAD, DCMNR Leeson Lane Dublin 2, Ireland