Providence Resources says it has started drilling operations as part of this year's drilling programme at the Singleton oil field in the UK.
The Singleton field is located in the Weald Basin and currently produces about 800 barrels of oil a day from seven production wells. The operation is expected to last about six weeks.
Providence chief executive Tony O'Reilly said that the wells are again aimed at materially increasing production rates.
'This programme should not only boost daily production rates by over 40%, but should also allow us to assess the impact of new production technologies at Singleton,' he said.
The UK field is expected to form the cornerstone of Providence's field redevelopment activities in the coming years.
