Providence Exercises Option to Aquire 40% of Ki...

PROVIDENCE EXERCISES OPTION TO ACQUIRE 40% OF KINSALE HEAD ASSETS
                            FROM PETRONAS


  * KINSALE HEAD ASSETS INCLUDE IRELAND'S SOLE PRODUCING GAS FIELD
    COMPLEX AND OPERATING GAS STORAGE FACILITY


Providence Resources P.l.c. ('Providence'), the AIM and IEX listed
exploration and production company, is pleased to announce that,
further to its announcement of 16th June 2009, its wholly owned
subsidiary, EIRGAS Limited ('EIRGAS'), has exercised its option (the
"Option") to acquire a 40% interest in the 100% operated Kinsale Head
Area comprising the Kinsale Head, South West Kinsale and Ballycotton
gas fields from Labuan Energy Corporation Limited, a wholly owned
subsidiary of PETRONAS International Corporation Ltd. ('PICL'). As
part of the same transaction, EIRGAS has also exercised the option to
acquire a 40% interest in the 86.5% operated adjacent producing Seven
Heads gas field ("Seven Heads"). EIRGAS is a special purpose vehicle
established by Providence to invest in gas production, storage and
trading opportunities offshore Ireland and in the United Kingdom.
PICL is a wholly-owned overseas investment arm of Petroliam Nasional
Berhad ('PETRONAS'), the national oil company of Malaysia.

Under the terms of the Option Agreement, which was originally entered
into on June 15th 2009, EIRGAS will purchase its stakes in the
Kinsale Head Area assets on the same pro-rata terms by which PETRONAS
acquired its stake from Marathon Oil Corporation in April 2009. That
transaction had a total value of US$ 180 million, with an effective
date of 1st January 2008.  In conjunction with the formal
notification of its exercise of the Option, Providence has made an
initial cash payment of $3.8 million to PETRONAS with the balance due
at Closing.

The Closing of this transaction is subject to Irish regulatory
approval and is expected to be completed by no later than the end of
Q1 2010. It is planned that the financing for the balance of the
transaction will be met through existing cash resources and banking
facilities.

Commenting, Mr Tony O'Reilly, Chief Executive of Providence, said:

"This transaction allows Providence to capitalise on our extensive
operational experience offshore Ireland in combination with PETRONAS'
proven track record in gas production, storage and trading. Upon
completion, not only will Providence's attributable daily production
double to over 4,000 BOEPD, but we will also gain exposure to
existing and new gas storage and trading opportunities, which we see
as a huge potential future growth area for the Company. Additionally,
the deal also provides EIRGAS with an opportunity to potentially
monetise gas from some of Providence's adjacent gas discoveries in
the Celtic Sea, as well as from third party fields."

Contacts:

Providence    Resources    Plc
            Tel: [phone]
Tony O'Reilly, Chief Executive

Powerscourt
                        Tel: [phone]
Rory Godson/Elizabeth Rous

Murray Consultants                                               Tel:
[phone]
Pauline McAlester

Cenkos Securities Plc                                            Tel:
[phone]
Joe Nally/ Nick Wells

Davy
            Tel: + 353 1 679 6363
Eugenée Mulhern/ Stephen Barry



EXPLANATORY NOTES

About EIRGAS Limited
EIRGAS Limited is a special purpose vehicle established to invest  in
gas production and gas storage opportunities offshore Ireland and the
United Kingdom. EIRGAS is owned 100% by Providence.

About PETRONAS

PETRONAS, wholly-owned by the Malaysian government, is a
fully-integrated oil and gas corporation and is ranked among FORTUNE
Global 500's largest corporations in the world.

About the Transaction
On June 16th, 2009 Providence announced that its wholly owned
subsidiary EIRGAS Limited had secured a 3 month Option to acquire 40%
of the Kinsale Head assets from PETRONAS, which PETRONAS had in turn
acquired from Marathon on April 17th, 2009 for a gross consideration
of US $180 million (with an effective date of January 1st, 2008). The
assets acquired comprise Kinsale Head, South West Kinsale and the
Ballycotton gas fields, an 86.5 % interest in the gas producing Seven
Heads field, which is tied back to Kinsale, and a 100 % interest in
the company's gas storage and trading business with current capacity
of 8 BCF. Net production from these operations averaged approximately
30 MMCFGD of natural gas for the first quarter of 2009. Marathon's
total net risked resource associated with these assets as of the end
of 2007 was 62 BCF, of which 46.2 BCF, or 7.7 million BOE, were net
proved reserves. 3P reserves were stated at 73.6 BCF. In 2008, the
Kinsale Head Area assets generated revenues of $154.8 million and net
profits of $50.7 million.
About Providence

Providence Resources Plc  is an independent  oil and gas  exploration
and production company  listed on  the AIM  market in  London and  on
Dublin's IEX market. The Company was founded in 1997, but with  roots
going back to  1981 when it  predecessor company, Atlantic  Resources
Plc was formed by a group of investors led by Sir Anthony O'Reilly.
Providence's active  oil  and  gas portfolio  includes  interests  in
Ireland, the United Kingdom, the  United States (Gulf of Mexico)  and
West Africa  (Nigeria). Providence's  portfolio is  balanced  between
production, appraisal  and  exploration  assets,  as  well  as  being
diversified geographically.
Further information  on Providence  and its  oil and  gas  portfolio,
including Annual Reports are  available from Providence's website  at
www.providenceresources.com

Providence - Celtic Sea Area Assets

In addition to the gas production and storage assets* being  acquired
at Kinsale Head,  Providence also  has an  interest in  a further  10
prospects in the Celtic Sea/NE Celtic Sea region, including a  number
of gas discoveries and prospects, as below.

    Asset       Location    Operator        %            Type
Kinsale Head * Celtic Sea Kinsale Energy 40.0%    Gas Production
Ballycotton *  Celtic Sea Kinsale Energy 40.0%    Gas Production
South West                                        Gas Storage &
Kinsale *      Celtic Sea Kinsale Energy 40.0%    Trading
Seven Heads *  Celtic Sea Kinsale Energy 34.6%    Gas Production
Hook Head      Celtic Sea Providence     72.5%    Oil & Gas discovery
Dunmore        Celtic Sea Providence     72.5%    Oil discovery
Helvick        Celtic Sea Providence     72.5%    Oil & Gas discovery
Ardmore        Celtic Sea Providence     72.5%    Gas discovery
Blackrock      Celtic Sea Providence     72.5%    Oil discovery
Barryroe       Celtic Sea Lansdowne      30.0%    Oil & Gas discovery
               NE Celtic                          Oil & Gas
Pegasus        Sea        Providence     100.0%   exploration
               NE Celtic                          Oil & Gas
Orpheus        Sea        Providence     100.0%   exploration
               NE Celtic                          Oil & Gas
Dionysus       Sea        Providence     100.0%   exploration
               NE Celtic
Dragon (part)  Sea        Marathon       c. 25.0% Gas development



Announcement

In accordance with the AIM Rules - Guidance for Mining and Oil & Gas
Companies, the information contained in this announcement has been
reviewed and approved by John O'Sullivan, Exploration Manager of
Providence Resources P.l.c.. John O'Sullivan is a Geology graduate of
University College Cork and holds a Masters in Geophysics from The
National University of Ireland, Galway. John also holds a Masters in
Technology Management from the Smurfit Graduate School of Business at
University College Dublin and is presently completing a dissertation
leading to a PhD in Geology at Trinity College, Dublin. John is a
Fellow of the Geological Society and a member of the Petroleum
Exploration Society of Great Britain. He has 19 years experience in
the oil and gas exploration and production industry and is a
qualified person as defined in the guidance note for Mining Oil & Gas
Companies, March 2006 of the London Stock Exchange.

Glossary of Terms Used

BOE Barrels of Oil Equivalent (1 BOE = 6,000 SCFG)
BCF Billion Cubic Feet of Gas
BOEPD Barrels of Oil Equivalent per Day
MCFGD Thousand Cubic Feet of Gas per Day
MMCFGD Million Cubic Feet of Gas per Day

SPE/WPC/AAPG/SPEE Petroleum Resource Management System 2007 has  been
used in preparing this announcement

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