An increase in revenues from its 20 per cent stake in the Singleton onshore oilfield in the UK enabled Providence Resources to increase its revenues to €1.99 million last year from €1.37 million in 2005.

Profits at the exploration company, which is controlled by Sir Anthony O'Reilly and his family, increased to €143,000 in 2006 from €106,000. All of the company's revenues are derived from Singleton. Providence now plans to acquire a majority stake in Singleton from Star Energy Group. Production at Singleton is set to increase to 600 barrels of oil a day or 219,000 barrels a year.

Providence will pay $22 million in cash to Star and has also agreed a 50:50 joint venture on the proposed compressed natural gas project at the site. This will result in its shareholding increasing to 99.13 per cent, subject to regulatory approval.

Providence has a number of other exploration and development activities, including in the Celtic Sea, the Porcupine Basin off the coast of Ireland, the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Nigeria.

Providence, which is listed on junior markets in Dublin and London, also recently completed a placing of 368.2 million new ordinary shares at seven cent each. This raised €25.8 million before expenses and was completed through Cenkos Securities, a broker in the UK.

There are now almost 2.4 billion shares in issue, a large total for a company with a market capitalisation of just €194 million.

Tony O'Reilly jnr, Providence's chief executive, said that the company might consider a share consolidation, a move which would reduce its administrative burden. "That is always under active consideration by the company," he commented.

The O'Reilly family now controls 41 per cent of the company's shares.