Irish oil and gas explorer Providence Resources has contacted the preferred bidder to supply it with a rig for its Druid prospect following a tender.
London-listed Providence said it had sent a “letter of intent to the leading contender”, but did not reveal the rig contractor’s identity.
Providence said: “The parties will now proceed to finalise a contract over the coming weeks and a further update will be provided in due course.”
Druid is located 220kilometres off the south-west coast of Ireland in the southern Porcupine Basin.
Providence holds the operatorship and 80% of the relevant licence, while Sosina Exploration has 20%.
Providence chief executive Tony O’Reilly said: “This is another key milestone for our planned drilling at Druid, further demonstrating the progress that we are making in pursuing the continued development of our significant portfolio offshore Ireland.”