Oil and gas explorer Providence Resource's new chairman Pat Plunkett has spent £120,000 (€136,000) buying shares in the group in his first week in the role.

Mr Plunkett, who was chairman of Tullow Oil between 2000 and 2011 as the company went from oil minnow to becoming a member of London's blue-chip FTSE 100 index, acquired 1 million shares in Providence on Wednesday at 12p each, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.

He replaced James McCarthy as chairman on October 1st. Mr McCarthy remains on the board as a non-executive director.

Providence, led by Tony O’Reilly jnr, carried out a $70 million (€62.7 million) share sale during the summer to shore up its finances.

The company is currently seeking to sell a stake in its key Barryroe oil field off the south coast of Ireland and is planning an exploratory well in its Druid prospect some 220 miles into the Atlantic Ocean.