An Irish exploration company has hit oil off the Cork coast – and the find is commercially viable.
The find could make a massive difference to the Irish economy and provide a much needed boost at a critical time.
Providence Resources is already bringing in 3,514 barrels of oil a day from its well at Barryrow, 50 kilometres off the Cork coastline.
The flow is almost double the 1800 barrels of oil per day needed to make the find commercially viable.
The company is also testing for gas flow rates in the Cork field.
Chief executive Tony O’Reilly confirmed the flow rates at a 100-metre depth in the North Celtic Sea Basin to the Irish state broadcaster RTE.
“The well has also confirmed that the basal sands are laterally continuous, highly productive and that the oils are of a very high quality,” he said.
The test area covers 300 sq km which is equivalent to a medium to large North Sea oil field.
Providence also confirmed to the Dublin and London stock exchanges that the find is bigger than expected with much better flow rates than first hoped for.
“There is more work to be done but we hope the find will put Ireland on the map and attract more gas and oil exploration to the country,” added O’Reilly.
Shares in Providence Resources have soared in the past month after the company announced it had found light crude oil in a large sandstone reservoir about 7,550ft under the sea off the south coast.
Industry analysts said the well must produce about 1,800 barrels of oil or gas equivalent every day to make commercial sense. The company’s technical director John O’Sullivan told RTE that Providence could now look forward to materially progressing the project.
“These sands, which appear to have an intact overlying pressure seal, sit directly on proven, mature and oil-prone source rock and therefore open the route to significant resource volumes within the Barryroe licence area,” he said.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.seanomelb | Mar 18, 2012, 06:54 PM EDT
sirpeter I hope your right about the quantity of oil and gas,we could purchase the north for a wee price.
sirpeter | Mar 17, 2012, 12:18 PM EDT
@Gaelphoncán.You are thinking of the Corrib Gas field deal.Barryroe field is different.Guy on the news said the tax is 25% on a certain amount of profit,this goes to 40% if it doubles.This is good news really for Ireland as there is probably loads of oil and gas off the coast of Ireland.The bonanza will be the second phase of finds after (if/when) the initial finds have been proven as being viable and the government/authorities prove capable of allowing the product to be taken up/brought ashore without a Rossport hippie clusterfcuk happening everytime.
sirpeter | Mar 17, 2012, 12:15 PM EDT
How are the common people in Ireland going to profit from this? Not at all? That's what I thought. All it will get them is less chance of having their kids raised on clean fish and other seafood, or of watching the whales and other sea life while on vacation. Google the Santa Barbara Channel and see what all their drilling did to the environment there.........
sirpeter | Mar 17, 2012, 11:59 AM EDT
Oil production at Ireland’s first commercial discovery could reach as high as 20,000 barrels a day when production commences at the Barryroe field in the next three years.1,800 barrels a day target set by Providence as being large enough to deem it a commercial find.The 300 sq km oil field — equivalent to a medium to large North Sea oil field.500 bopd equivalent in gas, which the well is throwing off,would be used to power a production oil rig.Any spare capacity could be diverted to the gas pipeline serving the Seven Head Gas Filed, just 3km from Barryroe discovery.
sirpeter | Mar 17, 2012, 08:36 AM EDT
antoman.Same to you man!! *Cheers
antoman | Mar 17, 2012, 06:56 AM EDT
Hee hee hee. Happy Paddy's Day sirpeter. Have a good one my friend.
sirpeter | Mar 17, 2012, 12:15 AM EDT
antoman.I can understand your bitterness when it comes to the sorries.It's not easy been a norrie.But aren't ye all very VERY close in Norrieland? I can tell by that cross-eyed smiley you have your grandfathers eye***Awkward silence by Asumptha as turned-eye Mick the milkman shouts!!Anybody going for a pint?.LOL
Gaelphoncán | Mar 16, 2012, 11:09 PM EDT
Someone correct me if I'm wrong (please correct me!)but while this development may add to Tony O'Reilly Jrs'. already considerable wealth, it will hardly benefit the Irish people at all. According to what I've read, after tax write-offs etc. the Irish exchequer will only get a tiny percentage (less than 5%?) of these (potential) hundreds of billions. There doesn't seem to be the will by our present government to renegotiate for a better deal.
antoman | Mar 16, 2012, 12:33 PM EDT
sirpeter. If you could hover over the Southside in your blackhawk helicopter while I stick my arse out and take a dump on the sorries. It would complete my life's ambitions. ;)
sirpeter | Mar 16, 2012, 12:22 PM EDT
antoman.When we get our share of this Cork oil biy.We'll buy one of those blackhawk helicopters each.I think we would look good stopping off at Lennox's chipper in one of those.An old landing pad at the lough to give the dogs a bit of a run around after.Jawb!!
antoman | Mar 16, 2012, 11:14 AM EDT
This is not good lads. Not good at tall. We'll have the Yanks in on top of us before you can say trap stick. A tip. To avoid being seen by the blackhawk helicopters smear yourself with mud. And if there's no mud available excrement will do too.
sirpeter | Mar 16, 2012, 07:23 AM EDT
The Porcupine Ridge,Porcupine Trough, and Celtic Sea areas of the shelf have been identified as possibly having enough Oil and Gas, to provide security of energy supply for Europe.130 billion barrels of Oil and 50 trillion cubic Ft. of natural Gas Oil and Gas worth approximately $15 Trillion.($15,000,000,000,000)So are we still broke Enda Kenny?~Yup!!This is pig money not sheeple money.
dibble2008 | Mar 16, 2012, 07:17 AM EDT
and it will mean nothing to the poor here, the rich will gain but we will stay the same as usual.
PolinDeB | Mar 16, 2012, 12:09 AM EDT
ok but will we give it all away or dump the bank debt and go it on our own ;0
Newrone | Mar 15, 2012, 09:17 PM EDT
Probably all from a leaking Brittany Ferries motor!
peterson | Mar 15, 2012, 06:56 PM EDT
Maybe the new oil find can help remove the squeaky Irish economy !!
aloistmartin | Mar 15, 2012, 05:05 PM EDT
Good Bye to your Green Hills should the Dublin Bourgeoisie Discover Rare Earth !
aloistmartin | Mar 15, 2012, 05:02 PM EDT
Same Old Michael ! The Americans need`nt Invade Ireland. America need only, look down the Long Dark Shadow of Wall Street, to Intimidate Irish Politics !
aloistmartin | Mar 15, 2012, 04:57 PM EDT
Good for the Oil Corporations, Good for their Shoe Shine Boy Secretaries in Dublin, Good for your average Barber Shop Nationalist ( Lá Fhéile Pádraig Shona ); So much for You and Me ?
Erinlady | Mar 15, 2012, 04:08 PM EDT
This sounds like wonderful news for the unemployed .
wdwrkr371 | Mar 15, 2012, 03:35 PM EDT
way to further the conversation michaelcollins I swear some just come here to pick fights. Give it a rest. then again why am I always drawn in ???? and in conclusion WOO HOO BLACK GOLD.
irismonkey48 | Mar 15, 2012, 01:48 PM EDT
And how much of that will the Irish people get? Will this affect the Euro loan?
seagreen | Mar 15, 2012, 01:30 PM EDT
Significent happening. If the analysis is correct, oil and maritime interests will be huge factor employment wise, if further exploration continues. Expect a visit from Richard Cheneyand Halliburton
bunkerhill | Mar 15, 2012, 12:58 PM EDT
Hooray for Ireland. It is truly an amazing little country and has made a great impact world wide. Watch out for BP as what happened in the Gulf of Mexico was a disaster. Happy St. Patrick's day.
kinvara7 | Mar 15, 2012, 12:32 PM EDT
@Cillowen: What are you talking about? This was not a secret. I even wrote about this exploration a couple of months ago (I wrote about it yesterday because IC have a habit of missing news stories –then again they deal with the important stuff, like the name of a shoe etc). I think you will find that politicians are quite interested in conveying hope and good news, like the above, to people and even more interested when that good news has the potential to create jobs, boost investment and state coffers –it has something to do with them having to win elections, or something. There are still hurdles to overcome before oil is brought to shore. In the meantime, some planning must go into training and infrastructure. This could be part of the new ‘economic engine’ that we’ve been waiting for. Sláinte, táinte agus lá fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh go leir!
citizen69 | Mar 15, 2012, 12:27 PM EDT
Will this mean lower petrol prices? God knows we could do with it!... I doubt it though.
carrickcourt | Mar 15, 2012, 10:18 AM EDT
USA citizens should now drive to Ireland to fill up their SUV's?
michaelcollins | Mar 15, 2012, 10:04 AM EDT
does this mean america is going to invade ireland now