Hunt for $1 trillion worth of Irish oil to begin

By Dan Buckley

Saturday, April 23, 2011

THE largest concerted oil and gas drilling campaign ever carried out off the coast of Ireland will begin this summer in search of reserves which a government study has suggested could be worth as much as $1 trillion at current prices.

A combination of higher oil and gas prices, hugely improved survey and drilling techniques and the introduction in Britain of a North Sea oil tax has renewed interest in Ireland as an exploration site for domestic and foreign investors.

The prospect of commercial finds have been described by industry watchers as the brightest for decades.

Irish company Providence Resources is one of several Irish companies who are leading the exploration.

It has just secured a rig for its well programme in the Celtic Sea off the south coast, while Lansdowne Oil and Gas have begun to use sophisticated 3D survey equipment to pinpoint potential commercial fields.

Providence will shortly begin its drilling in the Celtic Sea’s Barryroe field which forms part of an ambitious $500 million project that will see it sink 10 wells in two years.

Lansdowne Oil and Gas, one of Providence’s partners in Barryroe, is also targeting fields in the Celtic Sea, hoping to extract 118 million barrels of oil or gas from the Amergin, Rosscarbery and Middleton licence areas.

The primary objective of Providence’s 2011 drilling programme is to further study the Barryroe field, which is believed to hold at least 60 million barrels of oil. Barryroe lies directly below the Seven Heads gas field and has been successfully tested at flow rates of between 1,300 and 1,600 barrels of oil per day from three appraisal wells.

Improved extraction procedures are expected to push that to 1,800 barrels a day, making it a commercially viable enterprise.

Providence operates Barryroe in partnership with San Leon Energy and Lansdowne and has hired the semi-submersible rig, the GSF Arctic III, for a minimum 54-day period with options to extend.

According to Davy Stockbrokers, the acquisition of the rig is significant.

“This announcement is hugely important for the group,” said a Davy spokesperson.

“The acquisition of a rig, and the certainty of a drilling programme in 2011, is an important part of the new strategy being pursued.

“In our opinion, the change in Providence’s strategy to become a multi-well explorer is a very positive development.”

While improving technology is making a huge difference, the tax introduced in Britain is prompting exploration companies to reconsider Ireland where taxes on oil and gas are lower.

Aimed at profiteering major oil companies, the tax has been hitting the small and mid-size explorers. Some of the larger operators are also rethinking their capital expenditure plans, among them Statoil, which has put its British North Sea investment on hold.

Exploration

* The Irish offshore is largely under-explored, with 3% of the area under licence.

* Only 125 exploration wells have been drilled, against 1,000 exploration wells in the Norwegian sector and 2,000 in British offshore.

* The Irish offshore fiscal terms were reviewed by Indecon in a report to former minister Eamon Ryan three years ago. Indecon said the tax level of 25% was broadly appropriate to the level of risk in offshore Ireland, but recommended 35% in the event of very profitable fields. The minister raised this to 40%.

* Major discoveries in offshore Ireland would have an effect on the markets’ view of Ireland’s economic prospects, lowering the cost of borrowing and easing immediate financial pressures.

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, April 23, 2011

Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/hunt-for-1-trillion-worth-of-irish-oil-to-begin-152395.html#ixzz1KRW7QZj0

 

On the road again for Headway

The run kicked off in Youghal at 12:00pm on Sunday August 29th 2010, continuing on through Dungarvan, Cappaquin and Lismore before steering back to Cork City for a party at the Clarion Boardwalk that afternoon. Photo/Video www.youghalonline.com Email: news@youghalonline.com

Motorbike enthusiasts from all across the country were asked to don their helmets and rev there engines for brain injury this August as Cork Lions Club roar off on an epic run to raise funds and awareness for Headway.

Founded in 1985, Headway works to bring about a positive change to the lives of those with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), by providing vocational, community, rehabilitative and psychological support services. Given that road traffic accidents account for more that half of all brain injuries reported in Ireland, Cork Lions Club feel that a Motor Cycle Run is the perfect way to support Headway and promote safe road use at the same time.

For further information:

Event Organiser: Declan Moon 086 2567394 moondeclan@gmail.com

Cork Lions Club: Teresa Dineen 087 696255

Headway: Paula Larkin 021 4871303 paula.larkin@gmail.com

Click on the image to start slideshow of the start of the run

* Headway offer services and support to people affected by acquired brain injury (ABI). In many cases people with brain injury have no obvious physical disability but the effects can be profound and unique to the individual. Brain injury can happen to anyone at any time in life and can be the result of a road traffic accident, or a blow to the head, stroke, haemorrhage, infection or tumour.

* It is estimated that up to 30,000 people are living with the effects of a brain injury in Ireland. Road Traffic accidents are the biggest cause of injury to Headway’s service users. A recent study in Beaumont Hospital found that , of patients with serious head injuries, 50% were not wearing seat belts in there vehicles, and 50% of cyclists and  33% of motor cyclists were not wearing helmets.

* The impact is often life-long, affecting both the person with the injury and their family members in a variety of ways. Due to the many and varied effects of acquired brain injury, people often have difficulty living independently, working or returning to education, participating in social and leisure activities and maintaining family roles or personal relationships.

* Headway has been supporting those affected by acquired brain injury since 1985. It provides a range of community-based services in Limerick, Cork, Kerry and Dublin along with outreach services in the South-Eastern region. Services include rehabilitation training, day activity, psychological therapy and family support, counselling, outreach, family education workshops, supported employment, community access and a national helpline on 1890 200 278

Members of Cork Amnesty Group got tremendous support on Patrick St. today (Saturday 10th Jan.) for their petition to end civilian casualties in Gaza and Israel. Amnesty have also called for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of humanitarian aid, such as water, food, fuel and medical supplies to treat the injured.

Members also highlighted the need for innocent detainees from Guamtanamo to be resettled in safe countries like Read more