A report today in the Irish Examiner suggests that nearly two billion barrels of oil are lying off the coast of Ireland. We want to know what’s out there and who’s going to get their hands on it.
Is there really that much oil sitting off of the Irish coast?
Well, according to new research gathered by the exploration company Petrel Resources, up to one billion barrels could be sitting off the south-west coast, beside Kerry. The massive oil reserves are located in an area known as the Porcupine Basin (not to be confused with Porcupine Creek).
Okay, but what about the other billion barrels?
A second exploration company, Providence Resources, is currently looking at a few different areas off the Irish coast and they believe that there’s around 900 million barrels of recoverable oil at its Drombeg prospect. So that’s where the figure of ‘two billion’ comes from.
Ah, I see. So why are they only finding this out now?
Well it’s not as easy as sticking a big stick in the ground and striking it rich. Exploration companies, such as Providence Resources, have to buy licences from the government to head out prospecting in Irish waters – so that takes some time. It’s also not as if no one has known about the oil out there.
So people have known the oil has been there all along?
Put simply, yes. Previously it was thought that drilling the oil reserves off the coast of Ireland would be too costly for the amount of oil it would yield. However, with thanks to new technology oil companies can now drill in places that were previously thought to be a waste of time and money – i.e. the coast of Ireland. They’ve also begun using computer technology to look at old data that was collected at these oil site years ago in case they missed something.
Right, so how difficult is it to drill off the Irish coast in the first place?
It’s fairly difficult, in fairness. Petrel Resources, who want to drill in the Porcupine Basin, will have to set up an oil rig 200km off the coast of Ireland and they’ll then have to drill through 1km of water and 3km of rock just to get to the oil.
Seems tough alright. So who gets a cut?
Well, if the companies did manage to bring the oil ashore then the government would get a small cut but it wouldn’t be anything like you’d see in Norway or elsewhere. It’s still a fairly expensive process so the exploration companies are looking for partners to do business with. So if you know anyone with a massive drill capable of boring a hole through 3km of rock 200km off the Irish coast, then give them a friendly shout.
