This article is from page 2 of the 2011-10-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
HUNDREDS of jobs could be created in Clare over the next decade as an oil and natural gas rush looks set to take place off the county’s west coast.
Providence Resources was last week granted an exploration license for the large Spanish Point South field by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. This new field amounts to an estimated 1,500 square kilometres off the Clare coast and is more than twice the size of the combined Burren and Spanish Point (north) fields – which Providence are already exploring.
Seismic surveys have confirmed the presence of enough natural gas in the Spanish Point (north) field to meet Irish gas requirement for the next 60 year and should a similar amounts of gas and oil be realised in the Burren and Spanish Point South fields Clare could become Ireland energy capital for the next century.
These explorations could create thousands of jobs in Clare with massive opportunities to supply the fields from Harbour town such as Carrigaholt and Kilrush as well as from the proposed new pier at Doolin.
It could also create massive opportunities along the Shannon Estuary where a deep-water service hub is en- visioned to handle much of the heavy duty transport to and from the fields.
“The Shannon Estuary is one of the few natural resources that we have here in Clare which could really drive economic development and we have to be open to all possibilities as to how that could be developed,” said Clare Senator Martin Conway (FG).
“Anyone who is being shown any interest in developing something along the Shannon Estuary need to be encouraged and indeed the government need to go to these people and find them. These projects are something for a long way down the line and it could take a lot of years for anything to be realised out of them but we have to start somewhere.”
In a similar way to their explorations in the Burren and Spanish Point (north) fields, the new exploration will be a partnership arrangement between Providence and its industry partners Chrysaor and Sosina.
“Providence is delighted to have been awarded such a significant acreage position on the Irish Atlantic Margin as part of the 2011 Round. Our studies completed to date indicate a number of structures with significant potential which will greatly augment our already formidable acreage position offshore Ireland,” said Tony O’Reilly, CEO of Providence last week.