This article is from page 17 of the 2014-07-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
THE POTENTIAL development of a multi-billion oil and natural gas well off the Clare coast has hit a major set back – which could delay any exploration of the Spanish Point or Burren off shore wells by a number of years.
Drilling work was due to take place at the Spanish Point field, located in the Porcupine Basic off the Clare coast this Spring.
Irish company, Providence Resources, who are leading up the exploration operation off the Clare coast have announced a delay of at least a year.
The company had previously announced a partnership with Cairn Energy, who would undertake the drilling at the site. However, as a result of delays to a refurbishment of the rig, the project operator have been forced to cancel the rig contract.
As a result of this cancellation, Providence Resources will have to open a new tender for an industry drill-partner which prevent any drilling taking place until 2015 at the earliest.
The company has however decided to go ahead with its planned 3D seismic scanning of the area which should reveal more information about how much oil and gas reserves are contained in the Spanish Point field.
“The postponement of appraisal drilling at Spanish Point is regrettable and beyond the control of the partnership,” commented Chief Executive of Providence Resources, Tony O’Reilly, who is a son of Tony O’Reilly the former head of Independent Newspapers and CEO of Heinz.
“As the rig refurbishment delays became apparent, the operator evaluated various options to re-schedule the Blackford Dolphin rig and to secure another drilling unit for 2014, but this proved unsuccessful.
“Our ability to commence drilling in the autumn was further constrained by the rig’s operational capabilities at the Spanish Point location during winter and thus the decision was taken to terminate the contract and seek a new drilling unit for 2015.
“This procurement process has commenced and we will provide further updates as they are confirmed by the operator,” O’Reilly said during the week.
It is believed that there is a vast natural gas reserve contained in the Burren and Spanish Point wells with previous estimated suggesting that they contained enough natural gas to meet Ireland entire needs for more then 70 years.