Field could be producing oil for public usage within two years

Exploration company Providence Resources expects to become the first company to make a commercial oil find in Irish waters on foot of better than expected drilling results at its Barryroe well off the West Cork coast.

With at least 59 million barrels of recoverable oil in the (fifth) Barryroe well, and with global oil prices consistently above $100 a barrel, the well could be producing oil for public usage within the next two years.

Providence chief executive Tony O’Reilly Jnr said that the implications for the Irish economy are considerable.