O’Reilly: Three years before oil flows

It will be at least three years before any oil is produced from Ireland’s first commercial oil well — 50km off the Cork coast.

Providence Resources chief executive Tony O’Reilly Jnr told the Irish Examiner he does not expect the Barryroe oil field to be in production for at least three years.

And he disclosed that the exploration company will most likely dilute their 80% shareholding in the field in a deal which will bring an existing oil producer anything up to €500m in capital investment to produce oil from the field.