There is a plethora of companies, both big and small, thirsty for a drop of oil wealth

THE movers and shakers of our fledgling oil industry are small by any standards.

Providence Resources and Lansdowne Gas and Oil don’t really belong in the same sentence with Exxon or Shell, but it’s the minnows who are pushing the new wave of exploration off the Irish coast.

The big guys are here too. Shell and Statoil are lead names in the controversial Corrib gas field, while Exxon plans to drill the Dunquin prospect off the south west coast next year.