ExxonMobil ‘not leaving Irish waters'

Oil giant ExxonMobil has said it has no intention of pulling out of Irish waters, despite disappointing early drilling results from the highly-anticipated Dunquin prospect off the Kerry coast — in which it is a senior partner — last month.

The recent findings of the ‘Dunquin North’ exploration well being mainly water-based and having no commercially recoverable hydrocarbons, leading to its abandonment, dented the share price of the asset’s Irish stakeholder, Providence Resources, and led to speculation that Exxon was finished with Ireland.

However, a spokesperson for Exxon said, yesterday, that this is “certainly not the case” and the Texas-headquartered company — the world’s largest oil firm — remains a major partner in its two Irish interests in the Porcupine Basin, namely Dunquin and the Cuchulainn field.