Offshore licences ‘will boost Irish oil deals’

British exploration firm Europa Oil and Gas is hopeful of landing a development partner for licences it holds off the Irish coast before the end of the year.

The company was yesterday awarded four more licensing options, in three basins, in the final tranche of awards from the Government’s recent Atlantic Margin Licensing Round. It means the company now has seven licences in Irish waters.

In January, Europa opened the data room on the two licences (with prospective resources of more than 1.5bn barrels of oil equivalent) it already held off the south-west coast prior to the latest licensing round.