Irish exploration stocks decline but oil rebounds

Irish-related exploration stocks performed poorly yesterday, despite a rally in global oil prices which saw prices rebound by more than 3% to exceed $40 per barrel.

Africa-focused Tullow Oil was the best performing — rising in London by just under 1% to £1.26 (€1.50) — but there were falls for the likes of Providence Resources, which fell by over 3% to 11.5p, and Europa Oil and Gas which fell by over 8%.

Earlier this week, London-based Europa secured an extension to the first exploration phase for key licences in Irish waters, allowing it to mature its local prospects and more time to find development partners.