Shares in British exploration company Europa Oil and Gas jumped by as much as 12% yesterday on news that it is sitting on nearly 1bn more barrels of oil in Irish waters than was previously projected.

Shares in British explorer Europa Oil and Gas climbed 6% yesterday on the back of the company effectively doubling the reserve estimate at one of its chief prospects off the west coast of Ireland.

Exploration-related activity in Irish waters is set to heat up further in the coming months with a new multi-client 3D seismic survey to be undertaken off the west coast.

Providence Resources and Europa Oil and Gas – two of the most active exploration companies in Irish waters – are confident of further deal activity after both landing development partners for assets they hold off the west coast of the country.

British exploration company Europa Oil and Gas has started the search for a partner company to help develop one of its “riskier” assets in Irish waters.

Two exploration firms have formally been granted full ownership status by the Department of Natural Resources of Irish assets they previously co-owned with US explorer Kosmos Energy, which pulled out of Ireland in order to focus on its African assets last year.

UK exploration firm Europa Oil and Gas is sitting on an estimated four billion barrels of oil equivalent and 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas in Irish waters.

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.

Commercial oil production from offshore Irish licences will not become a reality until at least 2023, one leading player has said.

British explorer Europa Oil and Gas has said the current oil price environment is not hampering its efforts to find development partners for assets it holds in Ireland and elsewhere.

Europa Oil and Gas is set to raise around £3.4m (€4.8m) via a share placing and open offer, with proceeds partially being earmarked to fund its activities in Irish waters.

Recent research from Morgan Stanley suggested an all-time low for exploration-related M&A activity in the first quarter of 2015. 

US explorer Kosmos Energy is set to attract fresh investment to its two Irish-based licences, via a farm-out process, later this year. 

UK exploration firm, Europa Oil and Gas has confirmed it will seek to increase its Irish acreage by bidding for more prospects in this year’s Atlantic Margin licensing round.

A decision is due before the end of June on whether highly anticipated drilling activity on Irish exploration assets jointly held by US company Kosmos Energy and UK player Europa Oil and Gas will begin in the next year.

Antrim Energy — the Canadian exploration firm, with sizeable interests off the Irish coast— has turned down a takeover approach from UK company, Sound Oil.

British exploration firm Europa Oil and Gas is to focus on adding prospects in Irish waters as part of its expansion, its management stated yesterday.

British exploration firm, Europa Oil and Gas has said it definitely intends to participate in the Government’s 2015 Atlantic Margin licensing round and hopes to begin drilling at its existing assets, off the west coast, during 2016.

British-based exploration firm Europa Oil and Gas — which has interests off the west coast of Ireland — expects to meet annual production targets this year, despite suffering a 4.5% year-on-year drop in first-half revenues and a near 4% decline in production.

Tullow Oil is to issue a further $500m (€362m) worth of senior debt, with a six-year maturity life, with interest payable on a biannual basis.

Texan exploration company Kosmos Energy has commenced 3D seismic surveys on the two prospects off the Co Kerry coast in which it bought controlling stakes earlier this year.

US company Kosmos Energy has become the latest international exploration firm to show an interest in Ireland’s burgeoning offshore oil and gas potential, snapping up controlling stakes in two prospects off the Kerry coast.

British exploration company Europa Oil & Gas intends to expand its Irish asset portfolio beyond its two existing prospects off the south-west coast, which have a mean total resource potential of around 2bn barrels of oil.

London-based exploration company Europa Oil & Gas has said that it has identified two large, previously unknown, prospects off the west coast of Ireland.