Letters to the Editor: Barryroe oil and gas field could give Ireland energy security for decades

A reader says security and sky-high energy prices mean the time has come to reopen the oil and gas field off the coast of Cork

Providence Resources reported in 2012 that it had struck oil and gas at its Barryroe well off Co Cork. In 2023, the renamed Barryroe Offshore Energy's application for a lease to continue drilling was rejected and the company initiated a wind-down of its operations. File picture: Finbarr O'Rourke

Patrick Davis makes a compelling and timely case for harnessing the oil lying offshore rather than transporting it halfway around the world, citing the recent disastrous fuel tanker collision in the North Sea and possible environmental damage (‘End fuel shipping’ — Letters to the Editor, March 14).

Presumably he is referring to the dormant oil and gas field at Barryroe off the Cork coast. This field has been independently proven to contain 312,000,000 barrels of high-quality oil and 11,326 cubic metres of natural gas which, if developed, within a few years would ensure Ireland’s energy security for decades to come as we transition slowly to renewables.