Irish oil?!

Yixian

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/93216

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ireland-on-the-verge-of-an-oil-and-gas-bonanza-679889.html

THE property boom might be over, but Ireland could be on the verge of an oil and gas boom to rival the concrete economy of the last tenyears.
According to the Petroleum Affairs Division of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, there is at least 10 billion barrels of oil lying off the west coast Ireland - which has a current value of €450bn (€50 a barrel).

This first I heard of this was on The Panel a while ago, and that was also the last I heard of it. Whatever became/is becoming of all this oil?

Now, I hate fossil fuels as much as the next man but isn't this practically a golden ticket out of recession? I mean... 10 billion barrels, wtf?! Why wasn't this plastered all over the newspapers? Don't tell me some god damn American drillers got there first or something..

Mmmm, €450bn.. Sell it all back to the States and use the money to transform Ireland into a nuclear/sustainable paradise

j1smithy

Probably because its in a place its almost impossible to extract from. O think I was told there was oil off the coast of waterford too, but its vit viable to take out of the ground. Unfortunately there is no quick fix for our recessionary woes.

generalmiaow

Have a look at google news, search "ireland" "oil" and so on.

http://www.oilpubs.com/oso/article.asp?v1=8703

First Irish west coast oil for 30 years

News - August 6, 2009
Serica Energy has announced it has struck the first find offshore Ireland for almost 30 years after revealing the results of its Bandon offshore exploration well.
Serica CEO Paul Elis said: This is the fist oil discovery off west of Ireland for nearly 30 years. Serica's 600 square kilometre licence area contains several prospects and we shall now be evaluating them as potential drilling targets. Although much more work needs to be done before the commercial potential of the discovery and the rest of the licence can be established, the Bandon oil discovery could mark the beginning of an exciting phase of Irish exploration.”
Serica spudded well 27/4-1 with the Ocean Guardian rig after drilling to a total depth of 6,223ft.
As Braemar Seascope Offshore reported recently, Serica is the operator of the Columbus field under development offshore UK and holds other exploration and appraisal inter-ests in the UK, Spain, Vietnam and Indonesia.

It seems the oil is still being explored. I think this is a lengthy process.

I pray to god that if there really is feasibly extractable oil worth a lot of money that we don't sell ourselves short to some multinational, rich Saudi, or squander it in some other way (Operation Irish Freedom :rolleyes:). There have been a lot of lost opportunities in that regard. I well know what the general feeling on boards.ie will be about that, though.

Nody

Yixian wrote: »

]Mmmm, €450bn.. Sell it all back to the States and use the money to transform Ireland into a nuclear/sustainable paradise

You're missing of course the actual cost of extraction in your numbers which would make it cost more to bring it up then what you'd profit basically.

ei.sdraob

Also according to the revenue.ie website

Corporation tax is 25% when it comes to petroleum and mineral processing and extracting businesses

asdasd

which would make it cost more to bring it up then what you'd profit basically.

So why are people even exploring?

Nody

asdasd wrote: »

So why are people even exploring?

Same reason they explore any where else in the world; to see if they can find a big enough field to motivate the investment in hardware (i.e. the cost is relatively fixed in terms of pulling out the pipe line, the station at land to process it etc.) and to know where it is if the oil goes high enough/new tech makes it possible at a cheaper price.

The big oil companies have several fields currently that they know exist but don't extract from because the price vs. investment simply don't make sense today. That don't mean that in 10 to 50 years time that the case will be the same. Classic example would be the Candian oil sand (can't remember correct word) which was only viable as long as oil was above 80 USD a barrel.

asdasd

Yeah, that puts peak oil into perspective though, still a long way off.

eamonnm79

asdasd wrote: »

Yeah, that puts peak oil into perspective though, still a long way off.

Eh no, thats rubbish.
If it gets to the stage that we have used up most of the easily extractable oil then we have hit peak oil and using oil becomes less and less worth while as a source of energy.
When the price of oil goes above certain levels it also focuses the mind on looking for alternative forms of energy.

asdasd

Peak oil is the idea hat it will run out. If prices allow tar sands and Irish oil to be economic then oil will be extracted, and used along with other sources of power.

The peak oil alarmism is therefore bogus.

ei.sdraob

asdasd wrote: »

Peak oil is the idea hat it will run out. If prices allow tar sands and Irish oil to be economic then oil will be extracted, and used along with other sources of power.

The peak oil alarmism is therefore bogus.

I would have to agree

yes cheap extractable saudi oil might start to get tight but as things get more expensive more energy sources suddenly become viable

Sponge Bob

Irish Oil will start to become viable ALONG with other forms of energy .

Oile will always be with us, even if only as plastic !

jimmycrackcorm

asdasd wrote: »

Peak oil is the idea hat it will run out. If prices allow tar sands and Irish oil to be economic then oil will be extracted, and used along with other sources of power.

The peak oil alarmism is therefore bogus.

Peak oil is not bogus, it would be possible to extract oil for quite a long time but the point is getting close where the cost tipping point means that our current lifestyle will have to change drastically. Whether it can do so it a serious issue. For example what effect will be caused to world economies for trade and transport of food and goods when a litre of diesel is priced at €5 instead of €1 now? It won't be any use to point out that there is loads of the stuff in difficult to access locations.

Yixian

Nody wrote: »

You're missing of course the actual cost of extraction in your numbers which would make it cost more to bring it up then what you'd profit basically.

Maybe at the moment but just wait until the stuff really starts to run out.


So I take it there are no plans to start extracting any time soon?

Yixian

More:

http://www.oilpubs.com/oso/article.asp?v1=8703

Worth much?

colrow

DUNQUIN FARM-OUT TO ENI

NEW LICENCE INTEREST



Providence Resources P.l.c., ('Providence') the London (AIM) and
Dublin (IEX) listed oil and gas exploration and production company,
is pleased to announce that Eni has farmed into Frontier Exploration
Licence 3/04 ('Dunquin').

Under the terms of the farm-in agreement, Eni will assume a 40%
interest in the Dunquin licence with ExxonMobil Exploration and
Production Ireland (Offshore) Limited holding a 40% operated stake,
whilst Providence and Sosina will retain 16% and 4% equity positions,
respectively.

Additionally, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Ireland
(Offshore) Limited, Providence and Sosina have agreed to assume a
cumulative 40% interest in the adjacent Eni operated Frontier
Exploration Licence 1/99 (FEL 1/99), with the equity split 36%, 3.2%
and 0.8%, respectively among the companies. FEL 1/99 covers a total
of 6 offshore blocks (c. 1,500 sq kilometres).


Contacts:

Providence Resources Plc Tel:
+353 1 2194074
Tony O'Reilly, Chief Executive

Powerscourt
Tel: +44 207 250 1446
Rory Godson/Elizabeth Rous

Murray Consultants
Tel: +353 1 498 0300
Pauline McAlester




About FEL 3/04

Providence holds a non-operated 16% interest in FEL 3/04 with its
partners ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Ireland (Offshore)
Limited (40%), Eni (40%) and Sosina Exploration (4%). Located in the
Porcupine Basin off the west coast of Ireland, FEL 3/04 covers an
area of 5 blocks. ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Ireland
(Offshore) Limited is the licence Operator.

About FEL 1/99

Providence holds a non-operated 3.2% interest in FEL 1/99 with its
partners Eni (60%), ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Ireland
(Offshore) Limited (36%) and Sosina Exploration (0.8%). Located in
the Porcupine Basin off the west coast of Ireland, FEL 1/99 covers 6
offshore blocks. Eni is the licence Operator.


About Providence

Providence Resources Plc is an independent oil and gas exploration
and production company listed on the AIM market in London and on
Dublin's IEX market. The Company was founded in 1997, but with roots
going back to 1981 when it predecessor company, Atlantic Resources
Plc was formed by a group of investors led by Sir Anthony O'Reilly.
Providence's active oil and gas portfolio includes interests in
Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States (Gulf of Mexico) and
West Africa (Nigeria). Providence's portfolio is balanced between
production, appraisal and exploration assets, as well as being
diversified geographically. Further information on Providence and its
oil and gas portfolio, including Annual Reports are available from
Providence's website at

worldrepublic

They are just Peak Oil and Climate Change Deniers. People will say anything to believe they can still drive around in their big cars and SUV's.

Here is a 4min video summing up the arguments of the "deniers":

ei.sdraob

so what? if oil were to run out, it wont be the end of the world

necessity will force us to switch to other fuels, nuclear and more renewable (started happening last year due to high speculated prices)

we already have technology to convert to oil from gas or coal (ironically created by necessity in nazi germany of not having own oil supplies to drive a war)

get over it

and oil wont "run out" just get increasingly expensive to extract, anything above 35$ a barrel is pure speculation as highlighted last year when all speculators suddenly jumped ship

call me a denier or whatever, i dont even currently have a car so

10-10-20

Isn't there something about the Irish tax structure which allows companies to extract oil/gas etc, but not pay any tax 'per barrel', hence preventing the state from benefiting from any gains?
I believe that this is true of gas in the Corrib field...

ei.sdraob

10-10-20 wrote: »

Isn't there something about the Irish tax structure which allows companies to extract oil/gas etc, but not pay any tax 'per barrel', hence preventing the state from benefiting from any gains?
I believe that this is true of gas in the Corrib field...

wrong they have to pay corporation tax of 25%

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/ct/basis-charge.html

25%: Non-trading income [includes income chargeable under Case III (e.g. discounts, interest, foreign income), Case IV (patent royalties, miscellaneous income) & Case V (rental income from land & buildings in the State) of Schedule D]. Also included at this rate is income from activities which consist of working minerals, petroleum activities & dealing in or developing land, other than construction operations.

flanzer

Oh crap, prepare for the American invasion!

Yixian

Can people keep updating this thread with any news they find? Could potentially be quite a big deal, in these times it could be just what Ireland needs.

colrow

Think of the jobs in the future, supplies, engineering ................





Kerryman.ie
Drilling for oil off Kerry coast
By DÓNAL NOLAN
Wednesday August 19 2009

STAKEHOLDERS in the Dunquin gas and oil prospect licence signalled their committment to sinking a well in formal notification to the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources this week.

The Dunquin prospect is a highly-rated well, with the potential presence of two major targets 1,600 metres with several trillion cubic feet potential, according to analysts Davy Stockbrokers. The well is located 200km off the Kerry Coast in water over a mile deep.

The committment to the second phase of exploration — which could see drilling taking place before the end of the year — was confirmed by licence stakeholders Providence Resources at their AGM.

Chief Executive of Providence Resources, Tony O'Reilly Jnr, described the prospect as a 'dream'. Providence holds a 16 per cent stake in the Dunquin Well, with operators ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Ireland holding a joint 40 per cent interest, Italian firm Eni holding 40 per cent and London-based Sosina Explorations controlling four per cent.

Notification of progress to phase two of the licence was welcomed by investors this week. The cost of the venture comes at high price however, with analysts estimating to exceed €70 million at the very least. Davy analyst Caren Crowley said the well would imply serious financial expenditure, but that seismic study of the vein indicates the presence of two massive targets.

"To have one prospect like this is every little exploration company's dream and we have three," Mr O'Reilly Jnr, said.

- DÓNAL NOLAN

LostinBlanch

A quick google of ireland and oil royalties brought this up.

It's basically a rehash of stories that were going around since oil was officially discovered in 1973.

Note the statement regarding reducing the 50% corporation tax by Ray Burke, later jailed for corruption, that reducing the 50% corporation tax would be overgenerous. Bertie Ahern (remember him? that paragon of virtue, the one who is in no way dodgy at all) would later go on to reduce it to the current 25% along with other special tax breaks.

If memory is right, it was about the early 90's. Wasn't when he was having all the financial trouble that led to him going to dinner with Paddy the plasterer - but no Bill the bus driver, or winning loadsa money on horses that no one can remember now? Don't worry there's nothing to be concerned about. Our oil is in safe hands.

TheInquisitor

LostinBlanch wrote: »

A quick google of ireland and oil royalties brought this up.

It's basically a rehash of stories that were going around since oil was officially discovered in 1973.

Note the statement regarding reducing the 50% corporation tax by Ray Burke, later jailed for corruption, that reducing the 50% corporation tax would be overgenerous. Bertie Ahern (remember him? that paragon of virtue, the one who is in no way dodgy at all) would later go on to reduce it to the current 25% along with other special tax breaks.

If memory is right, it was about the early 90's. Wasn't when he was having all the financial trouble that led to him going to dinner with Paddy the plasterer - but no Bill the bus driver, or winning loadsa money on horses that no one can remember now? Don't worry there's nothing to be concerned about. Our oil is in safe hands.

What a load as usual. Firstly the average recovery rate for oil finds is about 10% of the total. So suddenly that 400 billion becomes more like 40 billion worth of RECOVERABLE oil. Secondly the oil is very difficult to recover in the deep atlantic compared to easy oil in the middle east. Thirdly the more profitable a field is the higher the tax rate, up to a possible 40% on the most profitable!

Announcing a new licensing round for oil and gas exploration in the ‘Porcupine Basin’ in the early autumn, Ireland's Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan, said that companies will be subject to a profit resource rent tax as part of their licensing terms.

This new tax will be in addition to the 25% corporate tax rate currently employed. It will operate on a graded basis of profitability as follows: an additional 15% tax in respect of fields where the profit ratio exceeds 4.5; an additional 10% where the profit ratio is between 3.0 and 4.5; an additional 5% where the profit ratio is between 1.5 and 3.0; and no change where the profit ratio is less than 1.5.

In Ireland's most profitable fields, this will mean that the return to the state will increase from 25% to 40%.

asdasd

yeah.

it is not as if Ireland "Inc" could hire a few contractors and drill for oil. We either give these companies incentives to drill, or we get nothing. 10% of someting beats 50% of nothing, and 50% of nothing is what we would get if started out like that.

If the technology improves, if these wells become obviously profitable then we can up the percentage on the next block.

ei.sdraob

LostinBlanch wrote: »

A quick google of ireland and oil royalties brought this up.

It's basically a rehash of stories that were going around since oil was officially discovered in 1973.

Note the statement regarding reducing the 50% corporation tax by Ray Burke, later jailed for corruption, that reducing the 50% corporation tax would be overgenerous. Bertie Ahern (remember him? that paragon of virtue, the one who is in no way dodgy at all) would later go on to reduce it to the current 25% along with other special tax breaks.

If memory is right, it was about the early 90's. Wasn't when he was having all the financial trouble that led to him going to dinner with Paddy the plasterer - but no Bill the bus driver, or winning loadsa money on horses that no one can remember now? Don't worry there's nothing to be concerned about. Our oil is in safe hands.

i posted a link earlier in thread to Revenue site

its currently 25% corpo tax on petroleum related and mineral extraction

LostinBlanch

TheInquisitor wrote: »

What a load as usual. Firstly the average recovery rate for oil finds is about 10% of the total. So suddenly that 400 billion becomes more like 40 billion worth of RECOVERABLE oil. Secondly the oil is very difficult to recover in the deep atlantic compared to easy oil in the middle east. Thirdly the more profitable a field is the higher the tax rate, up to a possible 40% on the most possible!

Cheers inquisitor I wasn't aware that Eamon Ryan had put a new tax on top of the 25%.

johnathan woss

ei.sdraob wrote: »

so what? if oil were to run out, it wont be the end of the world

necessity will force us to switch to other fuels, nuclear and more renewable (started happening last year due to high speculated prices)

we already have technology to convert to oil from gas or coal (ironically created by necessity in nazi germany of not having own oil supplies to drive a war)
get over it

and oil wont "run out" just get increasingly expensive to extract, anything above 35$ a barrel is pure speculation as highlighted last year when all speculators suddenly jumped ship

call me a denier or whatever, i dont even currently have a car so

How is that ironic ?

The only irony, in the context of your post, is that the nazi's desire to secure sources of oil was one of the main causes of WW2.

segaBOY

If their is oil I really hope we don't have a repeat of the Shell to Sea lads.