Irish natural gas exploration and development company Finavera Limited says the results of its technical evaluation work on its Lough Allen Natural Gas Field shows an estimated resource of 9.4 trillion cubic feet of gas, or 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent.
Finavera is currently engaged in fundraising up to €10m to carry out seismic analysis and further development on the gas field in stretches from the northwest of the Republic into Northern Ireland. It owns 100% of the field.
Ireland currently imports almost 90% of its gas requirements through two pipelines connected to the UK, which is also a net gas importer. Ireland's position at the end of the European supply network means a real danger exists to the economy if there is a disruption to gas supplies.
The EU has recently urged Ireland to set up a strategic gas reserve as it is only one of three states that does not store gas to provide for emergencies.
'The Lough Allen natural gas field has the potential to change the energy dynamic of Ireland and the UK,' comments Tom Davitt, Finavera's CEO.
'The answer to a large part of our security of supply could be in the north west of Ireland. It also has the potential to turn Ireland from a net gas importer into a gas export,' he adds.
