PROVIDENCE FIND COULD LURE MORE INVESTMENT - Providence Resources has struck oil off the Irish coast. This morning it announced its Barryroe Well, offshore Cork, has delivered the first ever commercial flow rate of oil offshore of Ireland.
It is successfully flowing oil and gas at double the rate it had expected. The find is 50 km out to sea, and 100 metres deep.
Tony O'Reilly, chief executive of Providence, said there was more work to be done at Barryroe, but he hoped the find would put Ireland on the map and attract more oil and gas exploration investment to the country.
Providence has a two-year programme of drilling, and this is the first of six wells it plans to drill.
Mr O'Reilly has applied for a licence to drill off Dalkey Island off the Dublin coast, adding that he thought the company had addressed any environmental concerns.
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HONOHAN URGES BANK ACTION ON ARREARS - Irish banks must engage more directly with borrowers who are struggling to pay their mortgages but they should avoid widespread debt forgiveness, the Central Bank Governor said yesterday.
Getting the balance right between writing off loans and putting too much pressure on struggling borrowers is of "immense national importance," he said.
Professor Honohan said Irish banks are sufficiently capitalised to deal with the problem but could not afford another major writedown or provide substantial support for home loan debts.
Justin Urquhart-Stewart of Seven Investment Management in London said that unless the arrears "boil was lanced" it would continue to fester. He said it was essential that the problem was managed, so that buyers could be encouraged to enter the property market again.
