THE NEXT step in determining whether gas will flow commercially from a field in the Atlantic off Spanish Point, Co Clare is set to commence in the coming days.
This follows the Department of Transport confirming that Chrysaor E&P Ireland Ltd is due to commence vessel-based geotechnical and environmental survey work at its licensed site in the Porcupine Basin, 200km off the Co Clare coast, from Friday.
At 60 per cent, the firm has the largest share in the exploration licence on the field which it shares with Providence Resources plc (32 per cent) and Sosina Exploration Ltd (8 per cent). Chrysaor is the operator in the project and has employed the Kommander Stuart vessel to carry out the work, due to continue into early September.
Current resource estimates for Spanish Point are about 200m barrels of oil equivalent, with peak production estimated to be 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The vessel-based survey must be undertaken before one or probably two appraisal wells are put in next year to determine the likely range of the field reserves.
The wells will cost in excess of $100 million (€80 million) in total.
Gas was discovered in the field in 1981 and with advances in technology, Chrysaor and its partners hope to prove the field can be commercially developed.
