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Displaying items by tag: Barryroe

A seabed debris clearance, environmental baseline and habitat assessment site survey will take place in licence SEL 1/11 (Barryroe) from later this month.

Barryroe is located in the North Celtic Sea, some 50 kilometres south of the Port of Cork.

The project is scheduled to commence in mid-August 2019 with the survey vessel Kommandor (callsign MCJO2) anticipated to be working on location for 16 days, excluding transit and any weather delays

Survey operations will be conducted on a 24-hour basis in different phases to include towed and non-towed operations. A fisheries liaison Officer will be on board for the duration of the survey.

Throughout the survey operations, the vessel will be displaying appropriate shapes and lights to indicate that the survey vessel is restricted in its ability to manoeuvre.

All vessels are requested to give this operation a wide berth. A listening watch will be maintained on VHF Channel 16, and the vessel will actively transmit an AIS signal.

Full details of the site survey co-ordinates are included in Marine Notice No 27 of 2019, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

Published in Offshore

#Oil&Gas - A drop in exploration costs alongside the fall in commodities prices is driving increased interest in Providence Resources' Barryroe prospect, as The Irish Times reports.

"Work continues with a number of parties to progress the Barryroe farm out to a satisfactory conclusion,” said Tony O’Reilly, chief executive of the Dublin-based oil and gas exploration firm.

It comes more than a year after negotiations over the farm-out of the oil field off Ireland's south coast began, a process that the company said was "taking much longer to achieve" due to unfavourable market conditions.

Studies in 2012 indicated that the Barryroe field could yield as much as 1.6 billion barrels, and be worth many billions to the Irish economy.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes

#Oil - Providence Resources says it is at "an advanced stage" in negotiations to farm out its Barryroe oil field prospect off Cork, as The Irish Times reports.

Commenting on the Irish energy company's half-year results released today, CEO Tony O'Reilly said the Barryroe project "remains our main priority" – with Providence aiming to return on its investment while retaining "a material stake" in the field, of which is owns 80%.

Last month, as reported on Afloat.ie, the company urged shareholders at its AGM to quell public speculation over any potential deal, which was "taking much longer to achieve" than previously expected.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes

#Oil - Providence Resources says it is "nearing completion" of its negotiations to secure a farm-out partner for its Barryroe prospect off the Cork coast, as The Irish Times reports.

Speaking at the Irish-based oil and gas company's AGM earlier this week, CEO Tony O'Reilly also urged interested parties to hold off on any public speculation over the deal, which chairman Brian Hillery said was "taking much longer to achieve" due to "the current environment".

"It's not a question of getting a deal, it's getting the right deal," he told shareholders. "Rest assured the farm-out remains the main priority of the company."

That wasn't enough to quell some shareholders' displeasure, however, with one taking Providence to task over the drastic fall in its share price over the last 12 months - in part a result of alleged setbacks to the south coast prospect in January.

The Irish Times has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes

#Oil - News that the Barryroe prospect off the south coast requires a new appraisal well at a cost of some €30 million sent shares in Providence Resources tumbling on the Dublin market as trading opened today.

But the Irish oil and gas firm says there has been no setback to its plans for the oil field and "no material change" to its status, as The Irish Times reports.

And the company says it remains in discussions with "major Asian, European and North American oil companies" to tap Barryroe as a collaborative venture that's expected to be worth billions to the Irish economy.

Shares fell 9% this morning following a Sunday Times article that suggested Providence would seek funds from shareholders for new drilling in the Celtic Sea prospect.

Published in Coastal Notes

#Oil - Fastnet Oil & Gas has executed its exclusive option agreement to farm into its Deep Kinsale Prospect beneath the Kinsale Head Gas Field.

The option agreement with Petronas subsidiary Kinsale Energy is confined to geological formations below 4,000 feet subsea. Fastnet will conduct a 3D seismic survey over 500 sq km in the Celtic Sea prospect by the end of the year as well as complete necessary geological and engineering studies.

The agreement also gives Fastnet an exclusive option to test the geologically similar Purbecko-Wealden reservoirs productive in Barryroe, a prospect that has proven a bounty for Providence Resources.

Fastnet chair Cathal Friel said: "We are delighted to have added an exclusive option to farm into and potentially drill the Deep Kinsale Prospect in 2014.

"It represents an attractive addition to our Irish portfolio as we have long held a belief that Deep Kinsale offers the potential to yield up another significant hydrocarbon discovery offshore Ireland. This belief has been further strengthened by the successful appraisal of Barryroe in 2012, which is geologically analogous to Deep Kinsale.

"We greatly look forward to working in close cooperation with our colleagues at Kinsale Energy, as we collectively seek to de-risk the prospect for drilling."

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Fastnet Oil & Gas announced in December its plans to spend more than €20 million on the Celtic Sea's biggest ever seismic study on blocks off the south coast which were drilled in the 1980s and later abandoned.

New techniques in the oil industry are now allowing previously unviable resources to be extracted, as fellow prospectors Petrel Resources are planning to do off the Kerry coast.

Published in Coastal Notes

#OIL - Fastnet Oil & Gas will spend more than €20 million on the Celtic Sea's biggest ever seismic study, the Irish Independent reports.

The company was recently awarded two blocks in the waters south of Ireland which were drilled in the 1980s and subsequently abandoned.

But new techniques in the oil industry are allowing previously unviable resources to be extracted - as Petrel Resources are planning to do off the Kerry coast, following the discovery of enormous oil reserves in the Porcupine Basin.

And the Celtic Sea in particular has already attracted attention after Providence Resources announced its discovery of oil reserves at its Barryroe prospect potentially worth billions of euros.

Fastnet Oil, chaired by Cathal Friel, is currently in discussions with major oil groups with a view to sharing the costs of the seismic survey.

Published in Coastal Notes

#COASTAL NOTES - Oil exploration company Petrel Resources has identified a number of new targets off the southwest coast of Ireland as it seeks bigger partners for its venture.

The Irish Times reports that the Dublin-based firm was awarded licensing options over 1,400 sq km of the Porcupine Basin or Porcupine Blight in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Dursey Island in Co Kerry.

It has since completed two phases of work in the area, and says technical studies of its blocks in the northern and eastern parts of the basin, where is is testing for the presence of reservoir sands, were "encouraging".

The announcement comes following the success of Providence Resources' prospect in the Celtic Sea off the south coast.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Barryroe field may deliver in excess of 2 billion barrels of oil, a flow expected to be worth billions of euro to the Irish economy in future years.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes

#COASTAL NOTES - The Barryroe field off the south coast of Cork may deliver even more oil than previously anticipated, according to the latest surveys.

The Irish Times reports that Providence Resources has completed an evaluation of its Celtic Sea prospect which indicates that the Lower Wealden and Purbeckian areas could hold an "encouraging" yield of 778 million barrels.

The oil firm's tectnical director told the paper that the focus would remain on the Middle and Basal Wealden sands following its appraisal wells drilled over the spring and summer.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, seismic data and results from six test wells on the Barryroe site led experts to estimate that the oil field contains as much as 1.6 billion barrels in total - four times as much as previous projections.

The oil flow is expected to be worth billions of euro to the Irish economy over a number of years.

The latest news "further reinforces the prospectivity of the area" according to Davy Stockbrokers, who added that "it also suggests that Barryroe will not be the only development of Purbeckian oil in the Celtic Sea".

Published in Coastal Notes

#COASTAL NOTES - Providence Resourses has announced that its Barryroe oil field off the south coast may be as much as four times larger than anticipated, according to The Irish Times.

Afloat.ie previously reported on the Irish mineral exploration group's discovery in April this year, when the company confirmed the presence of light oil with an appraisal well at the site in the north Celic Sea.

Then on 15 March the firm announced that oil had begun to flow successfully from the Barryroe structure at a rate that could be worth billions of euro to the Irish economy.

The latest news suggests it could be worth even more over a longer period of time, as data compiled from six test wells on the site along with seismic data have led experts to estimate the field contains between 1 and 1.6 billion barrels of oil.

“It is clear that Barryroe is a substantial oil accumulation across multiple stacked horizons with much running room for further resource growth," said Providence chief executive Tony O'Reilly Jr.

The company also expects to begin explorations off Dalkey Island in Co Dublin by the end of the year, pending approval of its foreshore permit.

The so-called 'Dalkey Island prospect' has sparked much debate about its potential risks and benefits among the local community.

Published in Coastal Notes
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Irish Fishing industry 

The Irish Commercial Fishing Industry employs around 11,000 people in fishing, processing and ancillary services such as sales and marketing. The industry is worth about €1.22 billion annually to the Irish economy. Irish fisheries products are exported all over the world as far as Africa, Japan and China.

FAQs

Over 16,000 people are employed directly or indirectly around the coast, working on over 2,000 registered fishing vessels, in over 160 seafood processing businesses and in 278 aquaculture production units, according to the State's sea fisheries development body Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

All activities that are concerned with growing, catching, processing or transporting fish are part of the commercial fishing industry, the development of which is overseen by BIM. Recreational fishing, as in angling at sea or inland, is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland.

The Irish fishing industry is valued at 1.22 billion euro in gross domestic product (GDP), according to 2019 figures issued by BIM. Only 179 of Ireland's 2,000 vessels are over 18 metres in length. Where does Irish commercially caught fish come from? Irish fish and shellfish is caught or cultivated within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but Irish fishing grounds are part of the common EU "blue" pond. Commercial fishing is regulated under the terms of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983 and with ten-yearly reviews.

The total value of seafood landed into Irish ports was 424 million euro in 2019, according to BIM. High value landings identified in 2019 were haddock, hake, monkfish and megrim. Irish vessels also land into foreign ports, while non-Irish vessels land into Irish ports, principally Castletownbere, Co Cork, and Killybegs, Co Donegal.

There are a number of different methods for catching fish, with technological advances meaning skippers have detailed real time information at their disposal. Fisheries are classified as inshore, midwater, pelagic or deep water. Inshore targets species close to shore and in depths of up to 200 metres, and may include trawling and gillnetting and long-lining. Trawling is regarded as "active", while "passive" or less environmentally harmful fishing methods include use of gill nets, long lines, traps and pots. Pelagic fisheries focus on species which swim close to the surface and up to depths of 200 metres, including migratory mackerel, and tuna, and methods for catching include pair trawling, purse seining, trolling and longlining. Midwater fisheries target species at depths of around 200 metres, using trawling, longlining and jigging. Deepwater fisheries mainly use trawling for species which are found at depths of over 600 metres.

There are several segments for different catching methods in the registered Irish fleet – the largest segment being polyvalent or multi-purpose vessels using several types of gear which may be active and passive. The polyvalent segment ranges from small inshore vessels engaged in netting and potting to medium and larger vessels targeting whitefish, pelagic (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting) species and bivalve molluscs. The refrigerated seawater (RSW) pelagic segment is engaged mainly in fishing for herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting only. The beam trawling segment focuses on flatfish such as sole and plaice. The aquaculture segment is exclusively for managing, developing and servicing fish farming areas and can collect spat from wild mussel stocks.

The top 20 species landed by value in 2019 were mackerel (78 million euro); Dublin Bay prawn (59 million euro); horse mackerel (17 million euro); monkfish (17 million euro); brown crab (16 million euro); hake (11 million euro); blue whiting (10 million euro); megrim (10 million euro); haddock (9 million euro); tuna (7 million euro); scallop (6 million euro); whelk (5 million euro); whiting (4 million euro); sprat (3 million euro); herring (3 million euro); lobster (2 million euro); turbot (2 million euro); cod (2 million euro); boarfish (2 million euro).

Ireland has approximately 220 million acres of marine territory, rich in marine biodiversity. A marine biodiversity scheme under Ireland's operational programme, which is co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Government, aims to reduce the impact of fisheries and aquaculture on the marine environment, including avoidance and reduction of unwanted catch.

EU fisheries ministers hold an annual pre-Christmas council in Brussels to decide on total allowable catches and quotas for the following year. This is based on advice from scientific bodies such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. In Ireland's case, the State's Marine Institute publishes an annual "stock book" which provides the most up to date stock status and scientific advice on over 60 fish stocks exploited by the Irish fleet. Total allowable catches are supplemented by various technical measures to control effort, such as the size of net mesh for various species.

The west Cork harbour of Castletownbere is Ireland's biggest whitefish port. Killybegs, Co Donegal is the most important port for pelagic (herring, mackerel, blue whiting) landings. Fish are also landed into Dingle, Co Kerry, Rossaveal, Co Galway, Howth, Co Dublin and Dunmore East, Co Waterford, Union Hall, Co Cork, Greencastle, Co Donegal, and Clogherhead, Co Louth. The busiest Northern Irish ports are Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel, Co Down.

Yes, EU quotas are allocated to other fleets within the Irish EEZ, and Ireland has long been a transhipment point for fish caught by the Spanish whitefish fleet in particular. Dingle, Co Kerry has seen an increase in foreign landings, as has Castletownbere. The west Cork port recorded foreign landings of 36 million euro or 48 per cent in 2019, and has long been nicknamed the "peseta" port, due to the presence of Spanish-owned transhipment plant, Eiranova, on Dinish island.

Most fish and shellfish caught or cultivated in Irish waters is for the export market, and this was hit hard from the early stages of this year's Covid-19 pandemic. The EU, Asia and Britain are the main export markets, while the middle Eastern market is also developing and the African market has seen a fall in value and volume, according to figures for 2019 issued by BIM.

Fish was once a penitential food, eaten for religious reasons every Friday. BIM has worked hard over several decades to develop its appeal. Ireland is not like Spain – our land is too good to transform us into a nation of fish eaters, but the obvious health benefits are seeing a growth in demand. Seafood retail sales rose by one per cent in 2019 to 300 million euro. Salmon and cod remain the most popular species, while BIM reports an increase in sales of haddock, trout and the pangasius or freshwater catfish which is cultivated primarily in Vietnam and Cambodia and imported by supermarkets here.

The EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983, pooled marine resources – with Ireland having some of the richest grounds and one of the largest sea areas at the time, but only receiving four per cent of allocated catch by a quota system. A system known as the "Hague Preferences" did recognise the need to safeguard the particular needs of regions where local populations are especially dependent on fisheries and related activities. The State's Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, based in Clonakilty, Co Cork, works with the Naval Service on administering the EU CFP. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and Department of Transport regulate licensing and training requirements, while the Marine Survey Office is responsible for the implementation of all national and international legislation in relation to safety of shipping and the prevention of pollution.

Yes, a range of certificates of competency are required for skippers and crew. Training is the remit of BIM, which runs two national fisheries colleges at Greencastle, Co Donegal and Castletownbere, Co Cork. There have been calls for the colleges to be incorporated into the third-level structure of education, with qualifications recognised as such.

Safety is always an issue, in spite of technological improvements, as fishing is a hazardous occupation and climate change is having its impact on the severity of storms at sea. Fishing skippers and crews are required to hold a number of certificates of competency, including safety and navigation, and wearing of personal flotation devices is a legal requirement. Accidents come under the remit of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, and the Health and Safety Authority. The MCIB does not find fault or blame, but will make recommendations to the Minister for Transport to avoid a recurrence of incidents.

Fish are part of a marine ecosystem and an integral part of the marine food web. Changing climate is having a negative impact on the health of the oceans, and there have been more frequent reports of warmer water species being caught further and further north in Irish waters.

Brexit, Covid 19, EU policies and safety – Britain is a key market for Irish seafood, and 38 per cent of the Irish catch is taken from the waters around its coast. Ireland's top two species – mackerel and prawns - are 60 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, dependent on British waters. Also, there are serious fears within the Irish industry about the impact of EU vessels, should they be expelled from British waters, opting to focus even more efforts on Ireland's rich marine resource. Covid-19 has forced closure of international seafood markets, with high value fish sold to restaurants taking a large hit. A temporary tie-up support scheme for whitefish vessels introduced for the summer of 2020 was condemned by industry organisations as "designed to fail".

Sources: Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Marine Institute, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Department of Transport © Afloat 2020