Oil exploration company Exxon Mobil will begin exploring underwater areas off Ireland's South West coast this June, with a three-week stint in the area planned. The area they will be surveying is close to recently-discovered areas of rare deep-water coral on the Porcupine slopes.

A notice to mariners on the Department of Transport's website reads: 

The Department of Transport would like to advise that ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Ireland (Offshore) Ltd will be carrying out a site survey off the Southwest Coast of Ireland as highlighted in the attached map.  The seismic vessel “M/V FUGRO MERIDIAN – C6QR4” is scheduled to carry out the work. The vessel will tow 1 x 3km-long streamer, and will have a minimum turning radius of 2 km. The survey vessel will be restricted in her ability to manoeuvre whilst carrying out the survey and all vessels are requested to give this operation a wide berth. The vessel will be listening on VHF CH 16 throughout the project.

The works are expected to commence in early June 2010 and last for 3 - 4 weeks approximately subject to weather.

Latitude                        Longitude

51° 20' 49.351"             12° 35' 32.935"

51° 24' 56.106"             12° 25' 57.046"

51° 18' 55.191"             12° 19' 24.114"

51° 14' 49.282"             12° 28' 59.106"

The full notice is downloadable here as a pdf file, with a map of the area included therein.