As much as one billion barrels of oil have been discovered off the Kerry coastline in Ireland. Petrel Resources has seen its value quadruple after the announcement. To put the find into context, current world consumption of oil is approximately 80 million barrels daily with Ireland consuming about .165 million barrels daily.

Despite the oil being 200km away from the mainland and under 1km of rock newer drilling techniques have made previously unaccessible oil-fields more viable. The US is expected to become the worlds largest oil producer thanks to its implementation of these new methods.

Exploration licences were sold in recent years to mostly Irish companies as there was little interest from international companies. That looks set to change! The company is now focusing on finding a partner to drill for and transport the oil but in an era of high oil prices it is very optimistic.