Other business stories in brief
Tullow to increase gas production
Tullow Oil has encountered higher-than-expected pressure at its Ketch-7 gas development well in the North Sea and as a result expects to commence production from the well next month, the company said yesterday.
Chief executive Aidan Heavey welcomed the announcement and said he was very pleased with the progress being made on the upgrading of the Schooner-Ketch fields, which Tullow bought in early 2005.
Tullow is also testing another well, the NW Schooner which, if found to contain gas, will be connected to the group's main pipeline during the middle of next year.
€4.5m invested in biotech projects
Enterprise Ireland has made a €4.5 million investment in 11 projects that seek to develop biotech businesses.
The projects will eventually become start-up companies or will be licensed to existing companies in Ireland to improve competitiveness.
The projects funded range from the development of nanosensors for cardiovascular disease to the treatment of tumours in cancer patients. Three of the 11 projects are collaborations between research institutes.
ComReg invites proposals
ComReg, the communications regulator, is seeking comments from interested parties about the levels of competition in Ireland's fixed-line telephone market.
The regulator yesterday called for submissions to the consultation, which it is required to carry out under the latest EU telecommunications framework.
ComReg is proposing dividing the sector into four, separating different types of residential, non-residential and international calls - all from a fixed location.
Comments must be submitted by the end of October.
Ryanair sets up Bremen base
Ryanair is to set up its 17th European base in Bremen in Germany with a $220 million (€173 million) investment, which includes the purchase of a terminal facility. The airline said yesterday it will operate nine routes from Bremen - it's second German base - starting next April.
Kingspan director sells shares
Dermot Mulvihill, finance director of Kingspan, has reaped almost €1.6 million through the sale of 100,000 shares in the building materials group, a statement lodged with the stock exchange yesterday showed.
Dragon increases oil production
Exploration group Dragon Oil yesterday reported that its drilling programme in the Cheleken Contract Area, offshore Turkmenistan, was continuing successfully and that a positive discovery in one of its zones had led to a production gain of 626 barrels of oil per day.
Warning on EU banana tariffs
New European Union tariffs on banana imports have placed producers under financial stress that could prompt industry restructuring, according to a report from Fitch, the credit rating agency.
The introduction in January of a 135 per cent levy on imports from Latin America, which accounts for two-thirds of global banana production, has combined with higher transport and energy costs to depress earnings despite a rise in demand. - (Financial Times service)
