David Hough:DAVID HOUGH, who died recently aged 58, was one of a new breed of Irish entrepreneurs who made Irish expertise an international force to be reckoned with in the independent exploration sector.
In Ireland, as chief executive of Ivernia West during the 1980s and 1990s, he grew the business into a leading Irish mineral company which discovered and guided the development of the Lisheen Mine in Tipperary.
Over more recent years, he developed Circle Oil into a rapidly growing oil and gas producing company with operations in north Africa and the Middle East. Both businesses were headquartered in his native Limerick, from where he managed their national and international activities.
Hough nurtured a determination to disprove, as a student of geology, a secondary school text book assertion that “there are no metals in Ireland”.
His early education took place at Crescent College in Limerick. He went on to study successfully for a BSc in geology in UCG, where he was also active in sports and musical pursuits. He sang in the choir and developed an appreciation for choral music.
It was through this passion for music that he later met his wife Frances in the Limerick Choral Union. They spent over 30 happy years together and had three cherished daughters Niamh, Emer and Orla.
He was a lifelong rugby fan, having played in his younger days. He won a minor rugby trophy with UCG before becoming a devoted fan and was for many years a regular at Thomond Park. One of his most cherished memories was of attending the famous Munster defeat of the All Blacks in 1978.
Golf became his great sporting passion. He reached a handicap of 12 and at one point was a member of four golf clubs, but Lahinch was his favourite course.
He was fortunate to have played on almost every continent and loved the bragging rights that came when a close fourball match was won. He also dedicated himself to enjoying the 19th hole.
He first came to prominence in Irish business circles with the development of the Lisheen Mine near Thurles.
At the time of its discovery, Lisheen was the fifth largest zinc mine in the world. The mine was Ivernia West’s breakthrough discovery, containing silver and lead in addition to the zinc deposits.
While the mine remains a major producer today, a collapse in the value of zinc, added to difficulties with water levels in the mine, ultimately led to Ivernia selling its stake to Anglo American. Ivernia then went on to develop mining assets in Australia.
Hough was infectious in his enthusiasm for exploration, and needed to be when he started again and set up Circle Oil early in 2003. He was a skilled negotiator, very persuasive and possessed excellent business acumen. He had many colleagues in the wider business community who were happy to join him in the precarious business of natural resources exploration.
He listed Circle Oil on the AIM market of the London stock exchange in 2004. As chief executive, he built a strong a successful team at Circle and with a portfolio of exploration licences in North Africa. He convinced shareholders to support Circle and attracted substantial investment funds to the new enterprise, including Libya Oil Holdings, the Libyan state oil company.
The results were impressive. In a very short period of time, he secured licences to operate in Egypt, Morocco, Namibia, Oman and Tunisia. Following successful discoveries, Circle commenced producing oil from its Egyptian licence in 2009.
To date, it has produced over one million barrels and has a growing production rate of over 9,000 barrels per day. In Morocco, Circle discovered gas and is now supplying natural gas to industry close to Casablanca.
Despite its international operations, Circle retained a distinctly Irish focus and is headquartered in Limerick. It was entirely appropriate, given his passion for his home province, that Hough would build a Munster team to take on the world. He had no interest in accolades or awards and declined an honorary doctorate and a nomination for entrepreneur of the year.
His legacy was to have made Limerick a focal point for a major national mineral mine development and for independent international oil and gas exploration activities. It was while engaged in the continued development of the north African business that he died in Abu Dhabi.
David Hough: born April 5th, 1951; died March 31st, 2010