The Shell subsidiary, Enterprise Energy Ireland, said that "early results" indicate a hydrocarbon find on the Dooish well off the Donegal coast, and it intends to resume drilling on May 1st.
The deepwater well lies 125km north-west of Donegal in the Rockall Basin in 1,478 metres of water.
Enterprise Energy Ireland (EEI) is working with AGIP Ireland BV and OMV Aktiengesellschaft on the project. Mr Andy Pyle, managing director of EEI, said yesterday the company was "pleased" that early results from the well indicated the presence of hydrocarbons.
Mr Pyle said significantly more work is required to understand the implications of the results to date, which have been shared with the Petroleum Affairs Division of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. "We look forward to working closely in the coming months with the Department to determine the next steps in regard to the Dooish well," Mr Pyle said at a briefing in Donegal.
"However, given the challenges of operating in the extreme water depths involved, it will be some time before we will be in a position to fully understand the significance of the results to date," he said.
Mr Pyle said the company would spend some €2 million locally on accommodation and transport during the drilling programme, which is expected to take between 50 and 80 days.
Meanwhile, EEI has denied a claim by SIPTU's national offshore committee that it is putting "implicit pressure" on An Bord Pleanála over the Corrib gas field terminal decision.
The appeals board is working to a target date of April 30th for its ruling on planning permission for the Corrib gas field terminal in north Mayo. Last weekend, the company issued a statement denying a newspaper report that it might quit the Corrib gas project for the Gulf of Mexico unless the appeals board's decision was "hassle-free".
SIPTU's offshore committee said it hoped the original report had not emanated from EEI itself, and called on the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Ahern, to issue a statement supporting the independence of An Bord Pleanála.