The High Court has appointed an examiner to Barryroe Offshore Energy (BOE) after hearing a vehicle of beef tycoon Larry Goodman could inject significant capital for a pivot away from fossil fuel exploration towards green energy.
There was no opposition to the examinership petition presented to the court on Monday by Mr Goodman’s Vevan Unlimited, which holds a 20 per cent stake in the oil and gas exploration firm.
BOE had been facing potential liquidation, but a shareholder vote scheduled for July 24th was called off after Mr Goodman initiated a bid for the court to protect BOE from its creditors.
The court heard the company’s operations are “negligible to non-existent” and have been scuppered by Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan’s refusal to grant a permit for its key Barryroe oil project 50km off the Cork coast.
Moving the petition on behalf of Vevan on Monday, Lyndon MacCann SC said his client was confident the company would succeed in quashing the Minister’s May refusal in a judicial review challenge. However, going beyond quashing, to the point of compelling the Minister to accede to the licence application, was “less certain”, he acknowledged.
BOE is technically insolvent but its activities are capable of being “resuscitated” with appropriate funding.
His client sees potential in the green energy sector and is part of a group of companies with a “fairly deep pocket” to potentially fund BOE’s future activities. He acknowledged the examiner is entitled to look elsewhere for funding, but said the “petitioner has resources and is prepared to commit its resources”.
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Vevan believes BOE management’s skillset in exploring natural resources for energy use can be applied to the green energy sector, he added.
Mr MacCann, appearing with Declan Murphy, pointed to a report prepared by independent expert Damien Murran, head of Teneo Ireland’s corporate restructuring practice, which says BOE has a reasonable prospect of survival if a scheme of arrangement can be put in place.
Barrister Alison Keirse, for BOE, said her client was neutral on the application, while Arthur Cunningham, for the Revenue Commissioners, owed some €20,000, was neutral so long as certain terms concerning tax filings were attached to the orders.
Mr Justice Michael Quinn noted the application was “relatively unusual” in originating from a shareholder rather than the company itself.
BOE’s directors had resolved to place it into liquidation, but there was no evidence that it was being pursued immediately by creditors, the judge said.
He was satisfied the statutory conditions were met to enable him to appoint Kieran Wallace, managing director of Interpath Advisory in Ireland, as examiner.
BOE, which was formed in 1997 under the name Providence Resources, has burned through more than €270 million of cash raised from share placings over the past 12 years. The company was down to €176,000 of cash reserves, it said on June 8th.
Barryroe, its final exploration hope, was found more than a decade ago to have more than 300 million barrels of oil as well as gas resources.
In his independent report, Mr Murran said he was satisfied Vevan had the means to fund BOE through the 100-day examinership process.
