Ireland is still keen to attract investment in offshore exploration, despite the recent set back to plans to develop the Corrib field, the natural resources minister, Mr Ahern said yesterday.

Addressing a group of Norwegian businessmen in Oslo, the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources declared that the State had opened up the entire Porcupine Basin of the country's west and south west coasts in the latest licensing round.

He told the group that the Republic of Ireland wanted to send out a strong signal internationally that the country welcomed both inward investment and offshore exploration.

Mr Ahern said he did not want to comment on the specifics of the recent An Bord Pleanala decision to refuse Shell subsidiary, Enterprise Energy Ireland's (EEI) proposals for a natural gas terminal in north Mayo.

The €800 million terminal would have been used to bring natural gas from the Corrib field ashore and feed it into the national network.

The Minister said the project's precise benefits could not have been measured before development work began.

"The precise impact would only have become apparent with the passage of time," Mr Ahernsaid.

"I strongly believe that such a development would have had many benefits to the state, the local community and the border midlands region (BMW) in a number of ways," he added.

The Minister told the gathering that in construction alone, the project would have employed 500 people at peak, while 60 people would have found permanent work there.