When it was announced in May of this year that Minister for the Environment Eamonn Ryan had refused to grant Barryroe Offshore Energy (formerly Providence Resources plc) a license to continue operations at its Barryroe oil and gas field off the coast of Co Cork, the assumption was that the company would be wound up.

However, Barryroe’s largest shareholder had other ideas and in July sought the appointment of an examiner to the company, with a view to pivoting the company to a new industry.

That shareholder, Larry Goodman, succeeded in the application, which stopped the liquidation of Barryroe.

This week it was further announced that Lorsden (Jersey) Limited, a company controlled by Goodman, will invest just over €1m in Barryroe, and advance a loan of €300,000 to the company. There is also a commitment to make a further €5m available on agreement of an appropriate business plan with “substantial additional funds” as required to invest in future prospects.

When seeking the appointment of an examiner, the plan presented as part of that process centred on the idea that the off-shore oil and gas explorer could pivot its expertise to focus on green energy projects.

Barryroe had accumulated losses of over €280 million on its balance sheet in its most recent set of results. In the wake of the commitment from Goodman’s Lorsden, the board of Barryroe will step down “as soon as practicable”.

All existing shares of the company will be cancelled and the company’s stock exchange listing will also be cancelled.

The proposals are subject to confirmation by the High Court. If they are passed, and accepted by creditors of the company, then new shares will be issued to Lorsden as the sole shareholder of the company.