Dr. Andrew Armour, joint founder and chairman of Agora Oil & Gas AS, a Norwegian based oil exploration firm, was Pembroke Rotary Club's guest speaker last month at the Lamphey Court Hotel.

Dr. Armour, a geologist who now lives in Pembrokeshire, gave the club a fascinating insight into the North Sea oil industry, with particular emphasis on exploration.

He explained that whilst production was declining in both the UK and Norway, there was still plenty of oil left to be found, probably in smaller and more hard to define fields.

Indeed £1 in every £5 invested in capital equipment in the UK every year was in the North Sea. What's more, he claimed that his team of experts had been involved in half of the good oil finds in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea over the last fove years. An enviable record.

For this reason, Angora Oil & Gas has secured an investment line of 200 million US dollars from companies associated with Lord Jacob Rothchild. This huge investment is understandable in the light of the success of Dr. Armour's team and the fact that drilling for oil can cost up to $1,000,000 a day!

When asked if there was the prospect of oil and gas extraction in the Irish Sea, Dr. Armour confirmed there was some potential. The Irish sector had been producing gas for many years, but on the UK side only small tantalising resources had been found, despite many attempts.

If you would like to learn more about the work of Pembroke Rotary Club, please call the honorary secretary on 01646 686780.