Palm oil firm DekelOil is taking a short cut to cash generation, relying on local farmers to provide it with crops rather than waiting around for its own plants to mature. Broker Optiva Securities predicts the firm will be profitable from the get-go, making it undervalued in comparison with peers taking the long route to production.

The highlight of today’s update, according to Fastnet chairman Cathal Friel, is that it confirms the Deep Kinsale prospect to be just like Barryroe, only bigger.

Tapping into the UK's shale gas deposits could create "a new North Sea for Britain", creating tens of thousands of jobs, according to the Institute of Directors (IoD).

The Deep Kinsale prospect is a series of reservoirs, akin to those at the nearby Barryroe field, beneath producing gas operations. And an independent assessment puts the unrisked prospective resources at 2.365bn barrels of oil in place.

The small-cap oil firm is gearing up for bigger and better things as it focusses on key assets in Ireland, France and England.