FRACKING company Tamboran’s Chief Executive Officer Joel Riddle has said that it expects to drill a well in Ireland in June or July.

Last week’s interview with Mr. Riddle in Bloomberg sparked a flurry of activity on twitter, with anti-fracking activists from across Northern Ireland demanding that politicians “stop Tamboran” and put an end to the prospect of fracking. They also put pressure on MLAs to sign a petition aimed at referring DETI’s decision to extend Tamboran’s licence back to the Executive.

Some of the tweets reference Fermanagh for the start of drilling but the article referred to Ireland.

No Fracking Ireland tweeted Phil Flanagan saying: “Tamboran hope to start fracking Fermanagh june or july, finger out please Sinn Fein.” Ban fracking in N.I. tweeted Martin McGuinness and Phil Flanagan saying: “Just checking is that S. Agnews petition signed by all of you yet. Drilling in July!!!” Green Party European candidate Ross Brown added: “Tamboran to drill first well in June/July” Donal O’Cofaigh tweeted: “Exposed: Tamboran is going for a US IPO touting drilling to proceed in Fermanagh in June or July.” They were referring to an interview in which Mr. Riddle outlined that Tamboran is considering making an Initial Public Offering (going public) in the USA in the second half of this year.

He told that paper that Tamboran expects to drill a well in Ireland in June or July and another well in the Northern Territory of Australia with partner Santos Ltd. in mid-June.

Tamboran had initially outlined that it was working to the following timeline in County Fermanagh: drilling a stratigraphic borehole (they have been given an extension until September 2014 for this); selecting a site for a test well and carrying out a 3D seismic survey in early 2014; submitting a planning permission application in late 2014; and test well drilling in 2015/16.

Asked to clarify if Mr. Riddle’s comments mean that timeline has been altered, a Tamboran spokesman told The Impartial Reporter: “Tamboran Resources requested and received a six month extension from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to the first part of the licence it was granted on April 1, 2011. The first part of the licence now expires on September 30, 2014 and before then the company intends to drill a scientific borehole to collect rock core.”