Ireland remains one of the most expensive and riskiest countries in the world for drilling for oil and gas, it was claimed today.
The Oireachtas Committee on Marine & Natural Resources heard that only two significant finds have been made since 1972.
The Irish Offshore Operators' Association (IOOA) said the prospect of striking oil or gas in the future was slim but exploration firms remained positive.
IOOA chairman Fergus Cahill told the all-party body: "Ireland remains a very high risk area for exploration."
Mr Cahill said geology was also a problem. The 150 exploration wells drilled in recent years only yielded four commercial finds.
"This is a very poor reward by international standards," he added. International consultants have ranked Ireland as 49th out of 57 countries in a scale of exploration success.
It is also perched at 51st out of 57 counties for exploration costs. The IOOA had 16 members in 1998 but this has dwindled to only eight today.
Mr Cahill there were only two applicants for the Rockall licensing round last year. A similar offer in Norway resulted in 44 applications.
Of the eight licences issued in 1995, all have been surrendered. Ten of the eleven issued in 1997 have also been handed back. Since the discovery of Kinsale Head gas field in 1972, the only significant find since then has been the Corrib gas field in 1996.
"It's not surprising that there's a degree of pessimism among operators," said Mr Cahill. However technology was improving and the IOOA said it continued to persuade investors to plough funds into the industry.