O'Cathain, previously chief executive of AIM-listed exploration firm Afren and formerly MD of Tullow Oil's international business, was appointed executive chairman last week.

"Business in the Middle East is done in private, in close-knit networks, " he said.

"Those networks extend into that area and it makes sense to do business in that region."

Under CEO John Craven Petroceltic to date has been operating in Algeria, where its partner is state-owned Sonotrac, as well as Tunisia and Italy.

"Our ambition is to take the company to the next level, " said O'Cathain. "At present we're the third largest Irish-listed oil and gas firm.

We would certainly hope to emulate our number one peer. Tullow Oil was a small company for a long time. We hope to follow respectfully in their footsteps. That's firmly on the agenda of management, to become a bigger and more rounded company."

Expansion into development and production will happen primarily organically, O'Cathain said, but acquisitions may also be part of the plan. "We're at a point in the cycle where acquisitions and mergers are probably going to happen. We will certainly watch with interest.

We're not talking to anybody just now but we're certainly open to discussions."

Dublin has a wealth of energy firm talent from which Petroceltic can draw to grow organically, he said.

"We have no doubt we'll be able to attract the right people provided we've got interesting projects to work on."

The company is well placed to take advantage of an anticipated shift in European demand, away from increasingly insecure gas supplies from Vladimir Putin's Russia and towards North African gas. Currently the company sells natural gas into Italy and to southern Europe.