The many Irish holders of small stakes in Brian McDonnell's US Oil & Gas will have taken heart yesterday with the company's publication of an independent "competent person's report" on its flagship asset in Nevada.

There was much excitement in mid-2012 when the Irish-based firm made its discovery of oil and gas in the US state, but its shares took a nosedive towards the end of the year.

At the time the company pointed to allegedly defamatory posts on internet message boards preceding the €160 million reduction in its market cap and secured an order aimed at identifying those behind them.

McDonnell says US Oil & Gas is still pursuing the matter and expects to see it raised in court in London soon.

In the meantime he is hoping the results of the latest report will translate into share price gains. It concluded that the Nevada prospect has a 50 per cent chance of yielding 283 million barrels of oil and, mind-blowingly, a 10 per cent chance of producing 3.3 billion barrels.

With oil prices hovering at around $100 per barrel, the sums are fairly easy to do.