UPDATE 1-Serica Energy finds oil offshore Ireland

* Finds oil in Bandon offshore exploration well

* Says amount cannot yet be estimated

* Shares rise 12 pct (Adds details, share movement)

June 9 (Reuters) - Oil and gas explorer Serica Energy Plc (SQZ.L)(SQZ.V) said on Tuesday it found oil in the Bandon offshore exploration well in the Slyne Basin, the first discovery west of Ireland for nearly 30 years.

The volume of oil in place cannot yet be estimated with certainty as considerable technical work remains to be done, but the results to date are encouraging, the company said.

Serica holds a 50 percent interest in Irish petroleum exploration licence FEL 1/06 in the Slyne Basin. The remaining interest is held by Germany's RWE Dea (RWEG.DE).

The AIM-listed company, which has operations in the UK North Sea, Ireland, Spain, Indonesia and Vietnam, said its 600 sq km licence area contains several prospects and it would be evaluating them as potential drilling targets.

Serica Energy shares were up 12 percent at 72 pence at 1347 GMT. (Reporting by Balachander Surianarayanan in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)