Vol. 400 No. 9
57 Mr. McCartan asked the Minister for Energy if he will outline the results of the survey undertaken by the research vessel, the Valdivia, regarding possible oil or gas sources in the Rockall Trough; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The research vessel Valdivia has carried out seismic surveys in September 1988 and again in May of this year as part of the so-called RAPIDS project — the title denoting Rockall and Porcupine Deep Seismic. This project is first and foremost a marine scientific research undertaking in the sphere of geology. Its overall purpose is to investigate the nature of the earth's crust off our west coast and to establish the limit of our Continental Shelf. It is a joint undertaking involving the University of Hamburg, the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and University College Dublin and has been assisted by the office of science and technology of the Department of Industry and Commerce, to which, as a scientific research project, it has most direct relevance.I am happy to say that my own Department were in a position to provide some limited financial assistance to project costs during 1988. I understand that it may be some considerable time — perhaps a year or more — before the final, detailed results of the overall RAPIDS project would be available.
The project has no direct or short-term relevance to exploration for oil and gas nor has it been carried out with this in mind. To the extent that the eventual project findings should add to our understanding of the factors which controlled the formation of basins off our west coast they may, as an indirect result, enhance the attractions of the area from the point of view of hydrocarbons exploration.
