Vol. 514 No. 2
22 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the recent call from SIPTU to commission an independent assessment of the impact of oil and gas exploration on the economy in view of questionable conclusions made in the recent study prepared by the Irish Offshore Operators Association; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3633/00]
The current licensing terms and financial and taxation provisions were introduced in 1992 and have been supported by every Government since. I have no doubt that without these terms there would have been little or no exploration off the Irish coast.
The study referred to by the Deputy presents empirical data and costs about the number of exploration and appraisal wells drilled offshore since 1971, and points to the employment created onshore arising from this expenditure in the past and the potential for such employment in the future.
It is almost 30 years since Ireland's last commercial find. Although 133 exploration and appraisal wells have been drilled in the Irish offshore since 1971 to date – all undertaken and financed by the exploration companies – there has been limited success with only the Kinsale-Ballycotton and the Helvick fields being declared commercial. This level of success in making commercial finds does not compare with the United Kingdom or the North Sea.
It is a simple and stark fact that the prospectivity of our offshore area has been demonstrated, over the period 1971 to date, to be consistently low. Our waters are deep and operating conditions are among the most difficult in Europe. Given these facts, the 1992 terms were designed to maintain the competitiveness of the Irish offshore area to exploration comparison. Without exploration there can be no prospect of production, which carries with it best prospects of benefit to the economy.
