Vol. 518 No. 6
103 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he has been provided with an assessment of offshore oil and gas developments since 1992; and if, following this assessment, the licensing terms for offshore oil and gas will be reviewed accordingly for future exploration activity. [12909/00]
An assessment of offshore oil and gas developments since 1992 has not yet been completed. A preliminary examination shows that four frontier licensing rounds have been held since 1992. In 1994, five licences were issued, two of which have since been relinquished. In 1995, eight licences were issued, five of which have since been relinquished. In 1997, 11 licences were issued and in 1999 two licences were issued. In addition, ten other licences were issued under the open door system between 1992 and 1997, of which seven have subsequently been relinquished. In total, 36 exploration licences have been granted since 1992, of which 26 were frontier licences. A total of 14 of those licences have been relinquished, including seven of the frontier licences.
As I outlined in my replies to questions raised in the House on 10 February and 22 March last, the present licensing terms and financial and taxation provisions were introduced in 1992 and have been supported by every Government since then. Without these terms there would be little or no exploration off the Irish coast.
I am aware that there is a body of opinion which believes that our licensing terms are too generous and also believes that there are vast quantities of oil and gas in our offshore about to be exploited by foreign exploration companies with little benefits accruing to Ireland. The reality is that companies are not queuing up at present seeking exploration licences in our offshore.
It is a stark fact that the prospectivity of our offshore area has been demonstrated, over the period 1971 to date, to be consistently low. 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 UK or the North Sea. In addition, our waters are deep and operating conditions are among the most difficult in Europe.
