Written Answers. - Offshore Exploration.
Ivor Callely
Question:
46
Mr. Callely
asked the
Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources
the results and indications of recent explorations for national resources in offshore activities; the commercial values attached; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[7730/01]
As I mentioned in my reply of 8 February 2001 to a similar question raised by the Deputy, there are developments in relation to two hydrocarbon discoveries in our offshore, the Corrib gas accumulation and the Helvick oil field.
As I stated in the House on 8 February, Enterprise Energy Ireland declared the Corrib gas field commercial in January this year on behalf of its co-venturers, Statoil and Marathon, and sought a lease from me for its development. This is being considered and evaluated by my Department. Enterprise Energy Ireland has plans to bring the gas ashore by October 2003 and expects the field to be in production for about 15 years.
All data and information relating to the field are submitted on an ongoing basis by the company to my Department where it is analysed by my Department using in-house expertise in conjunction with consultants. Deputies will appreciate that all material associated with this assessment is commercially sensitive and therefore must remain confidential. However, Enterprise Energy Ireland is reported as saying that the Corrib field might have in place recoverable reserves of approximately one trillion cubic feet of gas. It would be difficult to estimate the commercial value of the Corrib gas find. This will depend on factors such as the size of the field, the quality of the reservoir, the quality of the gas, the flow rate of the well, the market price and the cost of development of the field.
As regards the Helvick oilfield, the position is that Providence Resources completed an appraisal well on the oilfield in the Celtic Sea in September last year. The drilling and tests results have been reviewed in detail over the last few months. Although the tests results on the well confirmed the good reservoir and oil characteristics seen on the original Helvick oil discovery well in 1983, further detailed analysis has indicated that the Helvick reservoir is much smaller than had been hoped and is highly compartmentalised. Accordingly, Providence Resources has concluded that a "stand alone" development of Helvick cannot be justified. Following analysis of the data obtained in 2000 my technical advisers have indicated that Helvick is not commercial.
Providence Resources has other interests in the Celtic Sea, which include blocks 50/6, 50/7 and 50/11 and the Ardmore gas prospect. The company has indicated that it remains committed to realising value from its Celtic Sea assets but the fact that Helvick cannot be made commercial has resulted in Providence Resources reviewing its plans for the Celtic Sea as a whole and conducting a strategic appraisal of a number of business development options. My Department is in discussion with Providence Resources about restructuring its authorisations in the east Celtic Sea.
