Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 June 2004
66 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the level of exploration activity due to be carried out in Irish territorial waters this summer; and the reporting requirement that our licence operators required to the Government with regard to their work programme and discoveries. [19311/04]
View answerThe level of exploration activity is directly related to the number of authorisations issued. At present both licences and activity are at a relatively low level. This summer one exploration well and one seismic survey will be completed. The exploration well will be drilled in the Celtic Sea by Providence Resources plc under its Licensing Option 03/1. The seismic survey was undertaken by ENI in the Porcupine Basin under its Exploration Licence 1/99 and was completed on 16 June.
Under the terms of their authorisations, operators are obliged to give my Department a copy of all original data as it is acquired, and usually in electronic form. The operators are also obliged to make presentations on the data giving their interpretations and analyses of it to specialists in my Department, who analyse the data independently. In addition operators are obliged to submit six-monthly reports giving outline details of exploration activity both undertaken in the previous six-month period and to be carried out in the six-month period ahead.
