Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 October 2012
23. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Communications; Energy and Natural Resources the level of public inquiry that was made before the granting of an exploration licence to Providence Resources at Dalkey, County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43732/12]
View answerStandard Exploration Licence 2/11 was granted last year to a consortium comprising Providence Resources Plc and Star Energy Oil and Gas Ltd. The licence, which is a follow-on authorisation to Licensing Option 08/2, covers an area of approximately 380 square kilometres in the Kish Bank Basin off the Dublin/Wicklow coast. The award of this exploration licence confers on the holder the exclusive right to search for petroleum in the licensed area, but does not confer a right to produce/extract petroleum and therefore did not require a public consultation phase.
In the event that the exploration activity under this licence resulted in a commercial discovery being made then the licensees would require a number of statutory approvals for a production project, including a petroleum lease and a plan of development consent from the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Other relevant statutory consents could include an IPPC Licence from the EPA, a Foreshore Licence from the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and a planning and development consent from An Bord Pleanála. All of these consent processes would be subject to an environmental impact assessment, which would include a full public consultation phase.
