In February of last year, following an open competition, onshore petroleum licensing options were awarded by the then Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to: Tamboran Resources PTY Ltd over parts of counties Cavan, Leitrim and Sligo; Lough Allen Natural Gas Company Ltd over parts of counties Cavan, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo; and Enegi Oil plc over parts of County Clare. The Licensing Options are for a two-year period from 1st March 2011 to 28th February 2013 and specifically exclude exploration drilling.
I would like to advise the Deputy that Tamboran Resources Pty Ltd was also awarded a five-year exploration licence by the Northern Ireland authorities over adjacent acreage in Country Fermanagh.
With regard to the regulatory process for the use of this technology, I can advise that the European Commission has confirmed that the exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons has to comply with the requirements of EU legislation. A comprehensive legislative framework on environmental protection and access to hydrocarbon resources is already in place and applies to all hydrocarbons, conventional and unconventional from planning to the aftercare of sites following exploitation. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive plays a central role in the assessment of such applications as it ensures that the environmental implications of projects are taken into account in the permitting process, before decisions are made, and it involves the public in the decision–making process, making it more transparent.
Notwithstanding the existing statutory framework, in October of last year, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources requested the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct research and advise on the environmental implications of hydraulic fracturing as a means of extracting natural gas from underground reserves.
In May 2012, the EPA published its preliminary research into the environmental aspects of shale gas extraction in the form of a small desk based study, which was carried out by the University of Aberdeen. The study provides an introduction to the environmental aspects of fracking including a review of regulatory approaches used in other countries and areas for further investigation and research such as geological principles of relevance in fracking and shale gas extraction, potential environmental impacts and establishing best environmental practice.
While the study is a preliminary study it will inform the development of the terms of reference for a much more detailed research study to be commissioned by the EPA later this year. The terms of reference for this more extensive research are currently being drawn up by a steering group including representatives from the EPA and my Department. The outcome of the further research to be commissioned by the EPA will assist in a robust scientific based assessment of any future application proposing the use of this technology and I can confirm that until there has been time to consider the second stage of the EPA research, the use of hydraulic fracturing in exploration drilling will not be authorised.
With regard to the issues raised by the Deputy with respect to plans for the development of wave energy, I should make clear that there is no contradiction in pursuing a policy of seeking to exploit our indigenous natural gas resources, while at the same time working towards achieving a significant increase in the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources. As natural gas will continue to be important to electricity generation in Ireland going forward, clearly Ireland would benefit if that natural gas was not imported, but instead came form our own indigenous natural resources.
