With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 37 to 41 together.
Under the Continental Shelf Act, 1968, the Government has designated large areas of continental shelf as areas within which the rights of the State with regard to exploration and exploitation of natural resources of the shelf may be exercised.
About one-quarter of these designated areas, including two areas off the western coast, is held at present by Marathon Petroleum Ireland Limited under an exclusive petroleum exploration licence in accordance with the 1959 Oil Exploration Agreement, as amended. This company also holds two petroleum leases, within the exclusive area held by it off the south coast. Details of these facilities are given in my half-yearly reports and in the Oil Exploration Agreement, 1959, as amended in 1969, all of which were laid before the Oireachtas. For the remainder of the designated areas, I propose to grant initially non-exclusive petroleum prospecting licences allowing each licensee to carry out general exploration in the entire designated areas excluding the areas held under exclusive licence. When sufficient information on the potential of the shelf area is available from exploration under the non-exclusive licences, I will invite applications for exclusive exploration licences permitting detailed investigation of smaller areas. If commercial deposits are discovered I will grant petroleum leases for their exploitation. No facilities other than those granted to Marathon have yet been issued but I have published my intention of granting non-exclusive licences to 14 companies.
As the information requested about these companies is in the form of a tabular statement, I propose, with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, to circulate it in the Official Report.
These non-exclusive licences will be valid for two years and will be subject to application fees of £10, consideration fees of £100 and annual rental of £500. The licensees will be obliged to give me full details of the results of their exploration. The terms of exclusive exploration licences and petroleum leases to be granted in the future to parties other than Marathon have not yet been fixed and will not be decided until more information on the potential of our shelf area is available.
I have seen the statements referred to by Deputy Donegan. I understand that the statement regarding the mineral belt was taken out of its proper context and might give the wrong impression regarding the possibilities of developing and exploiting any metalliferous deposits which may exist in our continental shelf. The speaker at the conference suggested that the onshore metalliferous mining province might extend westwards under the sea into the continental shelf but he also indicated that the technology to develop and exploit offshore subsurface deposits, involving the opening of mine shafts on the sea floor, has not yet been developed.
I do not know what the second statement referred to is meant to convey. The term "sea resources" covers resources other than minerals. In so far as offshore mineral resources are concerned, I can assure the Deputy that we are not too openhanded in granting facilities to explore and exploit these resources. The exploration of our offshore areas is only getting under way and there is, therefore, very little specific information available at this stage in regard to the mineral resources of the area.
Following is the tabular statement:
Companies which have been offered non-exclusive Petroleum Prospecting Licences.
|
1. Trend Exploration Ltd.
|
600 Capitol Life Center, Denver, Colorado U.S.A.
|
|
2. Occidental Petroleum Corporation.
|
5,000 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, California, U.S.A.
|
|
3. Bralorne Oil and Gas Ltd.
|
736-8th Avenue South West, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
|
|
4. B.P. Petroleum Development Ltd.
|
Britannic House, Moor Lane, London, England
|
|
5. Societe Nationale des Petroles d'Acquitaine.
|
Tour Acquitaine, 92 Courbevoie, France.
|
|
6. Esso Exploration Inc.
|
1270 Avenue of the Americas, New York.
|
|
7. Shell Internationale Petroleum Maatschappij N.V.
|
Carel van Bylandtlaan 30, The Hague, The Netherlands.
|
|
8. Hugh A. Hawthorne/Exchange Oil and Gas Corporation, jointly.
|
P.O. Box 52429, O.C.S. Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S.A./1200 Oil and Gas Building, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.
|
|
9. Canadian Export Gas and Oil Ltd.
|
736-8th Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
|
|
10. Enterprise de Recherches et d'Activites Petrolieres.
|
7 Rue Nelaton, Paris, France.
|
|
11. Delta Exploration Inc.
|
7636 Harwin, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
|
|
12. Lewis G. Weeks Associates Limited.
|
287 Riverside Avenue, Westport, Connecticut, U.S.A.
|
|
13. Siebens Oil and Gas (U.K.) Ltd.
|
33 King William Street, London.
|
|
14. ARCO Oil Producing Inc.
|
163/169 Brompton Road, London, S.W. 3, England.
|
