Desmond J. O'Malley
Ceist:13 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the extent and the outcome of the offshore drilling programme in 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10880/97]
Vol. 478 No. 3
13 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the extent and the outcome of the offshore drilling programme in 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10880/97]
Statoil Exploration (Ireland) Limited hold a Lease Undertaking in the Connemara Field and have begun an appraisal programme to determine whether the field could be commercial using current technologies. This consists of drilling and testing two wells. Drilling commenced on 9 April 1997. An extended well test will follow with test production running over a period of 60 days. The second well will be drilled on completion of the first well and will be tested over a 15 day period. The appraisal phase is planned to be completed by the end of July 1997 and is expected to be self-financing. If the test results produce positive conclusions regarding the amount of oil in place and the productivity of the wells, Statoil would hope to be in a position to declare the field commercial in August and apply for the necessary consents to develop the field.