I expect Enterprise Oil and its partners to be in a position to decide on the commercial viability of the Corrib field in December of this year. The final decision as to whether the field is commercial will depend on factors such as the volumes of gas in place, the quality of the reservoir, the quality of the gas, the flow rate of the wells, market availability and price and the cost of the development. The size of gas accumulation is being assessed.
Further appraisal drilling aimed at firming up on reservoir volumes is currently being undertaken. If the results are such that the company can establish that the field is commercial, Enterprise Oil will apply to me forthwith for a petroleum lease with a view to its development. Should the field be declared commercial, I understand from the company that it would be its intention to have the field in production by early 2003.
All data and information relating to the field are submitted on an ongoing basis by the company to my Department. This data is analysed by my Department using in-house expertise in conjunction with consultants. The Deputy will appreciate that all material associated with this assessment is commercially sensitive and, therefore, must remain confidential. However, I should point out that Enterprise Oil is reported as saying that the Corrib field might have in place recoverable reserves of more than one trillion cubic feet of gas. This compares to more than 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas produced to date from the Kinsale and Ballycotton gas fields. As I have already stated, it is too early at this stage to give a precise figure for the size of the gas accumulation and the licensee will not be in a position to do so until they have fully evaluated the discovery.