Written Answers - Offshore Exploration.
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:
121
Mr. Durkan
asked the
Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources
the degree to which oil and gas deposits discovered to date currently contribute to the national requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[13027/01]
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:
122
Mr. Durkan
asked the
Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources
the positive results in respect of exploration for oil, gas or other minerals in recent times; the areas showing most or least promise in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[13028/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 121 and 122 together.
Ireland currently has no reserves of oil so all of its oil requirements are imported. In relation to gas, 29% of the national requirement is met by production from the Kinsale Head gas field and the remaining 71% is imported through the interconnector. These figures reflect the decline in production of Kinsale from 1995/1996, when 83% of the national requirement was met from the Kinsale field. It is expected that the share of the national requirement supplied by indigenous gas will increase again when the Corrib field comes into production.
As I mentioned in my previous replies of 8 February and 20 March to similar questions raised by the Deputy on positive results from exploration for oil or gas, there were developments in relation to the Corrib gas accumulation.
Enterprise Energy Ireland declared the Corrib gas field commercial in January 2001 on behalf of its co-venturers, Statoil and Marathon, and sought a lease from me for its development. This is at present being considered and evaluated by my Department. Enterprise Energy Ireland has plans to bring the gas ashore by at the earliest July 2003 and expect the field to be in production for about 15 years.
Until such time as exploration drilling has taken place it is not possible to speculate regarding areas showing most or least promise. As I mentioned in my reply of 20 March last, there will be a substantial increase this year in offshore drilling activity with at least three exploration wells, one appraisal well and two development wells being drilled. Enterprise Energy Ireland Limited recently drilled an exploration well in the Rockall trough but this well has now been plugged and abandoned. It is expected that further exploration wells will be drilled by Statoil and EDC in the Porcupine and Fastnet basins, respectively. Enterprise Energy Ireland Limited also proposes to drill a further appraisal well in the Corrib prospect in the Slyne basin and two development wells will be drilled by Marathon in the south-west Kinsale area of the north Celtic Sea basin. However, well commitments beyond 2001 only amount to between three and six for the entire Irish offshore area.
Only two exploration wells have been drilled in the Irish offshore area in the last three years and there are 20 offshore exploration licences in place at present compared to a peak of 32 in 1997. Furthermore, a number of exploration companies granted licences under a licensing round in 1997 have indicated their intention to relinquish these licences this year. The stark reality is that Irish prospectivity is low and is not comparable with our oil-producing neighbours. We have only had three successful exploration wells out of 123 in 30 years. Over the same period, the United Kingdom has drilled about 3,000 wells, of which approximately 250 are in production.
With this in mind, I commenced an initiative aimed at both conserving certain areas of the Irish offshore by closing them off from development for the moment and gauging interest on the part of the industry in making well commitments in certain other limited areas. To that end, I have undertaken a consultation process involving companies who are Irish licence holders in order to gauge their views on whether well commitments might be forthcoming in the event that a limited number of new licences might be offered. This process is ongoing.
As regards mineral exploration, it is gratifying that we have not only maintained, but also increased in real terms, our share of world exploration funding for non-petroleum minerals in the context of a major global cutback over the past three years. The most recent report that I laid before the Houses under the Minerals Development Acts showed that at the end of December 2000 there were 480 prospecting licences being operated. The number of licences has increased over the last three years. We are actively engaged in promoting investment interest in minerals exploration from overseas companies, in order to keep the level of exploration in the country as high as possible. The success of earlier exploration work and the prospect of finding further commercial ore bodies encourages the market to concentrate on exploration for certain suites of minerals and de-emphasise others.
The State itself does not carry out prospecting. In setting and agreeing the exploration programme under any licence, I ensure that the licence is awarded to the candidate proposing the most advantageous programme. By monitoring the reports of licence holders and site visits, I ensure that the terms of the commitment are met in each case, that we are immediately aware of finding any significant mineralisation and that there is a suitably aggressive pursuit of any positive results. I am pleased that recent work has identified three new zinc prospects in Counties Laois, Limerick and Wicklow, which are being followed up. Should any of these prove to be economically viable, this will be made evident to me by an application for a State mining facility. This is made in parallel with applications to the relevant local authority for planning permission under the Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts and to the EPA for an integrated pollution control licence.
As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the continuing attractiveness of Ireland for mineral exploration and development, my Department is currently carrying out a comparative study of international royalty and tax regimes. We are examining the preliminary results of that study. That examination and the further study results will inform policy decisions in the future and allow us to maintain our competitive status.
Field work under existing licences has been hampered over recent months by the precautions to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease. The restriction is being eased gradually as it is deemed prudent and on the advice of the expert group of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. For example, it has been possible from before Easter to recommence drilling or other activities which occupy a single site for a period. I would like to publicly thank and compliment those involved in the industry for the public-spirited way they have taken the necessary precautions.
Question No. 123 answered with Question No. 79.
Question No. 124 answered with Question No. 106.
