Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 26 Mar 2002

Vol. 551 No. 2

Written Answers. - Offshore Exploration.

Emmet Stagg

Ceist:

65 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources when the conditions for offshore exploration licences were last reviewed; if his attention has been drawn to the strong criticism of the terms expressed by the national offshore committee of SIPTU; his views on this criticism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9915/02]

Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources (Mr. Fahey)

The current licensing terms introduced in 1992 were very carefully designed to compensate for Ireland's disadvantage in terms of perceived prospectivity and operating conditions and to encourage interest in exploration and development.

I am aware of the criticisms of the terms by the national offshore committee of SIPTU but its criticism is not supported by the facts. Since the introduction of the 1992 licensing terms, 37 exploration licences have been granted, of which 26 were frontier exploration licences. Out of those 37 licences, 29 have been relinquished, including 19 of the frontier licences, which means that there are now only eight offshore exploration licences in place compared to a peak of 32 in 1997.

The stark reality is that Irish prospectivity is low and is not comparable with our oil producing neighbours. The Corrib gas find, although very welcome, cannot be regarded as changing that perception. Only four exploration wells have been drilled in the Irish offshore in the last three years, despite the existence of the 1992 terms. We have only had three successful exploration wells out of 125 wells in 30 years. Over the same period the United Kingdom has drilled about 3,000 wells of which about 250 are in production.

In light of these factors, calls for a review of the 1992 licensing terms are premature and cannot be justified at this time. Any indication of our intention to do so would send the wrong signals to the industry at a time when we need to encourage the companies to increase the level of exploration. However, I intend to keep the terms under continuing review.