Vol. 557 No. 4
109 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his plans for a review of the changes introduced by the former Minister for Energy, Mr. Ray Burke, in regard to terms for oil and gas exploration companies, especially having regard to the findings of the Flood tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22360/02]
I take it that the Deputy is referring to the second interim report of the Flood tribunal. The report does not mention the licensing terms for oil and gas exploration in any context, either in the main body of the report, in the appendices or in the statements made to the tribunal. Neither does the report identify any links between the individuals examined by the tribunal and the industry.
The 1992 licensing terms and regime were introduced against a background of a steep decline in exploration activity in Ireland's offshore during the preceding few years. Ireland was, and is, competing internationally to attract exploration companies to our offshore area but unlike some other countries in north-western Europe Ireland has yet to establish itself as a petroleum province. Since 1971, 121 exploration wells have been drilled which has resulted in just four commercial discoveries to date: Kinsale, 1971; Ballycotton, 1989; Corrib, 2001; and Seven Heads, 2002. These figures show a success rate of one commercial discovery for every 30 exploration wells drilled. This compares with a UK success rate of about one in 12.
