Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
114. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of applications for licences or approvals for oil and gas exploration with his Department to date; the date each one was received; the reason for the delay in processing these; when a decision will be made in each case given the crisis in supply of gas and oil in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43687/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 57 of the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960 requires that I lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas every six months a report detailing all exploration activities, including petroleum exploration authorisations granted during the period of the report. The last such report laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas was in respect of the six-month period ending 30 June 2022. A report on the status of all petroleum authorisations is also published on a quarterly basis on gov.ie (www.gov.ie/en/publication/10d43-acreage-reports-and-concession-maps/). The most recent such report was published in respect of the three month period ending 30 June 2022
The tables below contain the information sought in relation to the numbers of current extensions applications.
|
Current Extensions Applications |
|||
|
Date Received |
December 2012 |
January 2018 |
February 2022 |
|
No. of Applications |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
Current Phase Extension Applications |
|
|
Date Received |
April 2022 |
|
No. of Applications |
1 |
|
Follow-On Authorisation Applications |
|||
|
Date Received |
October 2012 |
May 2018 |
April 2021 |
|
No. of Applications |
1 |
2 |
1 |
My Department does not publish information on individual applications for authorisations whilst they are under consideration. All applications for petroleum authorisations are assessed against a number of criteria in accordance with Section 9A of the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act, 1960, as amended, and Section 3 of the Licensing Terms for Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Development and Production. It is important to note that this licence application assessment process is informed only by financial, technical and environmental considerations and not by energy security or broader energy policy matters.
