Dublin, Wednesday, 6 November, 2002.
John Browne, TD, Minister of State for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, today announced details of the new Licensing Initiative for exploration in the Porcupine Basin off the west and south west coast.
The new licensing initiative is aimed at rejuvenating exploration in offshore Ireland.
The Minister, speaking at the annual Institute of Petroleum Dinner in Dublin, declared: One of my primary tasks is to deliver on the States energy policy. We have to ensure we have enough supplies to support economic growth and competitiveness and ensure that energy supply and use are environmentally sustainable.
Minister Browne stated: The decline in output from the Kinsale Head gas field and the fact that our energy import dependency ratio is now standing at over 80%, 30 points in excess of the EU average has meant that the State has become over-dependent on imports to meet our growing energy requirements. It is vital that the State does everything in its power to encourage and increase the supply of energy from within our own frontiers. Because of this I have, in consultation with my colleague Minister Dermot Ahern, decided to reopen and release tranches in the Porcupine Basin.
The area of the Porcupine Basin in this Initiative (which excludes the two areas currently held under Frontier Exploration Licence) encompasses 241 whole blocks in four Tranches.
Applications for Frontier Exploration Licences involving blocks in the four Tranches will be considered in turn at approximately 6-month intervals.
The schedule for Closing Dates for applications is as follows:
Tranche
1 15th March, 2003
2 (and 1) 15th October, 2003
3 (and 1 & 2) 15th March, 2004
4 (and 1, 2 & 3) 15th October, 2004
The Minister emphasised that there is a considerable amount of data available from the Porcupine Basin area. He referred to a new online meta-database accessible through the Petroleum Affairs Division (PAD) website at which contains information on all released wells, seismic and potential field data as well as relevant data agent contacts.
The Minister also emphasised the very important role played by the joint PAD/Industry Petroleum Infrastructure Programme (PIP). It is intended that all authorisation holders in the Irish offshore, including those who take up licences in the Porcupine Basin Licensing Initiative, will participate in the successor to PIP, the Petroleum E & P Promotion and Support Programme (PEPPS). 
This programme which has been built on the PIP model, aims to provide regional baseline and framework information to address common PAD and Industry problems and uncertainties, essential to underpinning and promoting effective petroleum exploration. It will assist in the development of a local E & P-related infrastructure in Ireland.
Minister Browne added: I believe there is real potential for economic accumulations of oil and gas off our coast. Without facilitating exploration we will never realise this potential. I have no doubt that the Porcupine Licensing Initiative, the details which are available from my Department, coupled with our licensing terms, provides enterprising companies with an opportunity to pursue that potential.
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Richard Moore
Press Advisor
Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources
Adelaide Road
Dublin 2
Tel: +353-(01) - 678-2440
Fax: +353-(01) - 676-6161
or
Tom Mc Loughlin
Press Officer
Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources
Adelaide Road
Dublin 2
Tel: +353-(0) 1-678-2441
Fax: +353-(0) 1-676-6161