Under the 2009 Rockall Licensing Round, oil and gas exploration companies will be invited to apply for new Frontier Exploration Licences in the Rockall Basin. The acreage on offer in the Rockall Basin to the west of Ireland covers unlicensed blocks in an area of approximately 117,200 square kilometres.

Commenting on Ireland’s very high dependence on imported oil and gas, Minister Power said “that finding and producing our indigenous oil and gas is critical to strengthening Ireland’s security of energy supply and reducing our reliance on imported fuels. The Rockall Basin is relatively underexplored and this Licensing Round represents an exciting new opportunity for the exploration industry to invest in exploration offshore Ireland”.

Minister Power acknowledged that “exploration in remote deep water areas such as the Rockall Basin is difficult and costly. But the potential rewards are also very high. Accordingly, the new tax regime introduced in 2007 will apply in the case of licences granted under the 2009 Round, which means that in the case of more profitable fields a tax rate of 40% would apply.”

Minister Power added that “in recent years there has been an upswing in the level of investment in exploration for oil and gas offshore Ireland,” and that he is “confident that the industry will react positively to the opening of the Rockall Basin for further exploration opportunities.”

In advance of decisions on the award of licences, a comprehensive Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the region is being undertaken by external environmental experts ERT and Aqua Fact, and the post-consultation report will be available shortly. The SEA will inform the industry of the environmental characteristics and sensitivities of the Basin, and will make recommendations to the Minister as to how these should be addressed.

Applications for Frontier Exploration Licenses covering blocks in the Round may be submitted up to noon on 22 April 2009. The terms for the Round provide that applications may be made for a minimum of two blocks and for a maximum of eight blocks.

Map showing the area that will be on offer under the 2009 Rockall Round This links to a PDF document

2009 Rockall Licensing Round Details

Licensing Terms for Offshore Oil & Gas Exploration, Development and Production – 2007 This links to a PDF document

Minister Power extends area on offer for oil and gas exploration licenses under the 2009 Rockall Licensing Round

Dublin, 8 July, 2008

Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Mr. Seán Power T.D. today announced that he has decided to extend the area to be opened for licensing in the 2009 Rockall Licensing Round to include the north-western margin of the Rockall Basin. This will bring the total acreage on offer under the round to 117,100 square kilometres.

In announcing the expanded area, the Minister said that “this is the first time since 1997, that such a major part of the Rockall Basin has been the subject of a licensing round. Recent technical studies have indicated a significant petroleum potential within the Rockall Basin. It is timely, therefore, that the oil and gas exploration industry be offered an opportunity to commit to invest in new exploration programmes in the basin.”

The Minister said that building on the success of the two most recent licensing rounds (Porcupine 2008 and Slyne\Erris\Donegal 2006) and the increased pace of drilling activity offshore Ireland, he was confident that the Rockall Round would attract significant interest from exploration companies.

Applications for Frontier Exploration Licences covering blocks in the round will be invited in quarter four 2008 with a closing date for applications in quarter two 2009.

Map of 2009 Rockall Licensing Round Area

Download 2009 Rockall Round Information Sheet (April 2008)

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, 29-31 Adelaide Road, Dublin 2, Ireland
Tel +353-1-6782000 Fax +353-1-6782449