Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The 2011 Atlantic margin licensing round was formally launched in October 2010 and the closing date for applications was the end of May this year. The 2011 licensing round was different from previous licensing rounds in that the authorisations on offer are for two-year licensing options and not for the traditional 15 or 16 year frontier exploration licences. Fifteen applications were received under the round and my Department has now concluded its evaluation of the applications received. I will make a decision on the granting of licensing options over the next week or so.

There has been a good deal of debate of late on the possible potential of Ireland's indigenous oil and gas resources. While there has been a modest increase in the number of exploration authorisations in recent years, the overall level of exploration activity has remained stubbornly low. This is particularly true of exploration drilling with an average of only two exploration wells a year being drilled over the past decade.

Companies that are offered licensing options under the 2011 licensing round will have to undertake work programmes agreed with my Department. These work programmes, which will principally involve desktop studies, will then inform decisions to be made two years from now, as to whether these companies will actually apply for exploration licences with a view to then potentially moving towards exploration drilling.

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