Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The focus of this Bill is safety and the prevention of major accidents related to oil and gas exploration and production activities. I accept the Senator's point regarding current momentum in the context of the current round of the Atlantic margin ending in mid-September next. However, I must again reiterate that the focus of this Bill is specifically safety and regulation of oil and gas exploration and production activities.

Regulation of metering is principally an economic regulatory function. Under the existing regime for oversight of metering, prior to the installation or modification of metering the detailed specifications of all metering stations must be submitted for approval by my Department. Metering stations may also be subject to inspection by my Department. In addition, detailed records of all meter calibrations and checks of equipment for accuracy must be retained and made available for inspection and verification. Metering of petroleum volumes also constitutes part of the safety management systems described in any developer safety case which is required to be assessed by the CER. It should be noted that all equipment operated under licence or statutory consent is the subject of a safety case assessment and verification and auditing procedures by the Commission for Energy Regulation. As this activity falls within the current assessment regime, I do not propose to accept the amendment.