Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 541: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if an Irish oil and gas exploration company will be established in view of the good example of the Norwegian Government; if his attention has been drawn to the benefit this will have on the Irish economy; the effect this will have on other Departments (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25945/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The Government does not consider that there is a case for a State exploration company and I would offer the following facts to the Deputy to support that view. Between the late 1960s and 1987 Ireland had made one commercial discovery — the Kinsale Head gas field, KHGF — with recoverable reserves of 1.7 trillion cubic feet, TCF, equivalent to 48.113 standard cubic metres. In the same period Norway had made 60 commercial finds, several of which dwarfed KHGF, including Ekofisk in 1969 at 12 times KHGF, Statfjord in 1974 at 13 times KHGF and Troll in 1979 at 18 times KHGF. By end-1987 the total of recoverable reserves of oil, gas, natural gas liquids, NGL, and condensate amounted to 120 times KHGF. Many of the early finds provided positive evidence of Norway's prospectivity as well as the resources and confidence for a State exploration and production company. Norway's emergence as a petroleum province also coincided with the 1973 oil crisis, and gave the Norwegian Government a strong hand with which to negotiate with the oil industry. Up to 1999 Norway had made a total of 89 commercial finds with recoverable reserves amounting to 84 times the combined reserves of KHGF and the Corrib gas field.

Given the significant cost of exploration — a well in the Atlantic margin costs approximately €20 million — the Government cannot and will not gamble taxpayers' money on the high-risk, highly speculative and expensive endeavour.