Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 430: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the status of technical evaluation carried out on a site (details supplied); the estimated reserves, estimated to be in situ; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9999/09]

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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The operator of the two onshore licences (ON1/05 & ON2/05) covering the Lough Allen Basin, has undertaken technical studies in conjunction with contractors to define the prospectivity of the area with a view to advancing to a drilling programme. While the Department has received copies of these studies, under the licensing terms governing these licences, the studies are confidential and cannot be commented upon at this stage.

The Lough Allen Basin contains a number of low porosity and low permeability Carboniferous sandstones, some of which are gas-bearing. Despite the poor quality of the sandstone reservoirs, the area could contain significant volumes of gas in place.

For any meaningful reserve estimation, new drilling and test data would be required. The results of previous drilling in the area have at best been inconclusive. For instance, the Dowra -1 and Dowra -2 wells did yield small gas flow rates but these did not amount to commercial reserves.