Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to the oil find off the County Kerry coast, if he will ensure that this find will benefit County Kerry and the assurance he can give that it will benefit the people of Kerry. [51976/12]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I assume the Deputy is referring to recent media reports relating to Licensing Options 11/04 and 11/06 awarded to Petrel Resources Plc following last year’s Atlantic Margin Licensing Round. The two licensing options are located in the Porcupine Basin off the County Kerry coast.

Both licensing options are preliminary authorisations and are designed to allow the company to assess the hydrocarbon potential of the acreage, largely based on desktop studies of existing seismic and well data. By the end of the period of each licensing option in October 2013 the company must either apply for a Frontier Exploration Licence or surrender the acreage.

At this stage of the licensing options, it is too early to know whether or not these authorisations will proceed to the exploration licence stage let alone to anticipate a commercial discovery that would potentially lead to a petroleum production project and the related benefits to Ireland and the local economy generally.