Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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212. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the aggregate offshore areas in which licences to explore for gas or oil exist; the areas in which recent activity in terms of surveys or preliminary drilling have been sought; if these have been approved; and his views on their potential. [23287/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Information on all petroleum authorisations is updated and published on a quarterly basis on gov.ie (www.gov.ie/en/publication/10d43-acreage-reports-and-concession-maps/). The most recent such report and concession map cover the three month period ending 31 March 2022. In addition, Section 57 of the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act 1960 requires that I lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas every six months a report detailing all petroleum authorisations extant and granted during the period of the report. The last such report laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas was in respect of the six-month period ending 31 December 2021 and is available at www.gov.ie/en/collection/5da3e-six-monthly-reports-to-the-oireachtas-on-petroleum-exploration-and-development-in-ireland/

Furthermore, information related to applications to undertake activities under a Petroleum Authorisation are also made available on gov.ie

(www.gov.ie/en/collection/current-applications-for-statutory-petroleum-consent-notices/)

Neither I nor my Department comment on the potential of individual authorisations.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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213. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the volume of recoverable gas which remain in proven fields in the Irish offshore; and the way that it compares to Irelands annual gas consumption. [23288/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Since the Kinsale, Seven Heads and Ballycotton gas fields ceased production in July 2020, the Corrib gas field has been the only producing field offshore Ireland. Prior to the commencement of production, the Corrib gas field was originally estimated to hold in the order of one trillion cubic feet of gas. Production commenced in December 2015, reaching a production plateau at the beginning of 2018. Since that point, production at Corrib has been in decline and is currently projected to cease in approximately 2030. While petroleum authorisation holders may generate their own resource estimates for their prospect, these are unproven volumes and are only an estimate of what might be present, based on the available geological and geophysical data.