Sir Hector MunroTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether he has any proposals for a further round of offshore production licensing.
§ Mr. ParkinsonI propose to launch an 11th round of offshore licensing as soon as the customary consultations about the detailed arrangements have been completed. As in recent rounds, I propose to invite applications for a range of mature and frontier blocks selected from various areas of the United Kingdom continental shelf. I expect to offer a larger number of blocks for companies to consider than in the last round. The aim once again will be to consolidate on recent exploration successes and to provide potential for further discoveries which can be developed to replace existing fields as they become depleted.
I hope to license blocks from the following broad areas:
180W
Area Quadrants Northern North Sea 2, 3, 8, 9, 210 and 211 Faroes/Shetland area 204, 205, 206, 208, 209, 213 and 214 Hebridean Platform 154, 165, 166 Orkney/Shetland area 5, 6 and 7
Area Quadrants Moray Firth 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18 and 19 Central North Sea 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 29 and 30 Forth Approaches 25 and 26 Southern North Sea 41, 42, 43, 44, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53 and 54 English Channel 97, 98, 99 and 100 Cardigan Bay Basin 107 Irish Sea/Manx Basin 109, 110 and 113 The quadrants are given as a guide only. I envisage offering some blocks from the majority of these quadrants, but not necessarily from all of them and not necessarily all the unlicensed blocks in any particular quadrant. In the 10th round, all awards were made at the discretion of the Secretary of State for Energy and I expect largely the same method to be adopted for the forthcoming round.
The terms of the licences will be along the same general lines as in the 10th round, although I am proposing to introduce some changes designed to speed up the turnover of exploration acreage which remains unworked for long periods. In the coming weeks, I shall be discussing my proposals with the oil industry and with other interested bodies. The timing of the formal invitation to apply will be determined in the light of the outcome of these consultations.