§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish in the Official Report the letter of 9 October 1984 from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the hon. Member for Linlithgow about Firstland Oil and Gas plc.
§ Mr. RentonYes. It is as follows
In his Written Answer to your Parliamentary Question on 23 July about the licence issued by the Falkland Islands Government to Firstland Oil and Gas plc for on-shore oil prospecting (Official 681W Report, Vol 64 c. 507), Ray Whitney undertook to write to you once we had received precise details of the terms of the licence. These have now arrived.The licence was issued on 19 July and covers an area of about 136,000 acres owned by Falkland Islands Properties Limited, and known as Douglas Station. Its terms may be summarised as follows. It confers on Firstland Oil and Gas plc the exclusive right, subject to compliance with detailed terms and conditions, to explore for and win oil and gas from the area for four years. A work programme with which the licensee must comply is stipulated. The Civil Commissioner may annually renew the licence for a maximum of a further three years, subject to the agreement of a further work programme. Thereafter, the licensee may be granted an oil mining lease. Rents and any royalities due from oil and gas discovered are payable to the Falkland Islands Government.