Petroleum Licensing (Hansard, 29 June 1989)

§ Mr. Peter Morrison

I am pleased to be able to tell the House that I am today making conditional offers of 105 licence awards.

The round has been a great success. Virtually all the major companies involved on the United Kingdom continental shelf have made applications. Overall there were 414 applications for individual blocks, many more than in most previous rounds, and representing an average of 3.6 applications for each block applied for.

The high quality of the work programmes on offer was a particular feature of this round, which was evident both by the willingness of many applicants to evaluate prospects at many different geological layers, and by the average of 2.38 firm or conditional wells per block offered by the successful applicants, which is a far higher average than in any previous round.

This round was intended to give the industry the chance to make up lost ground after the difficulties occasioned by low oil prices at the time of the 10th round. These results show that our confidence in launching the round was entirely justified. The industry has responded magnificently, and its commitment will ensure that the UKCS continues to be a major international oil province well into the 21st century.

Before offering particular blocks my Department undertook extensive consultations with fishing, environmental, shipping and defence interests, and where appropriate other particular interests in the area. Special conditions, tailored to the precise circumstances of the block in question, will be included in the licences to ensure that these concerns are taken into account when undertaking operations. I have also ensured that all operators for the newly licensed blocks will be capable of meeting the necessary safety standards.

I am pleased to see that British independents have been well represented in this round. As a result of the awards some British independents will be taking on offshore operatorships for the first time. This demonstrates that our own independent sector is alive and well, and I hope that these opportunities will encourage the further growth of this sector.

A copy of the list of awards has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.