§ Mr. MerchantTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the sixth landward licensing round.
145W
§ Mr. EggarI have today announced the conditional award of 22 new exploration licences for blocks in England, Wales and Scotland. The licences allow companies to search and drill for petroleum, subject to the requirements of the planning system and the technical approval of my Department.
Details of the awards have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
I am particularly encouraged to see in this round a strong continuing interest in coal-bed methane exploration by a growing number of companies. Most are new to the United Kingdom licensing scene, and bring valuable experience from coal-bed methane operations in the United States. The methods of working are significantly different from those used for conventional oil and gas exploration. The prospects for coal-bed methane have yet to be fully tested here, but it has been successfully developed in the United States and already represents about 17 per cent. of its recoverable gas reserves. If it can be successfully exploited here, it could represent a very valuable addition to our future energy supplies. The opportunities which we are now providing for licensees to test the prospects for coal-bed methane are therefore of especial importance.
The new licences allow companies to conduct seismic operations and test drill for oil and gas subject to all necessary planning permission and landowners' or occupiers' consent and, where operations involve the penetration of coal-seams, permission from British Coal. No seismic or drilling operations will be allowed until companies have provided me with evidence that they have received any necessary permission from the mineral planning authority.