§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what environmental impact assessment will be required before any further oil or gas exploration, appraisal or production takes place in block 107/1 off Bardsey Island; and if it will be made publicly available;
(2) if he required a full environmental impact assessment to be conducted before exploratory drilling for oil and gas was allowed off Bardsey Island; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what monitoring his Department is conducting to determine the environmental impact of the oil and gas exploratory drilling operation off Bardsey Island, Wales;
(4) what advice was received by his Department from the Nature Conservancy Council concerning the proposed licensing of blocks 107/1 and 107/6 off Bardsey Island, Wales during the 12th round of oil and gas production licensing.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 15 December 1992]: Licences awarded in offshore licensing rounds allow the licensee to conduct seismic survey work in the licence area. Further approvals are required before the licensee may drill in the area on either an exploration or an appraisal basis. There is no statutory requirement for an environmental impact assessment—EIA—to be conducted prior to exploration or appraisal drilling, but additional approvals and an EIA are required before a licensee may develop a viable find for commercial production. EIAs will be made publicly available.
In considering whether to offer blocks 107/1 and 107/6, off Bardsey Island, the then Department of Energy took full account of the concerns of the Nature Conservancy Council—NCC—regarding the ecological status of the area. On balance, the evidence did not justify its total exclusion from hydrocarbons exploration, but it was agreed that the blocks should be offered subject to special conditions attached to each licence. The Department of Energy accepted all the special conditions proposed by the NCC and attached these to the licences.
The licensees have observed these conditions. In addition, although no formal EIA was required before exploratory drilling was allowed off Bardsey Island, they commissioned and published an independent appraisal of the area. In consultation with local environmental advisers, such as the Countryside Council for Wales, they have also commissioned independent monitoring of the environmental impact of the well currently being drilled in block 107/01.