HC Deb 18 July 1995 vol 263 cc1210-1W
Mr. Mans

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about further inshore petroleum licensing. [36076]

Mr. Richard Page

I am today inviting oil and gas companies to apply for licences in all unlicensed areas of onshore Great Britain in the seventh landward petroleum licensing round. This new round will encourage exploration particularly in new areas where more field may be discovered.

It is now three years since the last onshore licencing round and much has changed since then. Last month the Minister for Industry and Energy announced the new landward areas licensing regulations which will enable companies to obtain a single licence, the petroleum exploration and development licence covering all stages of activity. This round is the first opportunity for companies to apply under this new, more flexible regime put in place by the regulations.

Privatisation of British Coal has also taken place since the previous onshore licensing round so ownership of unworked coal has passed to the Coal Authority, which has a duty to have regard to the desirability of exploiting coalbed methane where that is economically viable. This change will assist those companies seeking to exploit coalbed methane and I am very keen that the potential of this new source of energy should be realised.

Holders of existing exploration, appraisal and production licences can also apply to convert their existing licences to the new petroleum exploration and development licences to take advantage of this opportunity to extend the duration of their licences. In order to obtain a new licence, the holders of these existing licences will need to provide to my Department an acceptable programme of work which they will undertake in exploring for and developing onshore fields in their licensed area.

Application for the seventh round will need to be considered carefully, in particular the proposed work programmes, before I am able to announce licence awards.

I will now publish in the Official Journal of the European Communities, a formal announcement giving the detailed terms for the seventh round, including the format of applications, the information required with the application and the basis on which awards will be made. This is the first time the Official Journal has been used to announce a licensing round and follows our implementation of the EU hydrocarbons licensing directive at the end of June. The closing date for applications will be announced in the Official Journal.

I will place copies of this announcement in the Libraries of both Houses.