§ Mr. MillerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will announce the 9th Round of Landward oil and gas licensing. [108813]
§ Mrs. LiddellI am inviting applications for Petroleum Exploration and Development licences over unlicensed areas in Great Britain in the 9th Round of Landward Licensing.
The closing date for applications has been set as 5 May. I hope to be able to make an announcement about licence awards as soon as possible after that once all applications have been thoroughly considered and assessed.
While much smaller than its offshore counterpart, there is an active oil and gas industry searching for and exploiting Britain's onshore petroleum resources. The award of licences will enable companies to explore for and exploit the petroleum resources of Great Britain, which include conventional oil and gas, mine vent gas and coal bed methane trapped in coal seams.
668WI hope this current invitation to apply for petroleum licences will sustain the momentum created by its predecessors and allow further discoveries to be made.