§ Mr. MillerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress PILOT has made in identifying clusters of petroleum discoveries with potential for development. [149588]
§ Mr. HainThe formal invitation for companies to apply for licenses for blocks 113/28 and 113/29 in the Eastern Irish Sea has now appeared in theOfficial Journal. These blocks contain gas discoveries that have been identified by PILOT'S Undeveloped Discoveries Workgroup, as having potential for development. I am pleased that the efforts of the Workgroup have led to this invitation being made.
There is tremendous potential on the UKCS for the development of existing oil and gas discoveries. The Workgroup has made good progress in identifying a number of discovery 'clusters' that will benefit from being developed as a group rather than being assessed as individual projects.
468WThe decision to offer these blocks for licence was taken after consultation with a number of organisations including the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and English Nature. In the event that licences are awarded, activities carried out under them will be subject to a separate approvals process that will take account of the requirements of relevant environmental legislation.