UK Government launches 26th Licensing Round for oil and gas explorers
27 January 2010
A new round of exploration licensing for oil and gas acreage off the UK coast was today launched by the UK Government. The Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Hunt, said the 26th offshore licensing round would help to secure the future of the UK's oil and gas industry.
For the first time since 1998, the round offers blocks in all areas of the UK seas for new licensing. The blocks on offer include a number relinquished under the Government and industry’s 'Fallow Initiative', which stimulates activity on blocks where there had been no significant activity for three years.
While the DECC declined to give a firm date for announcing licence winners, the department has set a deadline of April 28, 2010 for applications to be in. It is expected to take two to three months to assess those applications before announcing the results.
Lord Hunt said: “This record-breaking 26th Round includes areas of the Continental Shelf not as yet explored, and will provide a new boost to activity in the basin. The round will help to secure the future of the UK's oil and gas industry which still provides three quarters of our energy needs and some 350,000 jobs.”
Lord Hunt emphasised that the 26th Round aimed to realised the remaining potential of fields around the UK, where estimates suggest there are still around 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent, or possibly more.
Lord Hunt continued: “As we make the transition to a low carbon future, we must ensure we have secure energy supplies by making the best use of our indigenous energy resources in a safe and environmentally sound way.”
Fourteen blocks that were classified as "fallow" in 2009 have either been fully, or partly, relinquished in time to be on offer in this round. In addition, the majority of areas licensed in the 1st Round in 1964 that have not been allowed extensions have been relinquished and are included for offer in the 26th Round.
The Government has also introduced a new Frontier licence with an extended nine year exploration term for the West of Scotland area, which aims to encourage oil and gas exploration in an area in which geological data is as yet scant.
In deciding which areas to offer for licensing, DECC conducted a thorough Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of UK waters. The department has since accepted the SEA’s recommendations that licensing may proceed subject to some areas being withheld from licensing for the moment due to lack of information.
Before any licence awards are made, an environmental assessment under the Habitats Directive will be carried out.
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