Uchenna Izundu
International Editor
ABERDEEN, Nov. 11 -- The UK government will publish the results of its 24th licensing round "within weeks," Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks said in Aberdeen during a conference by the UK Offshore Operators' Association.
The Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), which issues the licenses, is carrying out further environmental checks against the 147 applications received from 121 companies, he said. The round closed June 16 (OGJ, Aug. 7, 2006, p. 37).
Operators at the conference had hoped Wick would report bidding results.
A DTI spokesman told OGJ that the agency has sought comments on environmental issues raised by its licenses as stipulated by the European Union's recently clarified Habitat Directive.
"We have to make sure that our licenses comply with this directive and we hope to wrap up the responses to the report within the next couple of weeks," he said.
Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].
