U.K. details offshore frontier license round

Dec. 18, 1995
U.K. 17th Round Blocks chart (28575 bytes) U.K. Department of Trade and Industry is offering 68 licenses covering 275 frontier blocks under its 17th offshore licensing round. The block groups, or tranches, are in areas with little oil and gas activity to date. Most lie west of Scotland, with some off Southwest England, in the northern North Sea, and off eastern England. Richard Page, junior energy minister, told parliament that companies have a year to prepare their license applications. The

U.K. 17th Round Blocks chart (28575 bytes) U.K. Department of Trade and Industry is offering 68 licenses covering 275 frontier blocks under its 17th offshore licensing round.

The block groups, or tranches, are in areas with little oil and gas activity to date. Most lie west of Scotland, with some off Southwest England, in the northern North Sea, and off eastern England.

Richard Page, junior energy minister, told parliament that companies have a year to prepare their license applications. The deadline for applications is Nov. 27, 1996. Awards will be announced in spring 1997.

We are entering real frontier territory, with some of the tranches nearly as far west as Rockall, said Page. Tranches vary from two to 13 blocks, depending on perceived prospectivity, location, and water depth. I am offering blocks in groups because relatively little is known about the areas being offered. Forty-one tranches are in the Rockall trough, which lies east of Rockall and southwest of recent discoveries in the West of Shetland area, said Page. The trough has been lightly explored but has potential for significant discoveries, he added.

Tranches are also offered to the southwest of England, said Page, to the north of Scotland and off the east coast of England. Some are in areas that have not been explored before or were once considered unprospective.

The fact that these blocks are now of interest to the industry shows how new technology and ideas can challenge long established perceptions.

The year of preparation time is intended to give companies a chance to acquire seismic data during the 1996 weather window, said Page, and to prepare and analyze the data before making commitments.

Also, companies will have 9 years to complete work programs under 17th round licenses rather than the usual 6 years, said Page. I am asking companies to commit to a program for the first 3 years only, because of the uncertainties of exploring such new areas.

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