Department of Energy and Climate Change — January 2012
Energy Minister Charles Hendry set out his hopes for a
“prosperous 2012” in the oil and gas sector, as he awarded 46 new
licences to explore for hydrocarbons in the North Sea.
These awards were made as part of the 26th offshore oil
and gas licensing round, which was originally announced in October
2010. This licensing round awarded 144 licences but held back a number
of blocks from award due to the need for further assessment on Special
Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs).
Charles Hendry, Minister for Energy, said:
“Oil and gas remains crucial to the UK economy —
contributing around 2% to the country’s GDP. Our innovative licensing
system continues to make the UK one of the most attractive places to do
business.
“These further licences have been subject to rigorous
examination, and we are now satisfied that initial exploration can go
ahead.
“These continued high levels of interest, and the award
today of these licences, gives me yet more reason to be optimistic for a
prosperous 2012 for the UK oil and gas sector.”
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