Seán Kyne T.D., Minister of State for Natural Resources, on Friday announced the offer of 14 new Licensing Options in the Irish offshore following the conclusion of the 2015 Atlantic Margin Licensing Round.

These awards are the second phase of awards under the Licensing Round and follow on from the first phase of awards which were made in February of this year.

A total of 28 new Licensing Options have now been awarded under the 2015 Licensing Round. The companies awarded Licensing Options will carry out work programmes that will deepen understanding of the petroleum potential of Ireland’s offshore, Ireland’s Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources said.

Minister Kyne said, “The industry response to the 2015 Round has been very positive, with a total of 43 applications for Licensing Options received by the deadline last September. The response to the 2015 Atlantic Margin Licensing Round is by far the largest number of applications received in any licensing round held in the Irish offshore. At a time of very low oil prices, the strong interest in the Round is very positive.”

He added that, “Industry’s response to the Round demonstrates the perceived positive prospectivity of Ireland’s offshore and highlights confidence in the Irish regulatory process and the ability of industry to do business in Ireland.”

The offer of awards involves eleven companies, AzEire Petroleum, Capricorn Ireland, Europa Oil and Gas, Faroe Petroleum, Petrel Resources, Predator Oil and Gas, Providence Resources, Ratio Petroleum and Scotia Oil and Gas, all as Operators, along with Theseus who will partner Predator, and Sosina Exploration who will partner Providence.