The Department of Communications Climate Action & Environment on December 17 2019 published a Policy Statement that sets out a vision for natural gas in the Irish Offshore as a key component of Ireland’s energy mix as we transition to a low carbon economy.

It includes:

The underpinning principles for petroleum exploration and production in the broader context of the Government's Climate Action Plan;

The future development management framework for the exploration and production of natural gas, as a transition fuel, in Ireland's offshore; and,

The energy security rationale for natural gas, including:

• ​​The need for back-up capacity for renewable power generation via lower CO2 emitting fossil fuels (natural gas);
• The impact of the reduction of peat, coal and oil use on gas demand;
• Ireland’s increasing reliance on imports given the decline of current indigenous supplies, also mirrored by a growing reliance at EU-level on imports (74% from outside the EU and growing).

Publication Documents

Policy Statement Petroleum Exploration and Production Activities

Published 17/12/2019 / Adobe PDF / 718 Kb