Oil and gas exploration in Northern Ireland

Any person who wants to explore for, drill for, or extract oil or gas in Northern Ireland must hold a Petroleum Licence granted by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) under the Petroleum (Production) Act (Northern Ireland) 1964. The application and licensing process is underpinned by regulations which, among other things, set out the arrangements for making and determining applications, permissible terms and conditions for granting a Petroleum Licence and the model clauses which may be incorporated in a Petroleum Licence.

On 29 June 2010 the DETI published a Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union (1) (2) announcing the availability of all of onshore Northern Ireland for Petroleum Licence applications and inviting applications by 27th August 2010. The first phase of applications in accordance with this Notice closed on 27th August 2010 and all applications received by that date are now being considered together.

Applications received on or after 30th August 2010 will be considered on a 'first come, first served' basis. Where any such application is made for an area which overlaps with an area which is the subject of an application made on or before 27th August 2010, the Department will advise the applicant accordingly and agree with the Applicant how they wish to proceed.

These web pages provide information on licensing, prospectivity, available exploration data and publications and contact information for anyone wishing to explore for oil or gas in Northern Ireland. Licence application forms and guidance for applicants are available to download from these pages or from the DETI Petroleum Licensing webpages.

Please check the updates page for latest developments.