LONDON, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Waters off the southwestern coast of the United Kingdom were left out of a licensing round because of potential environmental issues, a British official said.
British Energy Minister Charles Hendry announced plans to move ahead with a licensing round for offshore acreage. He said the British oil and natural gas industry was vital to the economy, supporting around 350,000 jobs and spending of around $22 billion per year.
Nevertheless, blocks in the deep waters off the southwestern coast were excluded because of what Hendry's ministry described as inadequate data, "including data on potentially vulnerable components of the marine environment."
"Licensing of the blocks not currently included in this round may be revisited in the future, as more information on those blocks becomes available," the British Department of Energy and Climate Change said in a statement.
Hendry said, however, that tapping into domestic hydrocarbon reserves made good sense as the British economy struggles to emerge from recession.
"The licensing of new areas forms an essential part of this process enabling the exploration necessary to ensure we tap into, and fully realize, our remaining reserves, which could equate to around 20 billion barrels or perhaps more," he said.
