No guarantees offshore Ireland, minister says

DUBLIN, Ireland, June 19 (UPI) -- While momentum is building for exploration off the Irish coast, the country's natural resources minister said there are no guarantees for success.

Irish Minister for Natural Resources Fergus O'Dowd said a licensing round for exploration in all of the major Atlantic basins in its territory closes September 2015.

The Irish government said the main purpose for the licensing is to determine the exploration potential and no exploration drilling will take place under the options. If companies wish to move forward, they'll be offered a 15-year frontier exploration license.

O'Dowd said there's positive momentum building off the Irish coast as the government looks to capitalize on the true potential of domestic oil and gas reserves.

"Whilst growth in exploration activity increases the chance of commercial discoveries being made, it brings no guarantees," he said in a statement Wednesday.

The government this week said it would raise taxes for future energy work from 40 percent under the current fiscal regime to a maximum of 55 percent for new licenses.

Ireland imports all of its oil and relies on foreign sources for 90 percent of its natural gas needs. No commercial discoveries have been made offshore Ireland since 1996.