421 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the number of exploration licences which have been granted to companies seeking offshore oil and natural gas deposits in each of the years since 1990; the number of companies which exercised their options; the number of granted licences which did not carry out any exploration work; if recent results suggest the presence of commercial quantities of oil and/or natural gas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21857/96]

The following table sets out the number of petroleum exploration licences granted by my Department and the number of licensing options which were converted into licences in each of the years from 1990 to date: