197 Deputy Michael D. Higgins asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the terms of any contract in respect of oil and gas exploration signed in 1987 (details supplied); if the full terms of any such contract are publicly available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38267/10]

The table below details the five petroleum authorisations granted by the Minister for Energy in 1987:

In 1987, Ireland followed the lead of other countries such as the UK and Norway moved away from a royalty based payments system to a tax based system. The exploration licences issued in 1987 were subject to the provisions of Ireland's Exclusive Offshore Licensing Terms published in 1975, amended in November 1980 and in 1987 by the deletion of Sections 4(1)(b), 9(2), 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29 and the final sentence of Section 26(4). There were no commercial discoveries arising from the five authorisations granted in 1987 and consequently none of the licensees benefited from the deletions referred to above.