merrion street

The Minister for Natural Resources, Fergus O Dowd T.D., welcomed the commencement by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) of a new function as the independent safety regulator for the upstream petroleum industry.

Over the past two years, the CER has been working to establish a new Petroleum Safety Framework as required by the Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Act, 2010. Minister O Dowd said that “following commencement earlier this week of the final provisions of the 2010 Petroleum Safety Act, the CER is now ready to accept safety case applications with respect to licensed petroleum activities. This is a significant milestone in terms of modernising Ireland’s regulatory framework for petroleum exploration and extraction. The Minister added that this creates for Ireland a safety system compatible with best international practice, in terms of taking a safety case approach and providing increased transparency in the regulatory framework.”

Minister O Dowd further commented that this is a measure that will be welcomed by both industry and the public.