ENERGY companies are being invited to bid to explore 17 seabed sections of the Irish Sea for pockets of oil and gas.
The government has launched its 30th round of offshore licensing, which could offer opportunities to drill for oil and gas in the sea around the coast of the UK.
Out of the 813 blocks available around the country, 17 are in the immediate vicinity of Barrow, close to Centrica's two platforms in the East Irish Sea which produce gas sent onshore at the terminals off Rampside Road.
Centrica has been producing gas in the East Irish Sea for more than 30 years and it is believed there is a further 300 billion cubic feet of gas still in place under the seabed.
In May, Centrica announced plans to invest £60m in its offshore East Irish Sea operations over a nine-month period, which includes refurbishing the two 5,000-tonne platforms.
The work is expected to boost output from the fields which already produce enough gas to heat 1.5million UK homes.
The 30th offshore licensing round is open until November 21 with decisions expected to be made in the second quarter of 2018.
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