Tender process opened for offshore gas exploration
Licences to survey, explore and potentially drill through the Island's seabed in the hunt for natural gas could be handed out by Manx government this summer.
The Department of Economic Development is conducting a tender process to identify bidders interested in creating gas wells in the Island's territorial waters.
Director of Energy Policy at the DED, Dr Ken Milne says move follows Tynwald's offshore energy strategy, approved in 2014, and insists the drilling is safe.
An online petition has been launched by Isle of Man Friends of the Earth protesting against any offshore drilling for fossil fuels.
Dr Milne however says a lucrative gas well could bring prosperity to the Island:
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