The Chief Minister has said that former Infrastructure Minister, Chris Thomas, was a key reason for ‘very little progress’ with Crogga.

The company that wants to drill for natural gas off the East coast of the island last year requested a variation in the licence granted.

The decision lies with the Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall, and is yet to be made.

If approved it would allow Crogga to drill an appraisal well before carrying out a 3D Seismic Survey.

Former Infrastructure Minister, Chris Thomas, has been asking a number of questions on the matter in the House of Keys and Tynwald sittings since they resumed after the summer break.

But after being questioned by Mr Thomas, Alfred Cannan, who sacked Mr Thomas as Infrastructure Minister in July this year, said: ‘Can I remind the honourable member who is asking the questions here, he was the minister for a substantial period of time whilst all this was going on.

‘If he is so bothered about it, why didn’t he just say no 12 months ago?’

In a social media post, Mr Thomas said that he knows the Crogga information and expert recommendations, and now the public knows some too.

He said in the House of Keys that drilling with out a Seismic Survey is likely to be ‘reckless’.

But Mr Cannan responded: ‘The former minister is trying to suggest that no 3D Seismic Survey will take place, that is not what the company actually requested of him 12 plus months ago.

‘What the company actually requested was that they use the data that has been provided, which was evidenced by BP to drill an appraisal well.

‘Only on that appraisal well demonstrating the feasibility of extracting at commercial rates, gas from the reservoir, would they then ask that they undertake full 3D Seismic Survey and all the subsequent drilling proposals to be provided.’

Whilst Tim Crookall is yet to make his decision on whether permission to vary from the licence will be granted, he said that technical advisors have agreed that the existing available seismic data is of ‘sufficient quality’ to allow for the drilling of an exploratory or appraisal well.

Mr Crookall said: ‘The existing data does not sample the subsurface to the same degree as would be achieved by a modern 3D survey of the reservoir leading to the potential for the health and safety incidents brought about at the one end of the risk spectrum to the potential for the reservoir quality degradation at the wellhead at the other end of the spectrum.

‘However, although 3D will likely increase confidence in well siting and planning from both a technical and health and safety perspective, it cannot completely eliminate risk. Therefore, irrespective of any 2D or 3D decision by Department of Infrastructure, health and safety precautions for drilling, the well will remain the same in both cases.’