Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:07 pm on 4 June 2019.
Can I thank Joyce Watson for the consistent interest that she has taken in this matter, and the way that she has kept Welsh Ministers informed of local concerns? I'm glad to have been able to set out the Welsh Government's position. It's inevitable, Llywydd, and right that our commitment to decarbonisation means that fossil fuels must be at the bottom of the energy hierarchy here in Wales, rather than as in the policy of the UK Government, which is to maximise recovery of oil and gas from the UK continental shelf, including Wales. Indeed, it has placed a statutory obligation on the Oil and Gas Authority to achieve exactly that. Now, that is not the position of the Welsh Government. More than one Government's interest are at play in relation to proposed seismic surveys of the Cardigan bay and St George's channel area, but our position is, I think, as clear as it can be, and I'm very glad to have been able to have put it on the record again this afternoon.