THE Environment minister has said the handling of the proposal for an exploratory oil drill at Woodburn Forest in Carrickfergus "may not have been textbook perfect" but that a different outcome would have been "unlikely."
Contractors moved onto the site, managed by InfraStrata, amid ongoing protests and legal wrangles last week.
Those objecting to the drill are concerned about the potential impact on water supplies provided by Woodburn reservoir to thousands of homes across Co Antrim.
The Irish News reported last week that the Department of the Environment (DoE) gave InfraStrata permission to carry out an exploratory borehole by default after ignoring a request for its views when the company submitted notification in August 2013.
Following the story, the minister Mark H Durkan announced a two-month consultation period as part of a review into legislation covering development rights for oil and gas exploration.
Mr Durkan told The Irish News: "The handling of the Woodburn drill case by the various authorities may not have been textbook perfect, but perfect handling is unlikely to have delivered any different outcome.
"The fact that DoE took longer than the recommended time to process the case is not relevant given the simple fact that at no time was an environmental statement deemed necessary."
He added: "At the outset, permission for exploratory drilling was properly authorised by DETI (the department of enterprise, trade and investment) and DRD/ Northern Ireland Water were, and are, satisfied that there is no threat of pollution of the local water supply."
The environment minister said that as "no planning application is involved" there is no current role for DoE and "no right to call-in the matter from the council."
He said: "If there is a subsequent intention by InfraStrata to extract oil at Woodburn then this will require a comprehensive application which will be subject to the full rigours of the planning system."
Mr Durkan added: "DoE will then have the option to call in the application as 'regionally significant'."
Asked for his own view of the Woodburn project, the SDLP Foyle MLA said: "I have demonstrated in my decisions and actions previously, on fracking for example, that protection of the environment is paramount."
The minister, who met some of the protesters at the SDLP conference at the weekend, said he wanted to "discourage some of the unhelpful claims" about potential dangers to the water supply arising from an oil extraction.
"I would discourage some of the unhelpful claims being made about danger to the water supply which are wholly inconsistent with the reassurances given by Northern Ireland Water," he said.
Exploratory drilling is expected to begin in May, the company has said.
Tomorrow a High Court judge will hear an application for an injunction sought by InfraStrata to stop alleged trespassing by protesters.
