Let the good times roll (again). Recoverable oil has been
found in two areas around the Irish coast. A valid excuse for the Irish to don
stetson hats and adopt a smug swagger perhaps?
It is after all the first time, after many years of
prospecting, that a well has been discovered which is, in the words of Tony
O'Reilly, chief executive of Providence Resources plc, “a huge success which
has exceeded expectations”. The Ballyroe well contains about 280 million
barrels worth of oil.
In terms of discoveries this is tiny. Global output/demand
is around 85 million barrels per day,
so 280 million barrels is small fry. It will no doubt provide a decent income
but for how long? So maybe not really a
good enough reason for ten gallon hats and cigars just yet.
This too seems to be the jaundiced opinion of people around Cork city and county to
the Ballyroe find. After too many “false dawns” and the abysmal record of
various Irish governments in making the most of such natural resource finds as
there have been, people are understandably sceptical. “Our oil and gas may as
well be off the coast of Brazil
for all the good it will do us,” was one weary opinion.
The truth of the matter is that however large or small the
latest find actually is, and some estimates put the find of recoverable oil at
over a billion barrels, the people of Ireland have benefited not at all
from previous exploitation of these kinds of discoveries.
Contrast with Norway ,
a country that can bear some comparison with Ireland in terms of population,
with an agricultural heartland, a fairly comparable colonial history and also
historically poor with a legacy of emigration. Over the course of the latter
half of the 20th century, Norway has pulled itself out of
poverty to become the second most prosperous country in the world, while at the
same time managing to achieve an enviable record of economic and social
equality.
The difference? It has made sure that income from its
huge oil reserves has been paid into the exchequer and used for the good of
Norwegian society as a whole.
Not so the government of Ireland which has altruistically
simply given
it all away! The tax rate is so low as to amount to an almost Christ like
degree of charity. It is not certain that Christ would entirely endorse a
policy which lines the pockets of a few and enrich the likes of Exxon and Shell,
however.
To the delight or consternation of various strands of
opinion, a well has also been discovered 10 kilometres off the coast of South
Co. Dublin near to the well-heeled village
of Dalkey
The oil will be brought ashore and refined elsewhere. It is
not even certain that any work would be provided to Irish workers in its
extraction. It is also as unlikely that environmental considerations will be
taken into account. The consequences of a spill so close
to Dublin Bay
All this is not without precedent, the very long-running Shell to Sea
controversy provides an instructive example. The profits from the gas currently
being extracted by Shell from the Corrib sea-bed off the west coast of Ireland are
repatriated and the destruction of the farm lands and delicate eco-systems of
the region is the only legacy of the local people.
There could be demands that the Irish government tear up all
the past agreements and adopt the Venezuelan model. Indeed, such demands have
been made, but so far have fallen on deaf ears and are not likely to be
seriously considered. However, even that is to expect that business will continue
more or less as usual.
The wider global issue is of course our continuing failure
to use the opportunity of the crises that face us, climate change and resource
depletion among others, to constructively re-think our entire relationship to
oil and other fossil fuels and to adopt sustainable methods of energy use for
the good of all our futures.
Fiona Harrington
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