Jim O'Keeffe
Question:12 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Energy the number of tons of oil at present stored at Whiddy Island; the total capacity of the terminal; and whether he foresees utilisation of its total capacity in the near future.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Whiddy Island Oil Terminal.
Jim O'Keeffe
Question:66 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Energy if he will outline the current user of the oil terminal at Whiddy Island; the amount of oil stored there; the number of employees working there; the future plans for the facility; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Mary Flaherty
Question:91 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for Energy the active negotiations, if any, he has in progress relating to the Whiddy Oil Terminal and its future use and development; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 12, 66 and 91 together
The oil terminal at Whiddy has a total storage capacity of over one million tonnes. It is operated by Bantry Terminals Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Irish National Petroleum Corporation. During the Gulf crisis in 1990, 205,000 tonnes of crude oil were placed in storage in the terminal to cater for any shortages which might occur. Those stocks still remain in tanks at Whiddy. This crude, together with companies and Whitegate stocks, ensure that we meet our international obligations to hold 90 day's stocks of oil.
Works aimed at refurbishing five tanks at the terminal are ongoing at present. The cost of this work will approach nearly £2 million, and it has qualified for grant approval of up to 50 per cent expenditure from the European Commission, under the PERIFRA programme which is designed to assist peripheral regions in actions of an exceptional nature arising from the Gulf crisis during 1990. I am informed by INPC that 45 people are employed at Whiddy at present, of whom 25 are employed on the refurbishment.
I am making every effort to attract suitable investment which would enable reactivation of Whiddy on a permanent basis. I should add that the serious discussions about which I was asked referred to Whitegate.
I thank the Minister for the information. He will appreciate my concern is to see Whiddy operate at 100 per cent capacity. Can the Minister inform me if the future of Whiddy is involved in the Whitegate negotiations which are at present under way? Are there separate negotiations in relation to Whiddy? Does he see an independent existence for Whiddy, divorced from the future of Whitegate? Can he give me any realistic hope that Whiddy will be operating on a 100 per cent basis in the short to medium term?
My preferred option would be to find an investor who would upgrade Whitegate and utilise the Whiddy storage facility in the one project. On the other hand, if an investor is interested in only one of the facilities, then that will be carefully examined. The discussions referred to earlier, in which we had been involved for some months past, related to a proposal to upgrade the Whitegate Oil Refinery and were not directly related to Whiddy. My officials, Bantry Terminals personnel and INPC personnel are involved at all times in discussions with prospective investors and have always sought to interest them in Whiddy. There have been some discussions in the past year where proposals were brought forward which would have merely entailed utilising. Whiddy as a storage facility. The situation that obtains at present is that we are continuing to seek a serious investor in Whiddy Island.
I am happy to see the future for Whiddy associated with Whitegate but if, as it appears, the discussions at present deal solely with Whitegate that would leave Whiddy out in the cold. Would the Minister see merit in undertaking a separate marketing operation in relation to Whiddy to see whether we can find a future for Whiddy independent of Whitegate?
I hope I did not give that impression because we are seeking a separate investor, if such exists, who would be merely interested in Whiddy. We are seeking to market both together if possible and we are continuing to try to market both singularly in the event that we cannot find an investor interested in taking on both.
That disposes of questions for today.