Martin Ferris
Question:192 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the projected demand for gas over the next decade; and the way in which it is envisaged to meet the demand. [20929/04]
View answerThursday, 8 July 2004
Questions (198)
Written answers
Under section 19 of the Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act, 2002, the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, is required to prepare and publish an annual forecast of capacity, flows and customer demand on Ireland's natural gas system over a seven year period. The 2004 capacity statement will be published in the coming months and will include a range of possible demand scenarios that may be expected to arise over the coming years.
In recent times, Ireland has developed a high standard of security of gas supply, through robust interconnection with the UK, to ensure sufficient importation capacity from external sources. We now have two gas interconnectors, with the second — IC2 — ensuring security of gas supply to 2025 and beyond by bringing Ireland's security of supply status on par with countries such as France, Italy, Sweden and Denmark, all of which have duplicated sub-sea pipelines to ensure the availability of alternative routes of natural gas supply.
Ireland continues to monitor developments in the UK market closely and this will inform the further development of security of supply policy. The Kinsale field continues to provide Ireland with an indigenous supply of gas and with potential supplies coming from the Corrib and Seven Heads fields, Ireland's import demands may be reduced in the coming years.
I am conscious that Ireland's demand for natural gas is growing, particularly for new power generation. My Department will be keeping this under review, including the question of liquefied natural gas, LNG, in the context of ensuring that we continue to have a prudent mix of fuels and supply sources that will enable the needs of the economy to be met without compromising energy competitiveness or security of supply.