Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 November 2013
135. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in view of the positive reports on the potential to bring oil onshore from the Barryroe and Dalkey fields, his views on the recent report on strategic requirements for oil refining which concluded it is not necessary to retain Whitegate in operation. [49666/13]
View answerWhilst there has been some welcome upturn in the level of interest in exploration off our coast in recent years, the reality is that the only commercial discoveries of hydrocarbons made in the Irish offshore to date are the three producing gas fields in the Kinsale area and the Corrib gas field. There have been no commercial discoveries of oil to date. Despite the low level of commercial discoveries to date, working petroleum systems are known to exist in many of Ireland’s offshore basins, as demonstrated by a number of non-commercial discoveries as well as other oil and gas indicators such as hydrocarbon shows in wells. Nevertheless, the oil and gas potential of the Irish offshore is largely unproven and is likely to remain so until there is a significant and sustained increase in the number of exploration wells being drilled from the current levels of 1 to 2 wells per year.
When I published the “Study of the Strategic Case for Oil Refining Requirements on the Island of Ireland” in July this year, I noted that security of oil supply will continue to be of central importance to the Irish economy and society into the medium term. While the study indicated that the existing oil import facilities on the island of Ireland taken as a whole offer a robust infrastructure, I outlined that the Government’s primary conclusion on the strategic case for oil refining is that the presence of an operational refinery on the island of Ireland provides flexibility enhancing the options available to the State in the event of an oil supply disruption by providing an alternative source of product thus mitigating a complete reliance on product imports. As such, the continued operation of the Whitegate refinery on a commercial basis is highly desirable. An operating refinery also adds value to the Irish economy and provides significant employment. I further outlined that in light of the Government’s primary conclusion, we had agreed that my Department should liaise with the Irish oil industry and appropriate public bodies to determine available policy options that might facilitate the commercial future of refining in Ireland. I will revert to Government for further consideration of these options in due course.
