Mary Flaherty
Ceist:4 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for Energy if he will make a statement on the progress made in finding a suitable investor for the Whitegate Oil Refinery.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Whitegate and Whiddy Island Oil Facilities.
Pat Rabbitte
Ceist:13 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Energy if he will outline the latest position regarding the proposals to develop Whitegate Oil Refinery and the oil storage facilities at Whiddy Island, in County Cork; if the decision, arising from the Gulf crisis, to store oil in the tanks at Whiddy has any impact on these plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Patrick McCartan
Ceist:17 Mr. McCartan asked the Minister for Energy if the Government have considered a proposal from the Ecuadoran Ministry regarding the possible supply of Ecuadoran oil and possible joint development of Whitegate; if it is intended to hold discussions with the Ecuadoran Government on this matter, in view of the current threat to oil supplies from the Gulf, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Roger T. Garland
Ceist:19 Mr. Garland asked the Minister for Energy the plans he has for the future of Whiddy Island Oil Terminal; whether he intends to reinstate the terminal; if he has any plans for an oil refinery at this or any other location; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Séamus Pattison
Ceist:20 Mr. Pattison asked the Minister for Energy if he will outline the Government's attitude to the offer from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to maintain a minimum of 400,000 tons of crude oil on Whiddy Island, as strategic stocks under the effective control of the Irish Government, for a minimum period of 20 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Jim O'Keeffe
Ceist:23 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Energy whether the future of the oil terminal at Whiddy Island is part of the current negotiations on Whitegate; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Jim O'Keeffe
Ceist:30 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Energy whether negotiations on Whiddy Island, separate to those being carried on in relation to Whitegate, are under way.
Paul Connaughton
Ceist:31 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Energy the progress which has been made on the proposed upgrading of the Whitegate Oil Refinery in Cork; the range of options recommended by the task force; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 4, 13, 17, 19, 20, 23, 30 and 31 together.
The upgrading of the Whitegate Oil Refinery and the reactivation of the Whiddy Terminal have been at the centre of oil supply planning for some time. Opportunities are being sought which might lead to an oil producer or an international oil company participating in the proposed development of the refinery and the terminal. Discussions have been taking place over the last year with a number of parties who had expressed a firm interest in the facilities. The Government are willing to consider proposals involving both facilities or one of the facilities, and discussions have been carried out on that basis. Apart from the upgrading of Whitegate, I have no plans for a refinery at any other location.
Discussions with a consortium which included Nigerian interests were terminated. This decision was taken in the light of all the information available and analyses made including independent advice available to the Government in this matter.
There has been no direct proposal received from the Ecuadoran Government for either a crude supply deal or for the upgrading of the Whitegate Refinery.
The task force established by the Government to identify all realistic investment options for the facilities at Whiddy and Whitegate evaluated the technical, economic and financial aspects of the options identified. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, I am not in a position to give details of these options. While more than one option for an upgrade of Whitegate was identified by the task force the preferred option is for a project which would enable Whitegate to handle a wide range of crudes and to have cracking facilities to increase yields of white products (petrol and gas oil) to the expected higher future standards. No valid project, even if it differed somewhat from the ideal, would be ignored; it would be fully examined.
The decision to store over 200,000 tonnes of crude oil at Whiddy was a crucial element in our response to the Gulf crisis. It does not have any impact on our long term plans for Whiddy and Whitegate, other than emphasising the strategic importance of the INPC and of our oil storage and refining facilities.
On a point of order——
It does not seem necessary to make a point of order at this juncture.
I think it is. I would like to protest very strongly against the Minister for Energy. There is no connection——
That is not a point of order, Deputy. Please resume your seat. The Chair is trying to conserve as much time as possible to dispose of Priority Questions.
Do I gather from the Minister's reply that, despite all the speculation of recent weeks, what he is effectively reporting to this House is no progress, no live interest at the moment and Whitegate continuing to remain at 60 per cent of its capacity?
In reply to the latter part of the question, Whitegate has been producing at 100 per cent of its capacity at my request since the trouble started in the Middle East last August.
That is not my information.
The Deputy is not correct to come to the conclusion that there are no interested parties. Discussions are ongoing and I am not in a position to give the House any further information in that matter other than to confirm that we are in consultation with interested parties in regard to the future of Whitegate.
I am not very reassured by the Minister's statements in that these discussions seem to be endlessly ongoing. In relation to the Ecuadoran interest in the project, there seems to have been at least a breakdown in communication. Does the Minister feel that he has any role in reopening that line of inquiry? Has the Minister looked at all the options in the context of international expertise to make sure that he has access to all possible interested parties? Are there any extra resources which he could put into the area of marketing this internationally?
I would like to inform the House that the discussions we have entered into with different parties will only end when a satisfactory deal can be completed from the point of view of the national interest here. Whatever time it takes to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion will be taken. I will not rush this just to arrive at a decision. It is a very important facility, as has been highlighted during the past seven months, and it is my intention to act in the best interest of the economy and the people in the matter. The Government have decided that they will only deal with principals in regard to proposals for upgrading or investment in the Whitegate and Whiddy facilities. There has been no approach from principals in relation to the Ecuadoran Government.
Question No. 5, the remaining Priority Question to be taken, must be taken now.