Peter Barry
Ceist:178 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Energy if he will outline the subhead in the Book of Estimates under which the expenditure for oil purchased for storage at Whiddy oil terminal is covered.
Written Answers. - Oil Storage at Whiddy Oil Terminal.
Peter Barry
Ceist:181 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Energy if he will outline his proposals for the surplus or deficit which emerges when oil stored at Whiddy is eventually sold.
Peter Barry
Ceist:183 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Energy if he will outline the subhead in the Book of Estimates which covers the cost of storing oil in Whiddy oil terminal.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 178, 181 and 183 together. Should a surplus or deficit arise on disposal of the crude oil stored at Whiddy oil terminal it will be recovered through price mechanism.
Expenditure and costs associated with storage of crude at Whiddy are being met by the Irish National Petroleum Corporation Ltd; they are not, therefore, provided for in the Book of Estimates.
Peter Barry
Ceist:182 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Energy if he will outline the current commercial cost per month of storing oil at Whiddy oil terminal.
The Whiddy oil terminal is State owned and has not been used for commercial storage of oil for a number of years. It was, however, reactivated in September 1990 to store additional reserves of crude oil as a safeguard against any shortfall which could have arisen as a result of the Gulf situation.
Apart from initial preparatory costs, notably improved safety measures, and staffing expenses, which would have arisen in any event, the costs associated with the present storage of crude at Whiddy are less than $1 per tonne per month. There is, in addition, the interest cost on the loans cost of the stocks in question. These costs compare favourably with average storage costs in western Europe for crude oil tankage which normally range from $2-3 per tonne per month.