Jim O'Keeffe
Ceist:41 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the position and future development prospects of the oil terminal at Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay, County Cork. [4552/99]
Written Answers. - Whiddy Island Oil Terminal.
The Whiddy Island oil storage terminal is operated by Bantry Terminals Limited (BTL), a subsidiary company of the Irish National Petroleum Corporation (INPC). Following the installation of an £18 million single point mooring facility, and having obtained the necessary licences and permits, BTL returned the terminal to operational status early last year.
In April 1998 two cargoes of crude oil amounting to 140,000 tonnes were landed at Whiddy on behalf of the National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA), augmenting the 205,000 tonnes of crude oil already held there as part of Ireland's strategic oil reserves. In addition, stocks of finished products are now held at the terminal on behalf of both INPC and NORA.
The reactivation of the terminal offers the possibility of securing commercial storage business at Whiddy. BTL has already negotiated a number of commercial contracts with international oil companies. The addition of this commercial business brings the total volume of storage under contract to over 60 per cent of the terminal's one million tonne capacity.
BTL's objective is to increase the customer base and bring the terminal up to full operating capacity. To this end, the company is currently pursuing a number of opportunities for further commercial contracts with good prospects of success.