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An Open Letter to Minister Ryan
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05-04-2009 6:15pm#1This is a copy of a letter that I sent a few days ago to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Mr. Eamon Ryan. This letter was copied to all TD's, Senators and MEP's. The response I received from Mr. Ryan's office was that "the Minister of State, Mr Seán Power, T.D., has responsibility for this area."
Dear Minister Ryan,
I see that you recently visited New York over St. Patrick’s Day. I hope that you enjoyed the trip and that it was a success from a business point of view. I’m sure you’ll agree that New York is a fantastic and vibrant city with so many interesting things to do. Clearly, it is also a very wealthy city.
Unfortunately, Ireland does not display such wealth and after spending a number of years living in New York I have to admit that, in so many ways, Ireland is such a long way behind. However, it does not have to be that way.
Seeing Ireland from afar offers a perspective that those living in Ireland do not have. My visits home generate a whole range of emotions; joy at seeing my family; happiness while wandering around the beautiful countryside but anger and disbelief when I see our poor infrastructure, temporary school facilities and ailing health system. I cringe when I see what is, knowing what could be. I could never understand and reconcile these shortcomings with the much vaunted success(!) of the “Celtic Tiger”.
You may be wondering what this has to do with you; well, let me get to the point! You are the Minister charged with overseeing the exploration and exploitation of our natural resources. We have found some in the last few years and may find more as time goes on. However, we as a nation will gain little if anything from these finds; I am referring specifically to the Corrib gas field. Why do we have to hurt so much while companies that are bigger than our own country take the spoils? Why do we make life difficult for ourselves? It angers me very much to imagine the Boards of Shell, Statoil and Marathon laughing at the stupid Irish people while we fall over ourselves and bend over backwards to facilitate them.
Our original offshore exploration terms were set out in 1975 by Minister for Industry and Commerce Justin Keating. These were subsequently altered in 1985 by Minister for Energy Dick Spring, in 1987 by Minister for Energy Ray Burke and in 1992 by Minister for Finance Bertie Ahern. Mr. Burke has since been convicted of receiving corrupt payments and was sentenced to six months in jail.
You were not responsible for these decisions and should not feel compelled to stand by them nor reluctant to alter them. Clearly, past Ministers have had no problems diluting terms and short-selling Ireland. There is no reason that the opposite cannot also be the case. I would like to draw your attention to Article 10.1 of the Constitution and more specifically to the two following passages from the briefing document prepared for you when you became Minister in 2007.
“To maximize the benefits to the national economy from exploration for, and production of indigenous oil and gas resources…”
“Strategic objectives are to maximize the level of petroleum exploration and production activities in Ireland and optimize the returns to the State from such activity.”
Clearly, I am focusing on maximizing the benefits to the State. You might retort that you have a competing goal of promoting exploration and making Ireland investor friendly. Agreed, but can I draw your attention to the following passage from the report “The Great Corrib Gas Controversy” - an excellent report - prepared by the Center for Public Inquiry in 2005.
‘Although the 1992 terms were supposed to improve conditions for exploration, oil companies only drilled 26 exploration wells between 1993 and 2004, compared to 100 exploration wells between 1975 and 1992.”
And as for making Ireland investor-friendly: I would question the point in creating a friendly environment for investors if our own interests become secondary to theirs and if the benefits accruing to the nation are so insignificant?
Minister, I urge you to stand back and look dispassionately and objectively at this. You said it yourself in 2002, “We need to change the current policy of letting the exploration companies have their own way in Irish waters and start setting the same standards which other sovereign governments seem able to enforce.” You have the authority to renegotiate this deal and to right this extreme folly, and now would be an apt time to do so. Should you do so, in this time of leadership-deficit, you will be lauded and can be assured of the support of four million people. Yes, the oil companies will not be happy – but you represent the people of Ireland, not them! They’ll get over it, just like the energy companies did in Bolivia, Ecuador, Russia and Venezuela. Additionally, let me remind you that we already have a renegotiation-precedent in an Irish context: In 1985 Marathon sued Bord Gáis to allow them to renegotiate terms.
Wouldn’t you like to live in an Ireland which was more affluent? Wouldn’t you like to live in an Ireland where public services and infrastructure were not sub-par? Wouldn’t you like your children to grow up in an Ireland with more hope?
Mr. Ryan, allow me to use an Americanism. It’s time to “step up to the plate” and to maximize the benefits to the national economy, just as your Ministerial brief directed.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours Sincerely
A Concerned Irish Citizen
Originally published on www.indymedia.ie1
Comments
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The corrib gas project deal is done, as the thing is been built = legal contract signed and cant be changed -> END OF
Whatever about corrupt Ray Burke signing off the deal is irelavant. Go to any country in the world and the same thing happens, thats life. Just seems unlucky you didnt write this letter to Ray Burke over 15 years ago when it mattered.
Private investment is the norm in this industry. Just look what happened in Russia after Boris came into power. Droves of oil and gas companies setting up there, which provide heat to keep our arses warm. Now Putin is in and wants to crackdown on this investment, turning off the supplies every now and again sending shockwaves through Europe. So much power is giving to the Russians, we need to take back some of it for ourselves and the Corrib will do this.
Shell are like any other multinational and have the expertise to deliver the gas to the Irish network. We may be giving shell the power, but hey someone's got eat at the end of the day.
You are suggesting the Irish government either let it stay where it is, or let some paddy firm build the thing and pipe it? LOL, we dont have the know how in the country to do this. Shell can deliver becuase they do this stuff everyday.0 -
I fail to see the issue.
The government abandoned charging a fixed charge so that companies would set up. These companies provide employment and corporation tax to Ireland.
If there was a charge it wouldnt be economically viable. We would get not companies so no tax.0 -
drunken_munky52 wrote: »
You are suggesting the Irish government either let it stay where it is, or let some paddy firm build the thing and pipe it? LOL, we dont have the know how in the country to do this. Shell can deliver becuase they do this stuff everyday.
Well actually we do. There are plenty of irish people doing just that around the world working for a variety of companies including the Norwegian company Statoil. We could easily follow the Norwegian model and set up our own state company with a fraction of the money this incompetent government is about to blow on the banks, decentralization, e-voting etc. Thats why Norway continues to have the highest standards of living in the world while ireland faces economic ruin:mad:0 -
I fail to see the issue.
The government abandoned charging a fixed charge so that companies would set up. These companies provide employment and corporation tax to Ireland.
If there was a charge it wouldnt be economically viable. We would get not companies so no tax.
Under the terms of the corrib gas giveaway Shell writes all expenditure in the Republic off against expenses and so contributes FA to the economy as well as pocketing our gas profits. Its by far the most generous terms of any deal signed anywhere in the world. Even the Nigerians get more from Shell then we will. Wake up man!!:rolleyes:0 -
just to give another side to this i remember vaguely about 20+ years ago that people were saying that you could never extract gas and oil from the atlantic cos it was too stormy too deep etc,
so in the way these exploration rights are given the more difficult the terrain the more you have to give away (isnt nigerian oil on land - dont actually know) if i rember my geology right the stuff gets deeper the further west you go.
now technologies moved on and its possible to get stuff out in the conditions they are operating in but its still going to cost a lot.
now i'm not trying to be a shell apologist here but just thinking of my geology etc.
i guess onshore processing is done cos of weather as well (why they put it in belmullet i'll never know ) and the pipeline should be nowhere near houses either, and compulsory purchase orders should never have been allowed.
BUT back to the terms of the deal the more difficult the extraction the more generous the deal i guess.
i guess i'll get shot down on this by cleverer people than me but i do try and get behind the thinking (and my gut reaction is that shell are getting a way too good deal out of this)0 -
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Well actually we do. There are plenty of irish people doing just that around the world working for a variety of companies including the Norwegian company Statoil. We could easily follow the Norwegian model and set up our own state company with a fraction of the money this incompetent government is about to blow on the banks, decentralization, e-voting etc. Thats why Norway continues to have the highest standards of living in the world while ireland faces economic ruin:mad:
OMFG. Comparing Ireland and Norway's oil fields is the height of ignorance.- Norways production + proven reserves are 144 times Ireland's
- Norway drilled 1100 exploration holes, 60 producing oil
- Ireland drilled 155 with 5 discoveries
- To drill 10 wells you are looking at €1b with a success rate of 5%
- Corrib estimated to hold 166m BOE (Barrel oil equivalent)
- The biggest (of 49) of Norways field contains 7600m BOE
Comparing Ireland to Norway is like asking why Ireland doesn't win the same number gold medals at the Olympics as the US. Absolutely dumb.
As for the idea that we gather together the Irish people working at Statoil/Esso/Shell/etc around the world and suddenly we will have the expertise to run an oil exploration business is laughable.0 -
Under the terms of the corrib gas giveaway Shell writes all expenditure in the Republic off against expenses and so contributes FA to the economy as well as pocketing our gas profits. Its by far the most generous terms of any deal signed anywhere in the world.
And I suppose Shell provide zero employment?Even the Nigerians get more from Shell then we will.
What exactly is so bad about the Nigerians that they "even get more"? This phrasing suggest you in some way look down on them?0 -
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