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O’Reilly Spills The Beans On Resource Auction

26/06/07

The giveaway of Ireland’s natural resources continued apace this week, despite the appointment of Green Party TD Eamon Ryan as Twenty-Six County Minister for Energy and Natural Resources.

Providence, the Tony O'Reilly controlled exploration company, announced at its AGM on Wednesday (June 20) the plan to begin “appraisal drilling on its Hook Head Project in the Celtic Sea later this summer.”

The Hook Head field, located off the Cork coastline, was initially drilled in 1971 when five hydrocarbon reservoirs were discovered. No further work was carried out on the field until 1998 when the O'Reilly controlled grouping commissioned an updated technological survey of the field.

That survey revealed that the field contained potential reserves of 70 million barrels of oil and 250 billion cubic feet of gas.

The AGM was also told that Providence, together with two other trans-national energy companies, Exxon Mobil and Sosina, has been awarded 15 new blocks in the Goban Spur, located off the coast of Kerry and Cork.

Providence already owns the exploration rights for substantial areas of the Dunquinn and Porcupine basins, which are also located off the Atlantic coastline. The combined estimated reserves already discovered there have a potential value of several hundred, billion euro.

éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson said the latest development only compounded the negligent attitude of the Dublin government in supporting the right of the people of Ireland to benefit from their own resources.

‘It is an absolute disgrace that Tony O'Reilly, who is already one of Ireland’s wealthiest men, can further increase his riches through the exploitation of Ireland oil and gas reserves – reserves that rightly belong to all the people of Ireland.

‘It is all the more galling that O’Reilly should be able to do so while choosing the life of a tax-exile rather then contributing his fair share to the cost of running the country that has helped to make him so very wealthy. This represents a double insult to the Irish people.

Brian continued, “Eamon Ryan has previously been quite happy to align himself with groups such as ‘Shell to Sea’ which are demanding a renegotiation of the terms under which the energy companies operate. Where does he stand now that he is allegedly in a position to do something about it? The public have a right to know.’